Apologies :: political post:: Mera Bharat Mahaan?

Mera Bharat Mahaan - This is a slogan that would touch the heart of any Indian. Literally translated it means "My India is Great".

Today is a very sad day in India's history. In a 'sting operation' a small Indian newspaper called Tehelka (literally translated Chaos) was able to get a bunch of small time politicians to confess to their roles in the 2002 riots in a State called Gujarat in India and also to the involvement of the Chief Minister of the state (akin to the governor of an American state). In an incident that we indians don't like recalling a large number of muslims were killed by Hindus in communal violence with active encouragement by the State government.

I don't feel its sad because the entire issue has been politicized and the very credibility of the report is being questioned. I feel it's sad because the people who appear on the tapes confessing to rape, murder etc. are still free over 24 hours after appearing on television confessing to these crimes and the government has not deemed it fit to even now arrest them. I can understand that the Chief minister cannot be deemed guilty because of other criminals saying that he supported them but what about catching at least those criminals who openly have admitted to their crimes? Or has this just been forgotten in the circus of politics in India?

A small excerpt from the Tehelka article. *Warning Disturbing* You can read the entire disturbing report on www.tehelka.com
Just under 5’3”, Babu Bajrangi—whose family name is Patel — is a towering figure in Naroda. Twenty-two years of association with the VHP and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, has firmly established him as the most dreaded local thug. Today, Bajrangi lords it over Naroda, and over Chharanagar in particular, where he commands a substantial following. Many Chharas appear to hold him in great reverence; he, in turn, is all praise for the criminal abilities he claims they possess, they are his “weapons”, he says, “just kill, nothing else”.

Bajrangi holds court at his office on the second floor of the Ajanta Ellora Shopping Complex, just off the highway that skirts Naroda. Though he claims to be a big builder with a steady monthly income of over a lakh and a half, his main vocation is beating up Muslims and Christians. “I just hate Muslims and Christians,” he says. And the cause dearest to his heart is to “rescue” Hindu girls who have married or eloped with Muslim boys. A majority of those who visit him each day are the parents of such girls. “When they go to the police, the cops don’t lodge a complaint, they send them to me,” Bajrangi claims. “Nine hundred and fifty-seven — that’s how many Hindu girls I have saved. On average, one girl married to a Muslim produces five children. So, in effect, I have killed 5,000 Muslims before they were born.”
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Kauser Bano, was nine months pregnant that day. Her belly was torn open and her foetus wrenched out, held aloft on the tip of a sword, then dashed to the ground and flung into a fire. Bajrangi recounts how he ripped apart “ek woh pregnant… b*******d sala”; how he showed Muslims the meaning of wrath—“If you harm us, we can respond — we’re no khichdi-kadhi lot”.

Mera Bharat Mahaan? It's been a sad 24 hours.

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

- Preamble to the constitution of India