"Forced to hang my head in shame": Former Navy chief writes open letter to President Mukherjee, PM M

[ranjeet]

Man mods have banned me from most of the forums,,only members section is left.

ouch should have guessed it earlier. I feel the pain bro.

 

[he-man]

I wonder who started that trend.

We have to look at a system thats gold standard for success and not a failed and stupid system tht breeds hate.
Now do u want to be like saudi or usa??

It is the need of hour..Muslims need to be made role model every non-muslims. Do to them what they do to others. What you want is hindus to bend even more...ahm...looks like Kashmiri pundits were not moderate enough...

You are so far from reality...you probably know that.

Are u living in india??
If not excuse urself,u do not know whats happening.And before u call me sickular,pls look at my earlier posts.

Thanks.

 

[MilSpec]

Simplistic.

At that level of command, the sort of childish behaviour you are hinting at is largely eliminated. It is a tough service, and it is tough to get where he did.

First, get close to where he got, do a little of what he did, and then sit in judgement. A little less supercilious behaviour and writing would be in order.

Tu quoque?

Section of Indian civil society is introspecting to what seems like a sectarian issue, but that doesn't mean that our neighbors start to insinuate that India has become a non-tolerant state. We are still constitutionally the same as we were couple of years ago. Law and order situations are a challenge. And the doom and gloom being presented here is an exaggeration.

Incidents that have happened over killing a man over beef or dalit house being burnt is despicable, but our neighbors trying to score brownie points over it must also look at thier internal situation where minorities are pulled out of buses to be shot, blown up in their house of prayer. This holier that thou attitude that is being shoved at our face without any introspection needs re calibration, my post was to point at the same.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

It is a truth that muslims are more rigid that other religions,,,does that mean we start competing with them??

Well, nobody is competing with Muslims. The fear has no substance. People were killed for having cow meat. For protecting cows. What was at fault was the failure of law and order. Something that no one is focusing on.

 

[Sid N]

I don't imagine anything, I'm just trying to demystify this whole "hindu terror" thing that some of our 'imminent intellectuals' have been trying to highlight.

Atheism, as practiced in the west, is prone to fundamentalism too..

who is this "We" you speak of ?

and Christianity and Hinduism are political parties ? wut ?

i meant christianity or islam,typo.

 

[Omega007]

Now do u want to be like saudi or usa??

Both of those sucks diick!!The Scandinavian republics would do.

 

[Hulk]

Honourable President and Honourable Prime Minister,
It is with a heavy heart, that I write this open letter to you at a time when our beloved country and people are facing severe challenges and threats to our shared heritage.
I have served in the Armed Forces of India - joining soon after Independence as a 14 year old, to end up 45 years later Chief of the Indian Navy [1990 to 1993] I have witnessed many transitions in India - from the horrors of partition in 1947 to the very different world of digital connectivity that we see today.
I also write to you as one who was brought up in the Hindu faith. However, the Hinduism I knew and experienced was gentle, inclusive, and filled with extraordinary diversity. My religion taught me values of love and respect for all beings. My brand of Hinduism was not filled with the kind of violence, intolerance represented by the current brand of "Hindutva" that seems to be fanning the flames of division and fear across the country.
Today, as a veteran in my eighties, I am forced to hang my head in shame as I witness a series of incidents and assaults on our fellow citizens, especially minorities and Dalits. Our armed forces which I have had the honour to serve for 45 years, have been an exemplar of India's secular ethos. Be it in ships and submarines, or in planes and battle formations, we do not discriminate on the basis of caste or religion - we train, we fight, we live, we eat and we die together.
So why are we bearing witness to increasing attacks on minorities across the country, ever since the present government came to power in May 2014? It appears that certain communities are being singled out for special attention - for instance Muslims. Today a Muslim has to prove his or her loyalty, and they are being repeatedly put in a situation where their places of worship are under attack, as indeed their eating habits, and other basic freedoms. The instances of completely unacceptable and unilateral mob behaviour leading to many deaths as well as direct insinuations being made by senior leaders, are too numerous and well known to be repeated.
There seems to be a systematic and well orchestrated attempt to impose a majoritarian single point agenda of creating a Hindu Rashtra in India - led by the RSS and their network of groups, which is disturbing to say the least. This in turn has resulted in a dangerous pattern of mob behaviour including intimidating and lynching people merely on the basis of rumours - in total disregard for the established rule of law. In many cases those responsible for implementing the law, have themselves displayed blatant partisan tendencies and behaviour.
Most shocking of all is the fact there has been no unambiguous condemnation of such actions and behaviour by those at the helm of affairs in the country. Sadly, time and time again, the response of the government seems to indicate an almost studied, but certainly not benign, indifference. The co-ordinated response of those in government seems to be to downplay the serious and vicious nature of these allegations and attacks - by terming them 'sad' and 'unfortunate' - whereas there should be outrage and a demonstrated will to ensure that this society will not tolerate such behaviour. That there are MPs, Cabinet ministers and elected Chief Ministers who are in the forefront of these comments and actions, leads one to believe that the ruling party and its satellite organisations are working to a plan.
I do not need to point out to the top leadership today, that this is playing with fire in a nation where minorities - especially Muslims and Christians, as also Dalits and adivasis, are already feeling discriminated and marginalised. Instead of treating this amazing diversity as our strength, today we are being seen by the international community as increasingly insular, parochial, intolerant, racist and even fascist. The violence visited upon vulnerable sections reinforces the image of India as an imperfect democracy where all forms of dissent are discouraged and human rights trampled upon with impunity.
The Prime Minister and his ministers in the government are sworn in by the President of India, and they take an oath pledging to uphold the Indian Constitution. Their failure to do so, as evidenced in the foregoing, is a serious matter and does not augur well either for national security or national integrity. The Central and State Governments must act swiftly, unequivocally condemn all such incidents and ensure that justice will be done and the guilty are punished. Such action alone will have a salutary deterrent effect on all those, be they fringe or mainstream, who are speaking and acting in many voices that are totally against and inimical to, our traditional ethos and the syncretic culture of our country and its people.
India represents a unique blend of peoples and cultures which have evolved over 5000 plus years in a constantly changing and dynamic process. This diversity and unique nature of our society and people can probably never be replicated anywhere on this earth - and for this reason alone, the concept of a single religious identity or mono culture represents an insult to this ancient civilisational heritage.
Honourable Mr President, Honourable Mr Prime Minister, you have both sworn to honour the right of every single citizen to freedom of speech, worship, association as brilliantly articulated in the Indian Constitution. As a former serviceman and a veteran, like you, I too have promised to uphold the same constitution. It is our bounden duty that the elected Government of this nation must honour the rights of every citizen of this land as amply spelled out in the Preamble of the Constitution and further elaborated in the Directive Principles of state policy. As Supreme Commander and the Chief Executive - this is what you must ensure and implement by all the powers vested in you by the people of India.
If we do not stem the rot now - it might be too late. Indeed we the people of India look to you to take all steps necessary to restore faith in our democracy and in the promise of bringing dignity, fraternity and equality to each of our citizens.
Admiral L. Ramdas

"Forced to hang my head in shame": Former Navy chief writes open letter to President Mukherjee, PM Modi - The Times of India

You know what whenever BJP government comes to power in center. There are some people who work overtime in creating a fake atmosphere in India that religious tolerance is going down. Since there are many BJP haters in media they get coverage too and they simply love this. He is the same person who claimed that there is something going against Christians which turned out to be false. I am ashamed that this kind of bigot reached to level of Navy Chief.

The reality is that some organization who are dependent on foriegn money are feeling the pressure after ford foundation money has been stopped. These people for their personal benefit was running conversions in India in return for money.

 

[he-man]

Well, nobody is competing with Muslims. The fear has no substance. People were killed for having cow meat. For protecting cows. What was at fault was the failure of law and order. Something that no one is focusing on.

Oh no,,now don't try to be naive.

It has absolutely zilch to do with law and order.

Same as 1984,2002 and muzaffarnagar.

 

[AugenBlick]

We have to look at a system thats gold standard for success and not a failed and stupid system tht breeds hate.
Now do u want to be like saudi or usa??

Like this USA?
‘Devil’ Hindu woman fired from Air Force dental clinic, accused of ‘witchcraft’ — RT USA

 

[SarthakGanguly]

I mean i may be killed tomorrow if found eating beef for god's sake.It makes me shiver in fear.

Think about it. Only Haryana and Maharashtra has banned beef. We still are the top exporter of beef (unfortunately). If one unlawful incident has scared you to that extent I can't do much. People get robbed, killed, raped etc etc. Fear can't be a justification for making a point.

 

[Omega007]

Just ban all the religions and be done with it!!Problemo solved!!

 

[he-man]

Both of those sucks diick!!The Scandinavian republics would do.

Whatever man,i just want to live where i can do what i like.

 

[Bhoot Pishach]

Problem is we have 200 crore of these other people whom RSS etc are trying to tame and its just not possible.Its a futile effort which will lead bjp to victories but will fracture what was already a cracked india.

It already had Once in the Past in 1947.

Despite have not learned any lessons.

Still we feel pride in Sicular credentials. This Sicular Mentality will definitely going to divide it once again. Because we are very much worried about what will "Muslims" feel???

If something is good for others then that is also good for them. (Common Civil Code) why they oppose good things in the society?

This appeasement will again going to divide the country we are already late too late.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Oh no,,now don't try to be naive.

It has absolutely zilch to do with law and order.

Same as 1984,2002 and muzaffarnagar.

Nope. Think clearly. It has everything to do with Law and Order.

Whatever man,i just want to live where i can do what i like.

In moderation.

 

[he-man]

Think about it. Only Haryana and Maharashtra has banned beef. We still are the top exporter of beef (unfortunately). If one unlawful incident has scared you to that extent I can't do much. People get robbed, killed, raped etc etc. Fear can't be a justification for making a point.

Oh fear is a huge justification for making this point.