Ayodhya reloaded..
Terrorists yesterday attacked the Ayodhya site ramming a Jeep stock full of explosives into the compound barricade. Considering that it's one of India's most heavily guarded sites, they didn't get very far. Of course, that's not to stop the Sanghis from calling a nationwide bandh, with Advani personally leading the protests. Where were the protests on the "saddest day" your life (supposedly the day the Babri Masjid came down), Mr. Advani? Or were you too busy celebrating to see India burn? Ever the protector of the (Hindu) citizenry, Narendra Modi was quick to announce a reward for the brave jawans, and demand the return of POTA to deal with the terrorists, and disrupters of law and order. What were you doing mr Modi, when your goons led the organised slaughter of Muslims on the streets of Gujarat? Did you play the fiddle when the trishul wielding Hindutvadis were busy lynching and assaulting women - did you? A few terrorists attack a shrine compound and there's instant reward for the police, hundreds of Hindu extremists attempt to ethnically cleanse Gujarat and they're lauded for their "admirable restraint in the face of grave provocation" - there's justice for you, Modi shtyle. An excellent introduction to the Gujarat pogrom can be found here, and one to the Sangh's brand of extemism here.

I wish I believed in God, some God, any God at least then I could fantasise about a special place in perdition reserved for the likes of Narendra Modi - lots of trishul-shaped pitchforks and boiling oil, he'd get his comeuppance come Judgement Day. I wished I believed in Karma, the Karma Generatrix (pdf) even, so I could fantasise about Modi being reborn as a cockroach, doomed to a life of insignificant indistructibility. But, I don't so all I do to vent my frustrations at Hindutva is write, and protest when I can. I really don't know why Hindutva gets my goat so, but it does, like little else. They've somehow managed to foist their fascist, essentially upper-caste supremacist view of Hinduism upon us, hijacking a traditionally plural, tolerant religion in the process.

I know the Sanghis have been actively courting various Hindu religious leaders, and self-styled "spiritual gurus" - but surely there must be some truly enlightened Hindu thinkers, who're upset at this rise of Hindutva? Can they stand up please and be counted? Please.. Like one of my fav. columnists, Dilip D'Souza (many thanks due to mmk for the feed) puts it so pithily:

Someone save us from the insanity of people who think temples and mosques are important, and so go about destroying mosques and temples. Someone tell them, they are just stones. Someone tell them, the people who die are our temples and mosques

Not someone. You. Me.

Is this such a hard message to get out? Whatever happened to the likes of Jittu Krishnamurthy? To fill this void of reason, we have various self-styled "gurus", the likes of Double Sri aka His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. "His Holiness"?? - is there no limit to the man's ego, how many appellations is he going to confer upon himself? This wise man in his infinite wisdom suggests that Ayodhya would be peacefully resolved, if the Muslims simply gave away the land to the Hindus, failing which Parliament should legislate the same. When yours truly tried to gently point out the openly political nature of that suggestion, the great man proclaimed that I was "Anti-Hindu" and should be "more reasonable" - swell..

All terrorist attacks are definitely worthy of opprobrium as senseless acts of violence, but surely this is a time for unity, not discord, for quiet but determined resolve, not more hate-mongering.. I started writing this to decry violence in the name of religion or any other name, and it turned into a Hindutva tirade - oh well, hope you enjoyed the rant. :)