My Professor Dr.Mrs.Hilda Raja's Blog 

Dr. Hilda Raja had put the following in her blog. She had also sent me the same via e-mail, from which I have copy-pasted here to make it easier to read. Please write your comments in her wordpress blog. She is very happy to read comments on her article.I had noticed only today that the lines overlap in her site & they didn't in the e-mail she sent me. So I tested to see if the overlap will occur if I copy/pasted from her e-mail on my blog. I don't intend to plagiarise or draw attention away from her. My intention was to improve communication of her message to more people.So please write your comments at her wordpress site. 

I am using this opportunity to get in touch more regularly with her. A lot had happened in my life in the past 3 months, mostly involving travel and family. In fact, I had never been as busy before !So it's time now to connect with old friends.

Madrasas, Uniform Civil Code and Minority Rights-how secular are we?

There was  news item in the Indian Express (30^th Sept) in which  D.G.Vanzara-former Gujarat IPS officer called for  while addressing a rally in Godhra called for shutting down the Madrasas asserting that these influence separatists. I fully endorse this view. It is just not a political gimmick but is based on concrete evidence All likeminded people who put the nation above communalism will surely agree with this. One cannot understand how and why the GOI had allowed Madrasas to function. Why the Muslim children should be kept as a separate stream for education. How can they integrate with the rest? Education must not be dispensed in segregation. It influences the tender minds and the children see themselves as different from others. It will be relevant to recall the partition demand made by Jinnah.His one solid justification was that the Muslims cannot and will not integrate with the others. If that was the basis of the claim to which Gandhi and Nehru easily gave in then they should have followed Dr.Ambedkar’s suggestion that all Muslims should leave the country .They cannot eat the cake and have it to. Now we have more Muslims in India than Pakistan-thweirs numbers are ever increasing again for reasons inherent to their religion. One such reason is they cannot and will not adopt Family Planning. Then who is to finance –subsidize their development schemes. This is a grave danger because the demographic pattern of India’s population is drastically changing. Thanks to the ‘generosity’ of Nehru and Gandhi Bharat Mata was pieced. Was this country their ancestry property? Now we have a permanent neighboring country not only abetting but directly indulging in cross country terrorism. We have the Muslim community within the country whih abides with its own religious rules and fatwas.How safe are our people. The netas have betrayed this country for the vote bank purpose. It is time to give a call-enough is enough. If the Muslims want to live here and they devotedly claim that they are Indians then they should follow one flag-one Uniform civil code and not resort to their own religious-read communal/religious rules and regulations.

Which country in the world will yield to this downright exploitation of the people’s tax money? It is in this context one should note the call given by Vanzara-it is relevant. Education must bhe wholesome-must lead to integration and must be weed out any differentiation. Instead it is building ghettos and children are being made to think and act that they are different from the rest of the children. This cannot be allowed. It is in this context one must have a review of the Minority Rights. One cannot go on swearing by the Constitution.After all the Constitution was conceived and drafted at a particular juncture in the history of this country.It is man-made and has been amended hundreds of times. If is was so sacred then why had the netas amended it?Well now is the time to look afresh and review-in the context of terrorism and communalism and the bloodshed and butchering-the splintering of the nation on communal lines and arrest this by removing those which abet such discrimination. According to me Minority Rights are discriminatory in its concept. If we swear by being secular then where does religion come? Why should religion be a yardstick to allow those belonging to a particular religion to administer and manage their institutions? Does religion give them extra ordinary administrative powers? Of course there will be a hue and cry but our leaders should be brave enough to go ahead with what is right and uphold the sovereignty of this country. It is in the same line I would like to make a mention of the NGOs.I have been involved in many NGOs. Of course there are some-very few which are really involved with the poor but a good majority is just fishing in troubled waters. How and why is India a soft country for others to interfere and like bandicoots ferret their way into the polity? The NGOs are the front for many countries to interfere in our affairs and to abet and argument unrest. Would these countries-through the NGOs dare to do this in China-Pakistan and others countries. Why is India a target for such backdoor interference? Let the funding countries scream from the house tops but it is for our leaders to decide what is good for the nation. Look at the kind of reactions and responses we get in India now-will a single Pakistani emit such high sound bytes against its own leaders and policy/No but Indians will. How come this is happening? It is because we have been too tolerant and under such a kind of tolerance allowed Madrasas, Minority Rights and NGOs to flourish at the cost of the security of the nation.  Unfortunately we have a few political leaders who for their own vested interest and vote bank politics support this .It is time for Modi ji to take a call. He is strong and one expects Modi ji to be able to handle such situations. If other countries raise their voice it is time to tell them to keep hands off India’s internal affairs and respect the sovereignty of the nation.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,Vadodara

 A visit to the past.

I have started blogging again .I was looking at some of  my drafts which I hadn't posted then.why? I thought I'll come back to it  and  life got in the way until now,five years later. how many recall this incident that happened more than 5 years ago ?

Please read and comment.

The Post I hadn't posted:

• http://forum09.faithfreedom.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6426
• http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Woman-s-11-month-ordeal-ends/Article1-642077.aspx
• 
  
• Target: Mrs. Shalini Chawla be immediately released from detention on humanitarian grounds
• Sponsored by: self

PETITION

This is a petition for seeking expeditious justice to stop mental agony of a young Indian Lady Doctor who is in grief on untimely demise of her husband, has recently given birth to a child and has been detained for alleged involvement in death of her husband and has been separated from her infant daughter. The petition seeks to revoke her detention, grant of clemency by quashing all proceedings against her and allow her to leave for India, along with her children and dead body of her husband.

Preamble:

1.1 My brother Dr. Ashish Chawla, aged 36 years, an Indian National who was working at KING KHALID HOSPITAL, NAJRAN (SAUDI ARABIA) expired on 31st January, 2010 at Najran. He was staying at Nazran with his wife (Dr (Mrs.) Shalini Chawla), who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy and their 2 years old daughter. As per death certificate issued by the Hospital the cause of death was Myocardial infarction (commonly known as Heart Attack). The wife & infant daughter of the deceased were alone at Nazran at this time of grief and they required immediate help & care.

1.2 On our request, an urgent Visa was granted by The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, New Delhi to myself (i.e. Anuj Chawla, Brother of the deceased) and Mrs. Usha Nagpal (Mother in law of deceased) to visit Saudi Arabia. We reached Saudi Arabia on 5th February, 2010.

1.3 Wife of the deceased (Mrs. Shalini Chawla) gave birth to a male child on 10th February 2010, through a caesarian operation.

1.4 On 16th Feb, 2010, %u2018Consulate General of India, Jeddah%u2019 issued No Objection Certificate for transportation of dead body of the deceased to India (Enclosure-2).

1.5 Legal Medico & Forensic Report:

On 24th February 2010, we were informed by local authorities, that Legal Medical report has been received. As per Legal Medical Report it was concluded that the cause of death was Myocardial Infarction (commonly known as Heart Attack/ Cardiac Arrest).

The Medico Legal Report No.-8T.Sh/1/49 dated 30/02/1431Hj. (i.e.15.02.2010 G) states that:

- that immediately after death, the police deputed their Legal Medical Specialist Dr. Abdul Muneem Al Saifi of Centre for Legal Medical, Najran (Under Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

- on examination carried by him, on the date of death clothes worn by the deceased were found intact.

- the examination of external parts of the body was carried out and it did not reveal any sign of injury on any part of the body, and thus there is no suspicion of any physical mishandling, fight or crime.

- that blood & urine samples were sent to Laboratory (The Centre for Poison & Legal Chemical, Macca Mukarrama) for analysis. In the result of Chemical Analysis No.- 2610 the said laboratory stated that no sign of any poison/ chemical substance or anything, that could harm was found and ruled out the chance of any foul play in the death.

- the report concludes the reason of death as cardiac arrest.

1.6 Based on the above report, we were allowed by the local authorities to take the dead body of my deceased brother to India, after getting it embalming. Accordingly we completed the requisite formalities and booked the dead body to be transported by cargo and booked air tickets for travel to India in the same flight which was scheduled for departure on 3rd March, 2010.

Alleged Homicide Case:

2.1 On 1st March 2010, the wife of the deceased (Mrs. Shalini Chawla) was suddenly summoned to local police station at Nazran without any ostensible reason. On her arrival at the police station she was informed that on basis of new evidence collected, the deceased had converted to Islam religion prior to his death. She was accordingly told that the family would not be permitted to carry his body to India. Mrs. Shalini Chawla to her utter shock was also informed that she cannot leave the country till further orders.

2.2 Conversion to Islam: Dr. Ashish Chawla never shared his intention (if any) for embracing Islam with his wife in Saudi Arabia, our mother, me and any other relative in India. The religion of Dr Ashish Chawla remained unchanged in the records of the employer / passport, which belies the factum of alleged conversion.

2.3 As the validity of my visa was expiring and it could not be extended, I had to leave Saudi Arabia on 3rd March 2010.

2.4 Illegal Detention: On 16th March 2010, Mrs. Shalini Chawla was summoned to the police station and was detained by the police for interrogation, without any rhyme or reason. She has been kept in solitary confinement ever since without being informed about the alleged charges against her or the evidence on the basis of which she has been detained. She has been debarred to communicate with anybody. The authorities allowed her to keep her newly born child with her as the baby needed feeding. Her 2 year old daughter has been separated from her mother which has resulted in emotional trauma and untold misery for her mother.

Mrs.Shalini Chawla who is in illegal police detention since 16.03.2010, along with her new born child, and whose 2 year old daughter has been separated from her is suffering untold misery, mental agony and hardship without any evidence whatsoever besides it being a gross violation of human rights.

2.5 New Autoposy Report - Local newspapers published news of detention of Mrs. Shalini Chawla on the basis of an autopsy report alleging that Dr. Ashish Chawla died as a result of poisoning and Mrs. Shalini Chawla is one of the suspects in the case.

The Copy of the Autopsy report (if any) was not made available even to the H.E. Counselor General of India- Jehhad, who personally visited Nazran for the purpose. The report was also denied to colleagues and relatives, which is violative of the principles of natural justice, besides being wholly unjust. The findings of new report are contradictory to that of report dated 30/02/1431 Hj. of %u2018The Centre for Poison & Legal Chemical%u2019, Macca Mukarrama, which was based on the samples taken just after the death, as indicated in para. 1.5 above.

It seems improbable that any Poison could have been found in any subsequent report.

2.6 Position of Mrs. Shalini Chawla - At the time of death of Dr. Ashish Chawla, his wife Dr (Mrs) Shalini Chawla was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, expecting her second child in next few days. Dr (Mrs) Shalini Chawla who had earlier been working in the same hospital, had to leave job to take care of her first child who was just one year old. During the last three months before death of her husband, she had been advised complete bed rest. She had been confined to her home, except for a couple of visits to the hospital, accompanied by her husband, for her medical checkup.

It is therefore preposterous to suggest that at such advanced stage of pregnancy, the wife can even think of harming her husband, especially in a country where there are no relatives to support her, her infant daughter and the child to be borne.

2.7 Request for Grant of Clemency %u2013 We firmly believe that Dr (Mrs) Shalini Chawla is not guilty of any offence, assuming though not admitting, for the sake of argument, that there is a legal charge against Dr (Mrs) Shalini Chawla.

I Anuj Chawla, brother of Late Dr. Ashish Chawla, being the eldest surviving male member of the family, on behalf of all heirs of the victim (Late Dr. Ashish Chawla) and with the consent of all members of the family hereby forgo our right to retribution and hereby exercise our option to ask for clemency for the suspect (Mrs. Shalini Chawla). In view of above there is no point of initiating & pursuing the case further. It will be a futile exercise to continue the case and decide the punishment which ultimately cannot be executed as is being condoned by us. No public interest will be served in continuing the proceedings. She along with infant children of Late Dr. Ashish Chawla, will be subject to immense mental agony and hardship during pendancy of the proceedings.

Prayer:

It is prayed as under:

3.1 Mrs. Shalini Chawla be immediately released from police detention on humanitarian grounds. If need be the recognition of the Consulate General of India, Jeddah may be obtained.

3.2 Further proceedings in the matter be immediately quashed. It would be horrible injustice if the proceedings in the case are continued and young mother (who is a doctor with clean record) and her infant children are made to suffer further. Even assuming her guilt is established, I on behalf of heirs of the Late Dr. Ashish Chawla have agreed to forgo our right to retribution and want to exercise our option to ask for clemency for the suspect (Mrs. Shalini Chawla). Therefore entire proceedings would become futile under Shari%u2019ah principles.

3.3 The wife & children of my brother Late Dr. Ashish Chawla, may be allowed to leave for India along with his dead body. l

• http://www.mangaloretoday.com/mt/index.php?action=headlines&type=1189
• http://www.hindustantimes.com/Indian-woman-held-in-Saudi-Arabia-for-husband-s-murder/Article1-526839.aspx

ShashiTharoor Shashi Tharoor

Dr Shalini Chawla released from detention in Saudi Arabia after three weeks, thx2 family's efforts &intervention by Indian Consulate Jeddah.

  To day is the Spring Equinox . Rohini bakshi has written a very informatively on the festivals associated with it.
 The above link tells us of the different ways we celebrate New Year. It is also the start of the nine day Vasantha Navaratri. Happy Vasantha Navaratri to all.
  This prayer from the rig Veda is something we must strive for in this disturbing Social atmosphere.. The site also gives the lyrics in Devanagari & English scripts along with meaning. Beautiful.
 Loka SamastahaBhava Sukinoh Bhavanthu.

  Dr.HildaRaja's Repost to Ribeiro's Rant.

Happy Chandramaana New Year greetings to all who visit my blog. On this auspicious day I have restarted my blog .  Today I am posting what my teacher/Professor Mrs Hilda Raja wrote to me as her response to Julio Ribeiro's letter in the Indian Express. She has also put this post on her blog on WordPress. Please visit her blog,too. She also mentions in one of her comments that the Indian express refused her article,too, just as Robert Rosario's was too.

 It speaks of her anguish and anger at Ribeiro 's  baseless accusations against India's Hindus. she also speaks of the record and impact of Christianity in the world .

 Please read and share.  

                                      

                                    Truth must be upheld 

I read Mr Julio Ribeiro’s ‘I feel I am on a hit list’(Indian Express dated 16^th March)I did not react immediately because I wanted to let  it sink and see if there was any foundation in what he stated. To me who am 78 the whole accusation of his seems to have no foundation. As of Julio Ribeiro- my ancestry also can be traced to Hinduism. While he agrees on this the question arises why we are Christians today. How did it happen? What kind of inducement-allurement and what strategy of proselytization were used those days for my ancestors to become Christians? Unlike Julio Ribeiro I do not feel threatened-neither do I fear that I am on a hit list and I feel very much an Indian no matter who says what. The point to note is that the Catholic Church to which Julio Ribeiro and I belong has a parampara of a persecution mania. This is  because we have inherited and are born through persecution. Not by the Hindus but by the Dutch, the Portuguese, the French and the English. This is precisely why though Julio Ribeiro acquiescence that his DNA if tested, it will not differ markedly from Mohan Bhagwat’s. The same can be said of our Hindu ancestors. Then what happened down the line.

We must agree that there was persecution, forced conversion by the conquerors. It was a question of torture and death to which the Hindu ancestors were subjected to. This is not fairy tales but recorded history when thousands of temples were destroyed, houses were ransacked and people were brutalized Those who indulged in this human rights violations were treated as Saints by the Vatican and raised to Sainthood .But now we raise a hue and cry against ‘ghar Vapsi’ What was good for one is not good for another. It is not though these were in the hoary past. Even today most of the NGOs do indulge in this proselytization. I wish the government of Indiaban all foreign funds. If China could develop without  such NGOs and the foreign funds why should India not?

I must bring the Vatican’s mind set in this context because it is relevant .When it comes to conversion it will go the extra mile .Look at what it indulged in during the regime of PiusXII. He did not hesitate to join hands with Hitler who attacked Yugoslavia. Hitler partitioned the country into the Catholic Croatia and the Orthodox Serbia  Then followed a massive ethnic cleansing The aryanisation process which separated the Jews,Serbs  as undesirables. These were deported to concentrated camps. Children were not spared. The ethnic cleansing was done by the open support of the clergy-priests and nuns supervised and Vatican followed the ‘omerta” and looked the other way. Special death camps were set up for children. Several commandants and officers at these death camps were Catholic priests.Francisan monks supervised the mass execution. This ethnic cleansing thus had the blessings ofVatican..There were monetary gains for theVatican from the Holocaust in Croatia. In the certificate of conversion which was sold for a few hundred of dinars the Vatican netted millions. Vatican was well informed and yet the Pope maintained silence. In fact not a single member of the clergy was held accountable.-though the commandants of the death camps were priests. When after the war, Archbishop Stepinak was arrested for war crimes by the Yugoslav government Puis XII excommunicated everyone who had taken part in the trial. Later the Archbishop was presented as the champion of religious freedom! It is interesting that in 1998 Pope John II traveled to the Republic of Croatia to announce the beatification of Archbishop Stepinak

It must be noted that the Vatican abetted and colluded with Mussolini and Hiltler in all their brutality. It stood to gain both in terms of power and money. Yet we often hear the word ‘Fascist’ being thrown against the BJP and the saffron brigade. This is part of the christian  parampara of the Catholic Church to which Julio Ribeiro and I belong to. Yet we are scandalized by the ‘ghar Vapsi. What about the Inquisitions held in India-in Goa .With so much of baggage how can we point a finger to others-to the saffron groups and then pretend that we are being victimized and discriminated? All rapes are abominable and need to be condemned in the strongest terms. But why only the rape of the nun-be it in Orissa and now in W,Bengal be internationalized? Why and how can theVatican interfere and want to send a delegation?

In a population of nearly one and a quarter billion- human rights violations and inhuman acts are bound to happen. These need to be severely put down not politicized. It is the NGOs which create a kind of phobia .Foreign funds flow and towards this they organize dharnas and rallies. Any violation and discrimination is being attributed to the Modi’s government. But then these things had not suddenly surfaced. There is a long gestation period of discrimination-of injecting a fear psychosis. The politicians have communalized the communities.

 India is known for its secularism-it is not because the Constitution made it secular. Even before the Constitution the hindus welcomed all religions. Butchery and compulsion and forced conversion were introduced and followed by the Dutch, Portugese the French and the English. Earlier the basic tenet followed by the inhabitants of this great country was Sanatana Dharma. Even today that is the guide and the dictum

I am 78 and thought it is time to speak out .The ordinary people like me are happy and content –feel no persecution or discrimination and are not on the hit list. Even if we are, truth cannot be hidden. In fact it was the Church which had crucified TRUTH and continues to do so. Perhaps there may be aberrations to this. It must not be forgotten that Julio Ribeiro was hounded by a minority community for the alleged human rights violations in Punjab. It was not the Hindus who were behind it. So may be JR has some deep seated fear within him. But then to generalize this personal fear into the whole fabric of the Indian populace is too far fetched

I want to appeal to the government of Modi to ban the foreign funds flow into this country. We should be able to manage with what we have. Why take a begging bowl to other countries and disrupt the peace within. If other countries can manage so can we. I would like to mention about the good works done and which are being done by nuns. But then they have enormous assets. When the foreign invaders left this country they turned over all their land and houses to the churches. As if these are their grandfathers’ possessions. By all legal rights these should have been turned over to the government of India. So the Churches had at their disposal land and finances to start with. There is no accountability. Look at the Minority education Institutions which run on their own rules and regulations. Why did the Constitution founders submit to such a request and enshrine it in the Constitution? Is that not discrimination? I have studied   from LKG to PG in Minority Institutions. Later I was a faculty in one of the elite colleges in Chennai. I know how they function. The least said about them the better. Yes good work they do there is no denying but it has a price. Money flows into Vatican. There is wealth beyond measure in these Church allied institutions and in churches. So when mammon triumphs where is TRUTH. The same lenses must be used to scrutinize Mother Theresa’s work in India.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,

VADODARA- 

 This post is also available at her blog in WordPress   

On Pakistan in the after math of Salman Taseer's Assasination

 posted 7 /1 / '11

This is an interesting perspective on what is happening/happened in Pakistan.Why their country is the way it is-sort of.A good interview with intelligent questions that does not try to talk down to the interviewee as in Indian Media Channels or dumb down things for the Audience.

But I don't think Mr.Fatah is entirely right about Islam .The way most people interpret Islam in Theory and Practice is entirely different,and Its Practice that counts.Maybe he has accepted that the islam he knows is all there is to it. But most Mullahs seem to think different.

Updated 23/3/15 : 

 Is there much that is different since then with Pakistan ?

The link I had posted to Mr.Tarek Fatah's  interview seems to have lapsed. So I have removed link.I also noticed a typo. 'not' has been left out by mistake. I've corrected it today.

  I think this is the original link; not sure though it matches the period.

I have been doing many things the past one year.I was not able to settle down enough to write what I have been doing.Things are still as hectic,but I want to write now.One of the things that I feel happy about is the fact that I have my driving Licence for Car and Scooter now.[I got it on the 29 th ,Jan.2010.]I realise it is a year since I last wrote on my blog.I hope to keep at this ,this time 'round.

Finnally Connected!

This week we got our Internet connection ,finally. There were some hiccups after the first day but they seem to have settled down (for now,at least).I spent the time since then in catching up with my Emails and visiting my friends on the net. Being connected to the world after four months of not being able to even go to a net cafe seems as though I had been in "agnathavasam" [ Sanskrit for being incognito /in exile] all this while and have finally gained access to /acceptance in the world.

So much has happened since 1st of October,2008 when I stopped working at the School.It was one month since we had moved to our own apartment in a 108 apartment complex in Coimbatore.[Now we are closer to our children's school,though farther from my husband's workplace.] As it was a new building a lot of civil /electrical work were pending when we moved in and stopping work outside was a necessity.We were the only people to have moved in then;now there 14 families including us.Till Vijayadasami, we were the only family.Then they came one by one to join us. Now there is another family on my floor,itself.That feels nice.The noise from outside is not so industrial any more. You can hear mothers calling and babies crying.
My father-in-law became hospitalised[12/10/'08]; we faced some economic hardship[through Nov.];we celebrated 5 festivals -- Vinayaka Chathurthi,Saraswathi Puja, Diwali, Karthigai Deepam and finally Makarasankaranthi/Pongal; my son fractured his right hand [1/12/08] which has now healed. The house is 95% set. I feel more settled now than before. Hope my life here will have more of the nice stuff than the unpleasant kind.