Changing the World

 

Today, I started to, really, my really wanting-to-change-the-world a step forward.

This is just a log of this event.

Hope I don't stop wanting to change the world

Effects and Aftermaths (Fundamentalism)

Disclaimer: This opinion is truly mine and matter of fact, politics always leaves no evidence to trace.

Ivan Dias was appointed as, what is popularly known as Red Pope. He has succeeded very well. This effect is very evident in the recent and very obvious demographic shift in India in Religion terms. India never had a proper census record. So we do not know for fact if 1991 / 2001 is correct. Hopefully things change in at least 10 years after the the NUID are issued. But definitely 2011 is totally different.

Arundhati Roy made a few fantastic yet simple and trivial statement in 'God of Small Things', a matter of huge political importance and policy / law debate. Two of which I cite below.

The first one was comparing Communism and Christianity:

"... it had to do with the large population of
Christians in the state. Twenty percent of Kerala’s population were Syrian Christians, who believed
that they were descendants of the one hundred Brahmins whom St. Thomas the Apostle converted to Christianity when he traveled East after the Resurrection. Structurally–this somewhat rudimentary argument went–Marxism was a simple substitute for Christianity Replace God with Marx, Satan with the bourgeoisie, Heaven with a classless society the Church with the Party, and the form and purpose of the journey remained similar."

The second one about the real political issue, which today is left only to interpretation and there are no legal guidelines:

"When the British came to Malabar, a number of Paravans, Pelayas and Pulayas converted to Christianity and joined the Anglican Church to escape the scourge of Untouchability. As added incentive they were given a little food and money. They were known as the Rice Christians. It didn’t take them long to realize that they had jumped from the frying pan into the fire. They were made to have separate churches, with separate services, and separate priests. As a special favor they were even given their own separate Pariah Bishop. After Independence they found they were not entitled to any government benefits like job reservations or bank loans at low interest rates, because officially, on paper, they were Christians, and therefore casteless. It was a little like having to sweep away your footprints without a broom. Or worse, not being allowed to leave footprints at all."

To not loose the privilege / support given to the lower caste extended by the Government Muslims still use caste despite casteism being a purely Hindu doctrine. And so Christians would definitely follow suit. Since they are newly following a different religion it does not mean, according to them, to belong to a different caste. Though the exodus has been primarily to escape the clutches of untouchability (which though is diminishing, at least in Tamil Nadu / South) but to retain to use the benefits they still want to be called "Backward". Arun Shourie comments that, in India, communities pride to call themselves Backward so that, there is no fear of loosing their previlages. See this article / book (Falling over Backward). Hear is an article from Karnataka, JK.

But now what would be the effect of this and such events. The main cause of this is evangelism. Is India really Falling over Backward as Arun Shourie mentions, due to the government Policies that recommend Reservation and more and more communities seek this "Backward" status from government. What if the so called 'classified minorities' Christians and Muslims (who, really are not minorities, when compared to the size of the populace) also get the Backward status, because they are able to as a community, lobby the government and get the status and privilege that they want. If things go at this pace and direction, all communities will be classified Backward except for the Brahmins who definitely can't ask for this status. The main effect of this would be the rise of Hindu Fundamentalism or Hindutva. I don't want that. It is violence and chaos at a scale that has not been evidenced in the past. Not even during the world war.

Already aftermaths of the appointment of Ivan Dias as Red Pope are clear such as in recent violence in Orissa and Karnataka. This Hindu-Christian conflict is mainly due to greater evangelization. Though the Cardinal is capable of fighting against this fundamentalist forces, the methods of Christian congregations have mode for mass propaganda, which might, in fact, create opposition to the Hindu Fundamentalists. But it should not result in a civil war.

I am of the personal opinion that the Partition of India really did prevent a huge civil war that would have happened if India were not partitioned. Human mind rarely see the effects of something that could have happened since the course of history was different. Already there is tension around the world. The major factions being Christian, Zionists, Muslim fundamentalists.

There is a conspiracy theory that tells Zionists were behind 9/11. For over 2000 years, for land beyond the Ural mountains, the middle-east was considered Barbaric even thought there was Mesopotamia, Persia and host of other great kingdoms and civilization. Even to this day the east beyond the Ural is considered Barbaric by the West. We don't care.

But this demographic change should not create a huge civil war. The world moving towards globalization would be able to create Citizens of the World where there is culture but not nationalism. Borders would start to disappear and 10,000 years of wars for land would cease to exist. Even recent greatest war "World-War II" was for total dominance of the world. Religious factions / differences should not be used a new mechanism to separate and congregate people and cause new Wars. Of all countries in the World, India is the easiest prey for such a war because of the huge distribution in religious demographics. China does not have such diverse demographics nor does any other country in the world.

If there is one country in the world that can teach equality, secularism, and brotherhood of multicultural society to the world, it is undoubtedly it is India. But fundamentalists Hindu, Muslims and Christians are the major threat to it.

Conclusion: Fundamentalism is emerging as the new mode for conflicts rather than Nationalism and evangelization is one of the causes for rise in fundamentalism on either side.

Perhaps the Greatest Sucess in Marketing ever

Cardinal Ivan Dias was one of the top 10 candidates for the next Pope after the death of Pope John Paul II.

But he was awarded post of Red Pope later after Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany became Pope Benedict XVI.

The result is very evident and we see his success and his aftermaths / consequences infront of our eyes.