Got a mail forward from my sis Anu. Enjoy!

In spite of what you have been told by everyone, the truth is that Valentine’s Day originated hundreds of years ago, in India, and to top it all, in Gujarat!!

It is a well known fact that Gujarati men, specially the Patels, continually mistreat and disrespect their wives (Patelianis) . One fine day, it happened to be the 14th day of February, one brave Pateliani, having had enough “torture” by her husband, finally chose to rebel by beating him up with a Velan (rolling pin).

Yes…the same Velan which she used daily, to make chapattis for him….only this time, instead of the dough, it was the husband who was flattened.

This was a momentous occasion for all Gujarati women and a revolt soon spread, like wild fire, with thousands of housewives beating up their husbands with the Velan.

There was an outburst of moaning “chapatti-ed” husbands all over Anand and Ahmadabad. The Patel men-folk quickly learned their lesson and started to behave more respectfully with their Patelianis.

Thereafter, on 14th February, every year, the womenfolk of Gujarat would beat up their husbands, to commemorate that eventful day.The wives having the satisfaction of beating up their husbands with the Velan and the men having the supreme joy of submitting to the will of the women they loved.
Soon The Gujju men realised that in order to avoid this ordeal they need to present gifts to their wives….they brought flowers and sweetmeats.
Hence the tradition began.

As Gujarat fell under the influence of Western culture, that day was called ‘Velan time‘ day.

The ritual soon spread to Britain and many other Western countries, specifically, the catch words ‘Velan time!’. Of course in their foreign tongues, it was first anglosised to ‘Velantime’ and then to ‘Valentine’. And thereafter, 14th of February, came to be known as Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentines day everyone!

For a long time, any rationalists like me saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where’s the harm?

Mass genocide of World War II changed that, innumerable riots in my country changed that, “Ram Janambhumi – Babri Masjid” changed that, Gujarat Massacre changed that, September 11th changed that. And now, the recent Mumbai Massacre changed that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense; it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labeled only by a difference of inherited tradition. Dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let’s now stop being so damned respectful!

On February 6, 2006, three Pakistanis died in Peshawar and Lahore during violent street protests against Danish cartoons that had satirized the Prophet Muhammad. More such mass protests followed weeks later. When Pakistanis and other Muslims are willing to take to the streets, even suffer death, to protest an insulting cartoon published in Denmark, is it fair to ask: Who in the Muslim world, who in Pakistan, is ready to take to the streets to protest the mass murders of real people, not cartoon characters, right next door in Mumbai?

I am sad. I am angry. Not only for the destruction of hundreds innocent lives. I am deeply hurt by these one after another blow to collective human spirit. I am scared by the increasing probability of the fact that now one non-Muslim will look at a Muslim with more mindful of doubts, fear and prejudices. I am scared for you my friend. Now, no one but you can take the first step against this marching parade of lunatics. Only you can start the jihad against this state-of-fear!

The only terrorist who were captured alive – is just a 21 years old boy!

What kind of brainwash can fill up a 21 years old heart with so much bitterness and hatred? Did he never hugged a kid? Never kissed a girl? Never walked in rain alone and thought, life is not bad after all?

Don’t you have the fundamental duty to condemn everything related to this monstrosity? Stop being just an apologist, I desperately need to see your rage! If your sacred-religious-holy-believe played even 1% part in this, don’t you have a moral obligation to be vocal against that? If your fundamental believes are susceptible to a misinterpretation in this humungous proportion, don’t you HAVE to stand up and scream – I am NOT part of this barbarism!

Instead, to my utter disbelief, I find that you are too busy to decide if Yoga is haram or not! 

Instead, I receive chain mails from some of you, somehow justifying the Mumbai massacre by the ill-treatments of Muslims in India. Well my friends, here are two points summary for you -

1. Over 90% of Muslims in India are descended from people of converted muslims, people from lower socio-economical strata. They had no other options to escape from the barbaric and ugly manifestations of Hindu caste based discriminations. And unfortunately that sorry state of classification never changed. It’s nothing unique, many civilizations face the similar carry-forward effect of socio-economic strata in various form and format. The religious rigidity didn’t help much either.
2. There are plenty of Muslims in India who are successful, ironically much more successful than Muslims in Islamic countries. Ever heard of Abdul Kalam? All the top actors in Bollywood are Khans! I can go on, but what’s the point!

Also, please do not try to tell me that all of these are just misinterpretation and Islam got nothing to do with it. Just as a random example -

They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah’s way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.

~Koran 4.89.

[Just an example verse; there’s a lot more of this nonsense. In case this comforts you - not only Koran; all Abrahamic religious scriptures are full with same tonality of aggressive medieval statements. Fundamentalist Hindu’s are oxymoron by definition, there are NO ‘fundamentals’ in Hinduism to start with. Still they are too all ready to take another human life in the name of their own imaginary friends]

It is the time for you to stand up my friends, to declare those can’t be the god’s words. This is the time to declare you are not only sorry about the incidents, rather you are ready to take on face-to-face with all those murderers.

Because, this kind of murderous violence only can stop when all the good Muslims, including the community elders and spiritual leaders who want a decent future for their country — declares, as a collective, that those who carry out such murders are shameful unbelievers who will not dance with virgins in heaven but burn in hell. And they do it with the same vehemence with which they denounce Danish cartoons.

Let there be light. It’s too dark here now.

Please also read : Thomas L. Friedman | Preet-O | Julia Suryakusuma

Mera naam Bilqis Yakub Rasool
Mujhse hui bas ek hi bhool
Ki jab dhhundhhte thhe vo Ram ko
To maen kharhi thhi rah mein

Pehle ek ne puchha na mujhe kuchh pata thha
Dujey ko bhi mera yehi javab thha
Fir itno ne puchha ki mera ab saval hai ki

Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan the
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain

Mera naam shriman Satyendra Dubey
Jo kehna thha vo keh chukey
Ab parhey hain rah mein
Dil mein liye ik goli

Bas itna kasur ki hamne likha thha
Vo sach jo har kisi ki zuban thha
Par sach yahan ho jatey hain zahriley

Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan the
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain

Mujhe kehte hain anna Manjunath
Maine dekhi bhatakti ek laash
Zamir ki beech sarhak Lakhimpur Kherhi

Adarsh phasan jahan naaron mein
Aur chor bharey darbaron mein
Vahan maut akhlaq ki hai ik khabar baasi

Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan hain
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain

Mazha nau aahe Navleen Kumar
Unnees june unnees var
Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees vaar

Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees vaar

Looto dehaat kholo bazaar
Nallasopara aur Virar
Chheeno zameen hamse hamein
Bhejo pataal

Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan hain
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain

Rabbi Shergill’s new song Bilqis (Jinhe naaz hai) from his latest album “Avengi jaa nahin” builds upon one line from the song “Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan hain” from the movie “Pyaasa” (which in turn was a simplified version of Sahir Ludhianvi’s nazm “Chakley”). The powerful lyrics of the song presented in form of words of Bilqis Yakub Rassol, Satyendra Dubey, Manjunath and Navleen Kumar has wonderfully captured the emotional anguish and questions of victims of communal violence and the new-age martyrs who paid with their lives for raising voice against corruption and fighting for rights of dispossessed people. The interspersed Indian national anthem tune and the song reaching crescendo with “unnees” repeated nineteen times add the desired strong impact and leaves you spellbound. Throughout the song, you could feel the haunting voice of the martyrs questioning us – Where are those who were proud of India, Where are those who are proud…
Hope such beautifully composed song doesn’t get unnoticed and gets well-deserved recognition.

Translation in English:

My name is Bilqis Yakub Rasool
I committed just one mistake
That I stood in their way
When they were looking for Ram

First, one asked me but I knew nothing
Then another but my answer was the same
Then so many that now I have a question
Where are those who were proud of India
Where are those who are proud

My name gentlemen is Satyendra Dubey
I’ve already said what I wanted to say
Now I lie on the road
With a bullet in my heart

My only fault being that I wrote
A truth that was on everyone’s lips
But truth here turn poisonous

Where are those who were proud of India
Where are those who are proud

My name brother is Manjunath
I’ve seen the corpse of conscience lying
In the middle of the road at Lakhimpur Kherhi

Where ideals are stuck in slogans
And the royal courts are full of thieves
There the death of righteousness is old news

Where are those who were proud of India
Where are those who are proud

My name is Navleen Kumar
Nineteenth June and nineteen wounds
Nineteen nineteen nineteen nineteen
Nineteen wounds

Nineteen nineteen nineteen nineteen
Nineteen nineteen nineteen nineteen
Nineteen nineteen nineteen nineteen

Nineteen wounds
Loot the villages and open markets
Nallasopara and Virar
Snatch our land and send us to
Hell

Where are those who were proud of India
Where are those who are proud

Source

From YoutTube description : This is an entertaining and educational video in Telugu on Condom usage, to prevent from sexually transmitted infections and HIV, from Nrityanjali Academy, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Enjoy!

Prelude: I read this report through multiple RSS feeds yesterday night, and today morning mentioned this to one of my colleague, who is a ‘person of Indian origin’ and in general I respect his intelligence and opinions. Unfortunately we do not share same point of view about religion. All hell broke loose and the following debate was (very) heated!

Anyway, just to clarify,

1. I am NOT only against ‘Hindu fundamentalism’, I am against all religious fundamentalism. Rather let me say, I believe (all) religions poison everything!
2. Tehelka constantly target ‘Hindu right wing’, I agree, but the point is, they bring proof. Period! Why they don’t go after ‘other’ religious fundamentalists? Yes, I believe they should. But that doesn’t nullify the true investigative journalism they bring to the table. 
3. There are no Perspective difference of ‘Truth’ when it’s proven. It’s called beyond reasonable doubt.

Tehelka has proof on camera that brings to light the compliance of the State machinery in Gujarat in the riots in 2002. It is reported that Narendra Modi gave the rioters 3 days to do what they wished. He asked the administration to look the other way, while the genocide unfurled.

Watch this video of Babu Bajrangi, A local Bajrang Dal leader and one of the main conspirators. And be very very scared and ashamed!

Contents of the full report at Tehelka:

First-hand accounts from the men who plotted and executed the genocide in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Sabarkantha. Mayhem was meticulously planned and carried out by VHP-Bajrang Dal cadres across Muslim localities. READ »

The VHP and the Bajrang Dal manufactured and distributed lethal weapons across the state, often with the connivance of the police. READ »

Shocking accounts of how the guardians of the law colluded with the outlaws to make Gujarat’s horror even worse. READ »

Key BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists speak openly of how Narendra Modi blessed the anti-Muslim pogrom . READ »

How public prosecutors ran with the hare and hunted with the hound, keeping their sympathies strictly for the accused. Government Counsel Arvind Pandya on how he hopes to subvert justice by manipulating the Nanavati-Shah Commission, set up to ascertain the truth. READ »

The truth behind Naroda Patiya, the grisliest massacre of 2002. Ahmedabad police’s collusion in the pogrom and its cover-up. Gory details of how former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was hacked limb by limb at Gulbarg Society, in the words of those who did it. READ »

How spontaneous mob fury was shown as a premeditated conspiracy by the police who produced fake witnesses by bribing, coercion and torture. READ »

BTW never underestimate the power of Panipuri

I have a strong believe that only if I invested the ‘routine-making’ and scheduling time in doing the actual stuff – I could have secured a place in an Ivy League school! Well, not like that laziness only has a dark side; on a brighter note, I get exposed to many eye opening knowledge bytes on National Geographic or Discovery Channel just because of my sheer laziness impedes me to find out the remote control so that I can change the channel to MTV!

Sounds familiar? I bet you do, because I am certain that the BigBangBong readers are as lazy and procrastinator as the authors of it. Otherwise how do you explain that someone Googled for “Tinkerbell’s Big Butt” (found at our Blog Stats) and landed up in BBB? Now, I am not amazed by the search pattern here; but I am surprised, how the hell this secret got leaked into the cyberspace?? The search is on to find out the criminal. If we can’t get a definitive answer soon, we know whom to blame here – that’s must be Khalid Sheikh Mohammad!

This month, Mohammed testified before a closed-door hearing in Guantánamo Bay. According to transcripts of the hearing released by the Pentagon, he said “I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z, plus several dozens of other crimes!” The list of Muhammad’s Confession is long (similar to my ’to-blog’ list), and I don’t have the patience to read all of it, but I can guess it looks like this -

I hereby admit and affirm without duress to the following:
1. I was the Operational Director for Sheikh Osama Bin Laden for the organizing, planning, follow-up, and execution of the 9/11 Operation.
…………………
4. I was responsible for the Shoe Bomber Operation to down two American airplanes.
…………………
6. I was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, which was frequented by British and Australian nationals.
……………….
30. Who let the dogs out? That was me too!

Yeah, now without doubt, we can blame him for anything!

Anyway, as you can imagine the simplest answer of the rhetoric question – why all the lazy, procrastinators are overcrowding the cyberspace. Because out of all, this is the laziest place we could find! I stopped opening those damn handwritten letters or (snail mails – old school morons!) with the serious excuse of Anthrax threat, my junk mail filter is super strong – it eats almost every emails. Now only I can develop enough amount of ear wax – I can be completely off the grid! Then, I can enjoy the serenity of cyberspace, without the interference of stupid outside real world! I even decided to stop using any capital letters for mails etc, pressing that ‘Shift-Key” is just an added unnecessary step.

But, alas, disruption happens! Like today, I started my ritual of wanton surfing. First I had a dose of cute overload by watching the online videos like Otters Holding Hands or the Baby Polar Bear. These are so sweet; I had to skip the sugar for my 6th cup of coffee, just to avoid hyperglycemia! After that, just when I started digging up and enjoying the cool videos of Wonderbra Malfunction and Banned Commercial on Flavored Condoms, BANG! My friend Asuthosh sent me couple of links via GTalk!

India’s missing girls from Guardian Unlimited

Daughters aren’t wanted in India. So many female foetuses are illegally aborted that baby boys now hugely outnumber baby girls, while a government minister has begged parents to abandon their children rather than kill them. What does this mean for the country’s future…

Witch hunt from Guardian Unlimited

Sona’s mother was murdered and dismembered; Kalo was attacked with a saw and scarred for life. Hundreds of other Indian women are killed or disfigured every year after being branded witches by their neighbours.

My cyberspace procrastinator’s paradise lost! Where I was planning to spend some time thinking about some important issues, like, what to do with Indian cricket team, who killed Bob Woolmer, or the current heart condition of Saif Ali Khan, even who is going to win next American Idol, and suddenly, all these disturbances! Duh!

With a bad taste in mouth, I decided to take an afternoon nap, but… my mind was somewhere else. I thought of counting sheep; but after Tinkerbell wrote the post about that stupid 15% Human Sheep – all the sheep related stuffs raise so many moral questions in mind. Like if you are counting sheep jumping over the fence to fall asleep, just remember – those are 15% human, and naked! Isn’t it kind of a pervert act? At least 15% pervert? Forget about those mutton curries, even if you think about those – you can be declared as 15% cannibal!

So here I am – sitting like the sad Kermit, listening to the “Symphony of Bullets” from Baghdad and venting all out at BigBangBong!

Otters holding hands

“Symphony of Bullets” – Hometown Baghdad

Sad Kermit – Hurt

By the time you read this news, the body of Major Manish Pitambare, who was shot dead at Anantnag, would have been cremated with full military honors.

On Tuesday, this news swept across all the news channels ’Sanjay Dutt relieved by court’. ’Sirf Munna not a bhai’ ’13 saal ka vanvaas khatam’ ’although found guilty for possession of armory, Sanjay can breath sigh of relief as all the TADA charges against him are withdrawn’ Then many personalities like Salman Khan said ’He is a good person. We knew he will come out clean’. Mr Big B said “Dutt’s family and our family have relations for years he’s a good kid. He is like elder brother to Abhishek”. His sister Priya Dutt said “We can sleep well tonight. It’s a great relief”

In other news, Parliament was mad at Indian team for performing bad; Greg Chappell said something; Shah Rukh Khan replaces Amitabh in KBC and other such stuff. But most of the emphasis was given on Sanjay Dutt’s “phoenix like” comeback from the ashes of terrorist charges. Surfing through the channels, one news on BBC startled me. It read “Hisbul Mujahidin’s most wanted terrorist ’Sohel Faisal’ killed in Anantnag , India . Indian Major leading the operation lost his life in the process. Four others are injured”.

It was past midnight, I started visiting the stupid Indian channels, but Sanjay Dutt was still ruling. They were telling how Sanjay pleaded to the court saying ’I’m the sole bread earner for my family’, ’I have a daughter who is studying in US’ and so on. Then they showed how Sanjay was not wearing his lucky blue shirt while he was hearing the verdict and also how he went to every temple and prayed for the last few months. A suspect in Mumbai bomb blasts, convicted under armory act…was being transformed into a hero.

Sure Sanjay Dutt has a daughter; Sure he did not do any terrorist activity. Possessing an AK47 is considered too elementary in terrorist community and also one who possesses an AK47 has a right to possess a pistol so that again is not such a big crime; Sure Sanjay Dutt went to all the temples; Sure he did a lot of Gandhigiri but then………..

Major Manish H Pitambare got the information from his sources about the terrorists’ whereabouts. Wasting no time he attacked the camp, killed Hisbul Mujahidin’s supremo and in the process lost his life to the bullets fired from an AK47. He is survived by a wife and daughter (just like Sanjay Dutt) who’s only 18 months old.

Major Manish never said ’I have a daughter’ before he took the decision to attack the terrorists in the darkest of nights. He never thought about having a family and he being the bread earner. No news channel covered this since they were too busy hyping a former drug addict, a suspect who’s linked to bomb blasts which killed hundreds. Their aim was to show how he defied the TADA charges and they were so successful that his conviction in possession of armory had no meaning. They also concluded that his parents in heaven must be happy and proud of him.

Parents of Major Manish are still living and they have to live rest of their lives without their beloved son. His daughter won’t ever see her daddy again. Finally Major Manish, to my generation is a greater hero, someone who laid his life in the name of this great nation.

So guys, please forward this message around so that the media knows which news to give importance, as it is a shame for us since this Army Major’s death news was given by a foreign TV channel!!!