In Maino’s Rome Durga is not welcome

Kanchan Gupta

What does it mean to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome? It means to be humiliated, harassed and hounded by city officials who happen to be pious Christians. Alright, I could be utterly wrong in presuming they are pious since I have no independent confirmation of their piety or otherwise. But let’s get back to the question with which I began. Late Thursday night I was at the park near my house where the local Bengalis organise Durga Puja every year. It’s a raucous celebration of faith and culture. The food stalls are invariably hugely popular and there I was with my nine-year-old daughter, standing in a queue for kathi rolls. After what seemed like an interminable wait, it was our turn to be served. Just then my BlackBerry beeped. Balancing the piping hot rolls, dripping oil, tomato ketchup, green chilli sauce and lemon juice, in one hand, I tried to read the e-mail on my handset.

No luck. I got shoved around, nearly dropped both rolls and my phone, and decided to let the e-mail wait. Later, away from the crowd, I checked the e-mail and it was a fascinating story. Since the identity of the person who had sent the mail is not really relevant, let me reproduce the text: “The Municipal Police authorities of Rome have today withdrawn permission, granted three weeks ago, to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. The cancellation came a few hours before the Ambassador of India was scheduled to inaugurate the Puja at 8 pm local time. No acceptable explanation has been given. This has caused the local Indian community the loss of thousands of Euros spent in preparatory arrangements. The same thing was done in the same manner in 2008 also. Please monitor developments.”

Now that’s awful, I told myself, here I am having kathi rolls and there they can’t even celebrate their own festival. On Friday, I called a friend in Rome who provided me with the latest details. Our Ambassador, Mr Arif Shahid Khan, a feisty man who has in the past taken up the issue of Sikhs being forced to take off their turbans at Italian airports, campaigned throughout the day, calling up officials, including the Mayor of Rome, and contacting members of the ‘Friends of India’ group in the Italian Parliament, arguing with them why permission for the Puja should be restored. By evening, the authorities had reversed their order and permission was granted to celebrate Durga Puja, which will now begin on Saturday, Ashtami — a full 48 hours behind schedule. Provided, of course, there is no last minute cancellation, as it happened on Thursday. Mr Khan will inaugurate the Puja, an honour he richly deserves.

The story behind the cancellation needs to be told, if only to point out that Christian countries in the West, whose Governments so blithely criticise the ‘lack’ of ‘religious freedom’ in India, have no compunctions about trampling on Hindu sentiments at home. After last year’s experience, when permission for celebrating Durga Puja in Rome was abruptly withdrawn by officials who cited specious reasons to justify their grossly unfair decision, the organisers, led by Mr Rajesh Sahani, a Sindhi from Kolkata who speaks flawless Bengali, took ample precautions this year. They were given permission to organise the Puja at Parko Centocelle, a public park on Via Cailina, Torpignattara. Three weeks ago, permission was granted for the Puja at the park and necessary formalities were completed.

Early this past week, the Puja organisers were told they could not use the park as a crime had been committed there and the location posed security-related problems. The organisers agreed to change the venue. Another park was selected, permission was given to celebrate Durga Puja there, and the preparations began all over again in right earnest. Then, like a bolt from the blue, at 4 pm on Thursday came the withdrawal of permission by the Municipal Police. The organisers were bluntly told to pack up and leave hours before Durga Puja was scheduled to begin with Akal Bodhon in the evening. Why? No reason was proffered.

Some officials are believed to have told the organisers that the cancellation of permission at the eleventh hour, both last year and this year, was meant to be “retaliatory action against the persecution of Christians in India”. It may be recalled that the President of Italy, Mr Giorgio Napoletano, has been vociferous in demanding that Europe should do more in support of Christians in India and to help them ‘affirm their right to religious freedom’. The Government of Italy has in the past summoned the Ambassador of India to convey to him that it has “deep concern and sensitivity for the ongoing inter-religious violence… that has caused the death of many Christians.” The Pope has been no less harsh in denouncing India.

There could be another reason, apart from its “deep concern” about the welfare of Christians in India, for Italy’s callous disregard of the sentiments of Hindus in that country. Although the Italian Constitution guarantees religious freedom, under the Lateran Treaty with the Vatican, Italy recognises only the three religions of Semitic origin — Christianity, Judaism and Islam. All other religions are no more than paganism and are to be shamed and shunned. The Vatican would not countenance any open breach of the Lateran Treaty; Italy would not want to be seen as recognising Hinduism.

“It’s only natural that Italy should have a surfeit of churches. But it’s the rejection of any other faith than Christianity, Judaism and Islam that explains why there are so many mosques but virtually no temples in Italy although this country has a large Hindu expatriate population,” my friend told me while regretting the attitude of the Government and the local authorities. According to him, there are only three temples in Italy: One in a garage in Venice; another at Frescolo and the third at Reggio Emilia. These survive at the mercy of local zoning officials.

But for Mr Arif Shahid Khan’s pro-active involvement — most Ambassadors tend to stay aloof from community affairs — this year too there would have been no Durga Puja in Rome. Indians in Italy owe him a debt of gratitude. So do Bangladeshis who are equal participants in this annual celebration of dharma’s victory over adharma, of the triumph of good over evil. Cultural and linguistic affinities unite Bengalis, irrespective of whether they are from the west or east of Padma, during this autumnal festival celebrated around the world.

Meanwhile, let’s not get carried away by the West’s bilious and bogus criticism of religious freedom in India and indulge in self-flagellation. Let the West look at its own ugly, septic warts. If Christians can celebrate Christmas in New Delhi, Hindus have the right to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. This is non-negotiable.

– Follow the writer on: http://twitter. com/KanchanGupta. Blog on this and other issues at http://kanchangupta .blogspot. com. Write to him at kanchangupta@ rocketmail. com

Tigers’ Eelam: Nothing ‘Hindu’ or ‘Tamil’ about it

B R Haran
1 July 2009
Source: http://www.vijayvaani.com

“LTTE Chief Prabhakaran was inspired by Bhagwat Gita; he was greatly enamoured of the principles enunciated in the Gita; his motto was ‘do your duty but do not expect any benefit from it.’ He found his ideology from the song depicting the discourse between Arjuna and Krishna in the Tamil film ‘Karna.’ The Itihasa-Mahabharata enthralled him. The characters he identified with were Bhima and Karna. He believed that in order to fight evil and establish dharma, it is essential to eliminate one’s enemies.”
(http://www.expressbuzz.com)

“The Indian freedom struggle fascinated him. He read the Tamil version of Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography “Satya Sodhanai” (Experiment with Truth) in his early teens but was not enamoured by it greatly.”

“His ideal and idol was Netaji or Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji had ideological differences with the Mahatma about the mode of struggle for independence. At one stage he disapproved of Gandhi’s “non-violence” and went on to form the Indian National Army (INA) to launch an armed struggle against the British.”

“Apart from Netaji, Prabhakaran was also impressed by the Sikh freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and two other freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu namely Vaanchinathan and Thiruppur Kumaran” (http://www.merinews.com).

“Prabhakaran also read the Tamil translations of Swami Vivekananda’s writings and speeches avidly. Another spiritual person he looked up to was Thirumuga Kirupananda Vaariyaar popularly called ‘Vaariyaar.’”

All these informations, which were not in the public domain for the last three decades, have suddenly emanated from nowhere after his death.

The latest canard is that the LTTE represented the “Hindu” Tamils of Sri Lanka.
(http://online.wsj.com).

A serious analysis on Prabhakaran’s activities would clearly reveal that neither he nor his actions were anywhere near the impressive list given above! Then why are such canards being spread?

It seems that the western Christian nations and their paid agents in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere are bent upon giving a “Hindu” colour to the LTTE with the purpose of branding it as a “Hindu Terrorist” outfit, especially at a time when the Christian hand behind the Tamil Eelam and its full fledged support to LTTE has been categorically established in the geo-political arena.

Damaging Diaspora
An extremely devious game is being played by Christian hands which rally behind the Sri Lankan Diaspora while simultaneously aiding so-called Tamil organizations. Even after the defeat of LTTE and the liquidation of its top leadership, the Sri Lankan Diaspora, prodded by the western powers, has been harping on the demand for separate Tamil Eelam. The diaspora has gone to the extent of calling itself future “Tamil Tigers” and saying it would achieve the objective of “Tamil Eelam” at any cost.

Wikipedia says, “The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora is difficult to explain in one example. It was neither a continuous process nor a sudden one. It cannot be attributed to a single circumstance or incident. In fact, even the history of migration of Sri Lankan Tamils in each country is different and has to be read and understood separately.”

However, to simplify, it divides the Sri Lankan Diaspora into three distinctive periods as British Colonial Period, Pre-1983, and Post-1983. The most important observation by Wikipedia is that, ‘the Sri Lankan Tamils tended to differentiate themselves from emigrant Indian Tamils in the host countries by their caste, socio-economic status, unique Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, religious practices and food and cultural habits.’
(http://en.wikipedia.org).

This tendency to differentiate themselves from the Indian Tamil Diaspora, which integrated well with ‘Hindu’ communities from other parts of India, could have helped Christian establishments to influence them, as evidenced by the ‘Christian’ leadership of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in almost all countries, particularly in Canada, France, Germany, UK and the US.

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora’s strength is considerable in Canada (400,000), UK (300,000), France (100,000) Germany (60,000), Australia (53,000), US (35,000) and Italy (24,000). It is rather painful to note that the Diaspora is in no mood of reconciliation, exhibiting its lack of concern for the millions of civilian Tamils suffering in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora seems more bothered about continuing the terror legacy of LTTE and enjoying refugee status in the host countries, thereby allowing the present LTTE leadership to enjoy the wealth amassed over the years, than finding a peaceful settlement for the tormented Tamil community in the northern / eastern part of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora comprises Hindus and considerable numbers of Catholics and Protestants. Christian organizations which support the LTTE covertly, take care to keep the Diaspora under its control through the LTTE. Analyzing the widespread support enjoyed by the LTTE in the Diaspora, journalist Nirmala Rajasingham noted, “The LTTE in the course of its military and political campaign decimated all other political opinion within the Tamil polity in Sri Lanka, in order to establish itself as the “sole representative” of the Tamil people. At the same time, it began to flex its muscles within the Tamil community in the west. In time its stranglehold over the diaspora communities – including through methods of intimidation, assault, and threats to families in Sri Lanka – became an accomplished fact. Paris and Toronto were prime examples of the phenomenon, where unquestioning compliance was demanded and wrought.”

Regarding the fund-raising opportunities ‘created’ by LTTE, she said, “The Tiger lobbyists, fundraisers and propagandists in the diaspora are relentless in attempting to enforce submission to its command performances. Even for events such as ‘martyrs’ day’ celebrations or the funeral of the LTTE ideologist Anton Balasingam, thousands are mobilised and bussed in. Every tragic event is turned into a fundraising opportunity.”
(http://www.opendemocracy.net).

Meanwhile the death of Prabhakaran has caused divisions within the LTTE, one in support of K. Pathmanathan (KP), leader of LTTE’s international affairs including fund raising and arms purchasing, and the other against him. It is believed that KP has complete control of LTTE’s huge funds and assets like cargo ships, etc. The Sri Lankan government has sought international help to capture him. The LTTE’s intelligence wing led by Pottu Amman (it is not clear if he is dead or alive) is believed to be against Pathmanathan; the Sri Lankan Diaspora is also divided between these two, and this fight for power and leadership, and division in diaspora, have become a cause for concern for the Church, which has been the main force behind the LTTE.

In this connection, on 28 May 2009, Fr. Jegath Gasper Raj, a controversial Christian clergy and co-founder of the Chennai-based “Tamil Maiyyam,” sent an appeal through www.tamilcanadian.com to the Diaspora to unite so that a broader Tamil renaissance could be ‘ignited’. He said, “In the immediate next phase the Government of Sri Lanka will unleash a hidden war, more treacherous than the one it let loose in Mullaitivu, to break the unity and political consolidation of the Diaspora. I am sure the Diaspora has the moral capacities to withstand a dirty political war by the Sri Lankan Government. But what can shatter the hopes of a dignified political solution will be the unravelling of LTTE. Let’s concede that the massive military debacle would certainly have created serious gaps in LTTE’s command structure. I get a disturbing feeling that there is already an unseen power struggle among certain sections of the LTTE for the control of the organization and its vast resources. We can expect that intelligence agencies of various countries will welcome this development and do everything to hasten these divisions”.
(http://www.tamilcanadian.com)

This letter clearly shows the Christian mind, which wants to keep the Diaspora under its control, worries about the power struggle in the LTTE, and doesn’t want the LTTE to unravel. Gaspar Raj is well connected with the ‘Dravidian’ politicians of Tamil Nadu, which goes to prove that the “Dravidian-Christian” nexus is the brain behind the call for separate “Tamil Eelam.” While the Christian leadership successfully alienates the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora from the Indian Tamil-Hindu Diaspora, the Dravidian leadership, which travels abroad to the west quite often, always makes it a point to visit only the Sri Lankan Tamils and not the Indian Tamils, who are normally seen with other “Hindu” communities of India.

Dubious Tamil organizations
The LTTE has many organizations in the name of Tamil, which act as fronts, indulging clandestinely in fund-raising and arms purchasing. When the FBI arrested some pro-LTTE activists in New York and New Jersey areas two years ago, the US authorities identified and cited the various proxy organizations of the LTTE in their criminal complaint in the district court in Brooklyn. Ilankai Thamil Sangam, New Jersey; World Tamil Coordinating Committee (WTCC), New York; Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), and Tamil Welfare and Human Rights Committee (TWHRC), Maryland were some of the organizations which helped the LTTE in fund-raising and arms purchasing activities. All these organizations have been cited in various chargesheets filed by US authorities in courts of law. These organizations are also part of “The Federation of Tamil Sangams,” founded in 1986, and comprising more than 30 Sangams (Associations) in the United States.

As “serving” the cause of “human rights” has always been a modus operandi of Christian missionaries, such human rights organizations based in the US have taken up the cause of the above-said Pro-LTTE Tamil organizations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is believed to have fought against the American Judiciary and US Congress in support of these Tamil organizations which help LTTE achieve the hidden agenda. Similarly the California based Humanitarian Law Project and the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) also supported these Tamil organizations. Nancy Chang, Senior Attorney at CCR, is an open LTTE supporter. Likewise, Professor David Cole of the George Town University Law School has been a spokesman for LTTE on American soil.

(http://www.asiantribune.com).

The above said ‘Tamil’ organizations have also been active in countries such as UK, Canada, France, Italy, Denmark and Australia, etc. The FBI has also accused the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in Australia of helping the LTTE.

(http://www.dnaindia.com and http://www.priu.gov.lk).

The Norway branch of the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) admitted at a press conference on 13 June 2009 that it had been raising funds for LTTE to purchase arms and weapons (http://www.nowpublic.com).

The International Tamil Centre, another front organization of the LTTE, was started by one Dr. Winston Panchacharam of New York; it celebrated its third anniversary in Chennai on 8 June 2009. Dr. Winston Panchacharam brought two Americans with him, Bruce Fein, US lawyer and specialist in international law, counsel for ‘Tamils against genocide’; and Francis Boyle, American expert on international law, to ‘lecture’ on the occasion.

Sudha Ragunathan, a leading Carnatic singer and ‘local head’ of the ITC, organized the event along with her colleague and local secretary Manimekalai Kannan. The main speakers at the inaugural function were known ‘Dravidian’ ideologues Dr. Ramachandran, Vice Chancellor of Madras University and R.M. Veerappan, former minister and President of MGR Kazhagam. Though both speakers spoke about the glory and antiquity of Tamil language and Tamil culture, they refrained from talking about the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. As the theme of the conference was “Rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils,” a seminar on the subject was held wherein Prof. V. Suryanarayan, South Asia and Southeast Asia specialist, and Bhagwan Singh, Consulting Editor, Deccan Chronicle, participated apart from the two Americans, Francis Boyle and Bruce Fein.

At the inauguration, both Dr. Ramachandran and R.M. Veerappan refrained from using the ‘H’ word (Hindu) despite waxing eloquent on the glory of Tamil language and culture. Similarly, in the seminar, none of the speakers mentioned the ‘Hinduness’ of Sri Lankan Tamils. They openly voiced concern for the cause of the LTTE, that is, a separate “Tamil Eelam.” They termed the Sri Lankan military operation against the LTTE as “genocide,” but preferred to remain silent on LTTE’s atrocities, particularly its use of innocent civilians as a ‘shield’ and forced recruitment of children as frontline soldiers and suicide bombers.

Both American speakers expressed ‘concern’ about the post-war scenario and power struggle and called for ‘unity’ among Tamils (read LTTE and Diaspora). They asked India to support the cause of separate Tamil Eelam. The ‘Liberation Song for Tamil Eelam’ was also sung by the organizers.

(http://www.ustream.tv, http://www.ustream.tv, http://www.ustream.tv, http://www.ustream.tv, http://www.ustream.tv).

The International Tamil Centre has been classified as a charitable organisation (cultural and ethnic awareness) and has enjoyed tax exemption as of May 2002.

(http://www.taxexemptworld.com). It is a wonder then that it celebrated its ‘third anniversary’ this year! The organisation’s website could not be accessed, as its security certificate is either invalid or expired. So it is not clear when this organization came into being, and interestingly, ‘Tamil Maiyyam’ was started in July 2002. The non-participation of ‘Tamil Maiyyam’ and the absence of Father Jagath Gaspar Raj were noticeable in the Chennai event marking the third anniversary of ITC.

Dubious organizations like International Tamil Centre and Tamil Maiyyam use a devious strategy of roping in famous personalities from the field of fine arts to participate in their events by pressurizing them using their political power, so that their events get some sort of genuineness and credibility. And if those personalities happen to be ‘faithful Hindus,’ it adds more value to the events. Such personalities become party to these events without knowing the hidden motives behind them.

Also, if such events are organized with the full support of the government of the day, these personalities participate out of fear as well! Tamil Maiyam has been organizing such events on a regular scale with the advent of the DMK government. It may be recalled that Tamil Maiyam’s Jagath Gaspar Raj was alleged to be an associate of Nachimuthu Socrates, who was arrested by FBI on charges of fund-raising for LTTE and bribing a US State Official to remove LTTE from the list of blacklisted organisations way back in 2006. The website http://socratesdefensefund.org is still alive to raise funds for his legal defense.

Towards the end of May 2009, The Times, London, reported that 20,000 civilians were killed during the final offensive by the Sri Lankan Army against the Tamil Tigers. This report came as a blessing in disguise for the ‘Tamil’ organizations, which were sulking after the defeat of the LTTE, rejuvenating their blood and making them to conduct protest demonstrations in the respective host countries, demanding a thorough probe and necessary action against Sri Lanka for its ‘war crimes.’ In countries like UK and Canada, many parliamentarians came out in support of the demonstrators, who were obviously pro-LTTE.

Sri Lanka vs. Western Nations
The Times’ report, which came after the official visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to Sri Lanka, quoted two UN officials saying that Ban was aware of the death of 20,000 Tamil civilians. This report, along with a video clipping, raised a furore in the international arena, particularly among western nations which demanded a probe on the ‘war crimes’ of Sri Lanka. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) demand was rejected by the Sri Lankan government. When UNHRC convened a special session in Geneva, where Sri Lanka and the European nations led by Germany put out competing resolutions, the Sri Lankan resolution justifying its military action against the world’s biggest terrorist organization sailed through, defeating the European resolution for a thorough probe into the ‘war crimes’ of the Sri Lankan military. India supported Sri Lanka along with China, Russia and Pakistan.

While slowly focusing on the rehabilitation of internally displaced Tamils, the Sri Lankan government is taking necessary action to thwart any attempts by the Tigers to regroup and restart terror activities. Colombo is determined to demolish the international network of arms and drug mafia with which the LTTE is widely connected. The government is aware of shady organizations having a foothold in countries like US, UK, Canada, France, Germany and other European capitals, indulging in fund-raising to revive the LTTE. As the Sri Lankan government requested help from the US and European countries to apprehend the concerned pro-LTTE persons and organizations, an LTTE operator Karunakaran Kandasamy and three others were arrested by US authorities.

But Colombo is unhappy with the non-cooperation of Canada and European countries like UK, France, Germany and others. These countries covertly encourage the Diaspora and other LTTE front organizations to protest against the Sri Lankan government and try to implicate Sri Lanka in ‘war crimes.’ The Sri Lankan government charged that demonstrations by diaspora in European countries were funded by the LTTE and aided and abetted by the host governments. Though US helped in taking legal action against pro-LTTE elements, it also joined European nations in their ‘measures’ against the Sri Lankan government.

Even during the most recent operations, the Sri Lankan military is believed to have uncovered evidence of the connivance of NGOs and Human Rights Organisations (many owing allegiance to the UN) with Tigers in vehicle supply and material support. Very recently, the Army apprehended two UN staffers who were reported missing earlier. Reliable sources report that some Christian organizations have allegedly bribed individual military officials and managed to allow LTTE’s intelligence officers to escape from refugee camps and flee the country. In connection with this and other reports of clandestinely assisting the LTTE, seven army personnel have been detained by the Sri Lankan Military Intelligence Unit

(http://www.tamilnet.com).

Meanwhile, Selvarasan Pathmanathan, alias KP, set up a committee comprising mostly Christians to formulate the constitution of a ‘Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam’ (TGTE), with a view to fight for the self-determination of Sri Lankan Tamils and safeguard the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora. As he has been a proclaimed criminal and fugitive in Sri Lanka and is also wanted by Interpol, this initiative is intended to gain some kind of credibility in the international arena and to make the million strong diaspora fall in line behind him. He has been successful in roping in experts from various fields, who have been active in US, Canada, UK, Sweden, Australia, Malaysia and Netherlands giving ‘voice’ to the LTTE, as members of the committee. Prof. Francis Boyle, who was in Chennai in association with the International Tamil Centre, is a member of this committee. The Sri Lankan government has rejected this attempt of KP, terming it a ‘hallucination.’

Considering the fact that western nations and the diaspora are trying to revive the call for separate Eelam by supporting the LTTE, despite its defeat and the elimination of Prabhakaran and the top leadership, Sri Lanka refused permission to the Tiger-sponsored relief carrying vessel MV Captain Ali after it entered Sri Lankan waters illegally. Though the ship was chartered in the name of “Mercy Mission to Vanni,” it was sponsored by an organization called “Act Now,” a pro-LTTE Christian organization. Ultimately due to the influence of the Indian government, Colombo agreed to accept the consignments through the Red Cross.

The Church and other Christian organizations allegedly utilizing the Sinhala-Tamil divide, which is their own creation, have been supporting the LTTE to bring down the majority Buddhist religion and the largest minority Hindu religion. The LTTE is believed to have a large number of Christians highly placed in the hierarchy including the deceased Prabhakaran, Anton Balasingham and others; a considerable portion of supporting Tamils and Diaspora are also Christian. It is no secret that the LTTE has been backed by the Church and is part of a neo-colonial conspiracy; mainstream international media has conveniently forgotten to present LTTE’s Christian leanings. Many members of the Christian clergy have acted as front men for LTTE and Fr. S.J. Emmanuel, former Vicar General of Jaffna, is a prime example; at present he lives in Germany helping LTTE’s Eelam cause.

(http://freetruth.50webs.org)

A Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu social worker, affiliated to ‘Seva Lanka,’ a national social service institution, who is helping the poor and downtrodden in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi revealed that, “Prabhakaran enforced burials to replace cremations, enforced Dravidian weddings to replace the Hindu marriage ceremony, introduced so called Dravidian names to replace Hindu names, and recommended beef eating.” The Social worker added, “He [Prabhakaran] was perhaps never in charge, as someone else shrewder was running the show and that individual or institution disappeared and Prabhakaran alone made mistake after mistake, leading to his eventual death”.

The social worker said the Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph, the Bishop of Jaffna, Thomas Savundranayagam, and the Bishop of Batticaloa, Kingsley Swampillai, exerted disproportionate influence on the LTTE and recalled that Prabhakaran named his son ‘Charles Anthony’ after his dead comrade, and Tamilchelvam (political commissar of the LTTE – original name Dinesh) named his son ‘Oliventhan,’ meaning prince of light (Jesus?) and his daughter ‘Alai Arasi,’ queen of the waves which is the name for Britannia, all Christian names in the garb of Tamil. The social worker painfully exclaimed, “Ironically most Tamils are Hindus!”

Meanwhile, Prof. P. Pushparatnam, Head of the Department of History, University of Jaffna, has found a 19th century Tamil-Christian epitaph on the tomb of one Ales Francis Cruz, died 1827. Prof. Pushparatnam read the text as “1827 (in Tamil numerals) Thai month 27th date (in Tamil numerals and symbols for month and date) Naakapad’nam Aariyar Ales Piraagnchis Kurus.”

It was a tomb of a Christian, Ales Francis Cruz, from Naakappattiinam on the Coromandal coast of Tamil Nadu, who died on the 27th date of the Tamil month Thai (Jan-Feb) of the year 1827. The Professor referred to the 19th century dictionaries for the word “Aariyar” (Arya in Sanskrit) meaning “foreigner” or “a person of a foreign faith” and said, “the epitaph comes out with the title ‘Aariyar’ for the deceased probably to indicate his Christian faith, priesthood or to indicate that he was a Christian of foreign (European) origin even though coming from Naakappaddinam”.

(http://www.tamilnet.com)

This is clear evidence of the Church’s ‘Aryan-Dravidian’ propaganda in Tamil Nadu and also of its larger agenda and long-term plan of forming a “Tamil Christian Nation” comprising Tamil Nadu and the North-East of Sri Lanka. No wonder, this news is given importance and published in pro-LTTE website “Tamilnet”.

Conclusion
A deeper study of Sri Lankan history shows that the Sinhala-Tamil divide was created by the Portuguese after they landed on the shores of Sri Lanka. In due course of time, they captured the island nation and converted a large number of people, more Tamils than Sinhalese, as Tamils were weak and humble, without strong leadership. They demolished hundreds of Hindu Temples and Buddhist Viharas. Sri Lankan historians believe that the Island would have become completely Christian had the Portuguese continued. The Dutch and the British continued the evil legacy of the Portuguese and the same has been followed till date by the Church. The LTTE leadership, the Diaspora leadership, and the so-called ‘Tamil’ organizations are all under the control of Christian organizations backed by the Church.

Those ‘Tamil’ organizations have done nothing for the welfare of either the Sri Lankan Tamils or the Diaspora, but served only as ‘fronts’ for the LTTE, helping it in fund-raising and arms purchasing. Ironically, the majority of Sri Lankan Tamils and Sri Lankan Diaspora is “Hindu.” While Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka have been released and relieved from the LTTE and the Church, thanks to the determined efforts of the Rajapakse government, the ‘Hindu’ section of the Diaspora is still in the clutches of the LTTE and the Church. As the Church is aware of its limitations within the island nation, it is using its might to the full to revive the LTTE and keep the Eelam cause alive by egging on the Diaspora with the support of governments in various western countries.

Make no mistake; LTTE and Eelam are purely ‘Christian;’ nothing ‘Hindu’ or ‘Tamil’ about them.

Following atheist trend, Britons seek ‘de-baptism’

Mar 29 10:41 PM US/Eastern

More than 100,000 Britons have recently downloaded “certificates of de-baptism” from the Internet to renounce their Christian faith.

The initiative launched by a group called the National Secular Society (NSS) follows atheist campaigns here and elsewhere, including a London bus poster which triggered protests by proclaiming “There’s probably no God.”

“We now produce a certificate on parchment and we have sold 1,500 units at three pounds (4.35 dollars, 3.20 euros) a pop,” said NSS president Terry Sanderson, 58.

John Hunt, a 58-year-old from London and one of the first to try to be “de-baptised,” held that he was too young to make any decision when he was christened at five months old.

The male nurse said he approached the Church of England to ask it to remove his name. “They said they had sought legal advice and that I should place an announcement in the London Gazette,” said Hunt, referring to one of the official journals of record of the British government.

So that’s what he did — his notice of renouncement was published in the Gazette in May 2008 and other Britons have followed suit.

Michael Evans, 66, branded baptising children as “a form of child abuse” — and said that when he complained to the church where he was christened he was told to contact the European Court of Human Rights.

The Church of England said its official position was not to amend its records. “Renouncing baptism is a matter between the individual and God,” a Church spokesman told AFP.

“We are not a ‘membership’ church, and do not keep a running total of the number of baptised people in the Church of England, and such totals do not feature in the statistics that we regularly publish,” he added.

De-baptism organisers say the initiative is a response to what they see as increasing stridency from churches — the latest last week when Pope Benedict XVI stirred global controversy on a trip to AIDS-ravaged Africa by saying condom use could further spread of the disease.

“The Catholic Church is so politically active at the moment that I think that is where the hostility is coming from,” said Sanderson. “In Catholic countries there is a very strong feeling of wanting to punish the church by leaving it.”

In Britain, where government figures say nearly 72 percent of the population list themselves as Christian, Sanderson feels this “hostility” is fueling the de-baptism movement.

Theologian Paul Murray at Durham University disagrees. “That is not my experience,” he said, but concedes that change is in the air.

“We are in an interesting climate where Catholicism and other belief systems have moved into the public, pluralist arena, alongside secularists,” he said.

De-baptism movements have already sprung up in other countries.

In Spain, the high court ruled in favor of a man from Valencia, Manuel Blat, saying that under data protection laws he could have the record of his baptism erased, according to a report in the International Herald Tribune.

Similarly, the Italian Union of Rationalists and Agnostics (UAAR) won a legal battle over the right to file for de-baptism in 2002, according to media reports. The group’s website carries a “de-baptism” form to facilitate matters.

According to UAAR secretary Raffaele Carcano, more than 60,000 of these forms have been downloaded in the past four years and continue to be downloaded at a rate of about 2,000 per month. Another 1,000 were downloaded in one day when the group held its first national de-baptism day last October 25.

Elsewhere, an Argentinian secularist movement is running a “Collective Apostasy” campaign, using the slogan “Not in my name” (No en mi nombre).

Sanderson hopes rulings in other European countries will pave the way for legal action in Britain, since European Union directives require a level of parity among member states’ legislation.

“That would be a good precedent for us to say to the British Information Commissioner: Come on, what’s your excuse?” said Sanderson.

The bus-side posters that hit London in January sported the message: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

The scheme was in response to pro-Christian adverts on buses directing passers-by to a website warning those who did not accept Jesus would suffer for eternity in hell.

Comedy writer Ariane Sherine, mastermind of the British bus campaign that saw a copycat version in Barcelona and other cities, said she backs the “de-baptism” movement but insisted the two initiatives were separate.

Sanderson meanwhile remains resolute. “The fact that people are willing to pay for the parchments shows how seriously they are taking them,” he said.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.ae71a038e9b3b47af4f0e9eac9598fd8.2b1&show_article=1

Hundreds of million dollars, foreign funds for Conversion activities in ‘Bharat’: VHP

Each year, the Government of India’s Ministry of Home Affairs releases a report (URL below) entitled, “Receipt of Foreign Contributions by Voluntary Associations.

Following are the Associations which receive the funds

Gospel Fellowship Trust India, USA — $60,305,263

Gospel for Asia, USA — $36,100,000

Plan International, UK — $29,257,895

Foundation Vicent E Ferrer, Alicante, Spain — $27,428,947

Christian Aid, UK — $21,094,737

Miseror Mozartstrasse, Germany — $20,457,895

Foundacion Vicente Ferrer, Madrid, Spain — $20,118,421

Oxfam, UK — $19,721,053

NOVIB, Netharlands — $19,321,053

Deptt for International Devpt (DFID), UK — $15,723,684

Kindemothilfe, Germany — $14,318,421

Save the Children Fund, UK — $13,594,737

Manos Unidas, Spain — $13,050,000

Missio, Germany — $12,900,000

Population Service International USA — $12,826,316

Total funds sent to India: — $336,218,421

Though the Focus and goal as a ministry is to reach the 2.7 billion people who have never heard about the love of God (proselytisation intent, what else?)In India alone, there are over 500,000 villages. Most of the donations go toward relief work, rural development, medicine and education. “Maintenance of priests/preachers/ other religious functionaries” is 15th on the list of purposes, receiving $21 million dollars of all foreign funding. Of the fifteen top donor agencies given eight are Christian, seven are secular and none are Hindu.

Following are the examples of intent given by these organizations themselves. Gospel Missions of India (GMI), “stays abreast of the work of the missionaries and ministries in India to ensure that gifts are faithfully invested for the Lord’s work”. Gospel for Asia is a Texas-based Christian missionary organization whose, “Focus and goal as a ministry is to reach the 2.7 billion people in the 10/40 window who have never heard about the love of God. In India alone, there are over 500,000 villages with no Gospel witness.” These paragraphs are self explanatory about the real intent which is proselytisation through use of these funds. It is not service for the sake of service as the ground reality in Bharat shows.

The report is available on http://mha.gov. in/fcra/annual/ ar2005-06. pdf

Kudos to Srilankan Govt. on trying to ban conversion!

Members of Congress are calling on the ambassador of Sri Lanka to urge his government to defeat a bill that would criminalize attempts to convert citizens of the South Asian nation from one religion to another.

“We believe that this proposed legislation will harm, not protect, the freedom of religion of the Sri Lankan people,” 15 House Democrats and Republicans said in a letter to Ambassador Jaliya Chitran Wickramasuriya.

“This anti-conversion bill is over-broad and targets all religious conversions, not just ‘unethical conversions.’ “

The bill, titled “Prohibition of Forcible Conversion,” is supported by the Buddhist National Heritage Party, which is a minor partner in the ruling coalition. The measure would impose fines up to $4,425 and prison terms of up to seven years for religious activists convicted of using “force, fraud or allurement” to convert others to their beliefs.

The Sri Lanka Constitution recognizes Buddhism, practiced by more than 70 percent of the population of about 20 million, as the “foremost” religion, but also guarantees religious liberty to other faiths.

“The right to worship as dictated by one’s conscience is a basic fundamental human right and one that is the foundation of any truly free society,” said Rep. Todd Akin, Missouri Republican, who organized the congressional letter with the help of the Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

Former Sri Lankan Ambassador Bernard A.B. Goonetilleke last year predicted the bill would never “see the light of day,” after the measure was stalled in parliament in 2004. However, it resurfaced and is expected to pass sometime this month, according to a report in Sri Lanka from the Mission Network News (MNN), a global Christian media group.

Christian missionaries in Sri Lanka feel threatened by the proposed legislation.

“Our missionaries only want to share the love of Christ with the people of Sri Lanka,” K.P. Yohannan, president of the missionary group, Gospel for Asia, told MNN. “They are not forcing anyone to change their faith.”

The congressional letter was also signed by: Democratic Reps. Bart Gordon of Tennessee, Maurice D. Hinchey of New York, Rush D. Holt of New Jersey, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Michael E. McMahon of New York; and Republican Reps. Robert B. Aderholt of Alabama, Paul Broun of Georgia, Trent Franks of Arizona, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Bob Inglis of South Carolina, Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan, John M. McHugh of New York, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and Frank R. Wolf of Virginia.

NEW CHAIRMAN

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel took over the chairmanship of the Atlantic Council of the United States on Wednesday, citing the need for the Washington-based think tank to tackle the “critical and complex global challenges” facing the Atlantic alliance.

“Whether the matter is Afghanistan and Pakistan, energy security and climate or dealing with a rising China and resurgent Russia, trans-Atlantic cooperation has never been more essential,” said the two-term Nebraska Republican who resigned his Senate seat last year.

Brent Scowcroft, a former national security adviser and chairman of the council’s International Advisory Board, praised Mr. Hagel’s “well-deserved reputation for supporting and advancing U.S. foreign policy interests without regard for partisan considerations.”

Mr. Hagel replaces retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, now national security adviser to President Obama.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/12/embassy-row-3946580/