MMA: Pain in the neck

The emergence of anti-US pro-Taliban six-party Islami coalition, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in the recent Pakistan elections is giving sleepless nights to the British and US diplomats in Islamabad. They are perturbed because these religious parties are propagating jehad, the word the West is allergic to. They envision that in case MMA comes to power then the anti-US and the anti-British forces in Afghanistan will get strength. What is adding to the trouble of British diplomats is the fact that the British government has banned the entry of a number of Pakistani religious leaders into Britian and a few of them may become a part of the new government. If these leaders become a part of the government then the British government will not be able to stop them from visiting Britain for official purposes. This development will be disturbing for both Britain and the USA as both the countries have already banned the entry of the MMA's secretary-general and prime ministerial candidate Fazlur Rehman.

Keeping this in view the US and Britian, according to a report in Pakistani newspaper Nawai Waqt, have informed the Pakistani Government about their reservations about government formation by MMA. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the meetings of Fazlur Rehman with the ambassadors of USA, Britain and other western countries have already failed.

Meanwhile, President Musharraf has sent a message to one vice-president of the MMA informing him about US-British reservations and said that the MMA should not get the Prime Minister's post as well as the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Education. Instead of these other ministries can be given to the MMA because these ministries are somehow related to the US operations against the Al-Qaeda and at this stage the USA and the Britain will not tolerate any interference from the MMA in the present situation. Now it remains to be seen whether MMA accepts this proposition or not as it has not only swept the polls in the north-west frontier province and won a significant number of seats in Baluchistan, but has won enough seats in the National Assembly to hold the balance of power at the Centre.

Pension for Hindu Homicide

On the barren hillside between Thuvoor and Karuvayakandi in north Kerala, there is a well. Beside it, on the barren hilltop, on August 24, 1921 Chambrassery Imbichi Koithangal along with more than 4,000 of his followers had organised a massive rally. Under the solitary tree on the hillside stood Thangal and surveyed the 40 or so people who cowered before him, their hands tied behind their backs. All of them were Hindus. The charge against them was read out. According to the mob, these Hindus had connived with the army against the Muslim extremists who were fighting for an Islamic state in north-Malabar. Thirty three of the Hindus were given death punishment. The first three were shot to death on the spot. The rest were taken to the nearby well one after the other, like lambs in a slaughter-house.

The executioner stood near the well. There, each of the Hindus was made to bend and was held down. Then the axeman started his gruesome task. Most of the Hindus were beheaded and their bodies were thrown into the well. Some of them did not die instantly but were thrown into the well mortally wounded. The well was hewn out of solid rock. There was no wall around it. Those who survived the fall were to die a slow agonising death among the bloody corpses. Three days after the bloodbath people could hear cries from the well but were too terrified to help. Anyone who comes to visit the place can see the horrible remains. The well bottom is filled with the skeletons of the dead.

The massacre at Thuvoor was only one of the incidents of the Moplah Riot of 1921 in north Kerala. More than 2,500 Hindus—men, women and children—perished in this infamous incident. About 30,000 Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. The conversion ceremony included the mandatory eating of beef by the new converts. Two lakh Hindus had to flee their homes. Abduction and rape of Hindu women were widespread. Gandhiji lamented that his Muslim brothers “had gone mad” in Malabar. Dr B.R. Ambedkar described the Malabar riot as an “inhuman uncontrolled savagery”. A report on the riot brought out by the Kozhikode District Congress Kerala Committee said that “Hindu men, women and children were murdered for the sole reason of being kafirs”.

The Marxist government led by E.M.S. Namboothiripad twisted the history by classifying the Moplah Riot as a part of the freedom movement, and today many of those who participated in the riots receive freedom fighter's pension.

A dream come true

Hinduism in Oxford

Passage to India

The first bridge we have ever heard about was built by Rama who wanted to reach Lanka. Now, Sri Lanka's Buddhist Prime Minister Shri Ranil Wickeramasinghe has handed over to his Indian counterpart a concept report about the need of a new, modern-day bridge between the two countries. The proposal was aired by Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in India Shri Mangala Moonsinghe recently. The site selected is between Dhanushkodi and Talaimanner, that is less than 25 kilometers. The Sri Lankans believe that Hanuman had crossed the sea from the same site. There is Sita Eliya (Eliya means light), on a mountain in Sri Lanka where Sita was supposed to have been held in captivity. There are huge granite slabs and the water of streams gushing out from several places are supposed to be the bathing ghats used by Sita. In a wide area the land is always dark. Ask any Sri Lankan, he will tell that this is the area that Hanuman burnt when his tail was put on fire.

Treasure Troves in Orissa

The Orissa State Museum, that embarked on a mission to trace missing and uncared for antiques and heritage objects has recently stumbled upon a virtual treasure trove of Buddhist history. The museum acquired 325 punched silver coins presumably dating back to the period between 10th century BC and 6th century AD lying at Tarava police station in Sonepur district since 1990. The treasure is expected to throw significant light on the Buddhist past of the State. Discovered from the Suk Tel river Valley, the silver medallions are the first of their kind to be found in the State. The booty was acquired by the museum in keeping with its new policy of routing out rotting ancient relics and taking steps to preserve them. It may soon also take possession of the ashtadhatu Buddha statue seized by the Cuttack police from a gang of idol lifters. The antiquity of the coins is hardly in doubt since Sakma, the place they were unearthed, has been described as Sukamitrapur in the ancient Buddhist texts. Besides, Suk Tel itself happens to be a tributary of Tel or the Telbahana mentioned in the Jatakas. Other archaeological remains excavated from the area also vouch for its antiquity.

The coins bear nature-related and animal symbols that make for fascinating numismatic study. The nature related symbols include the sun, trees, rivers and hills while deer, dog, hare, serpent, frog, fish and bull are some of the animals engraved on them. Their standard weight comes to 32 raktikas or 57.6 grains.

Sources say that these coins constitute the oldest coinage struck in the country. While some of them might have been issued by a central imperial authority, others emanated from the fiats of provincial authorities of their time.

Extreme serendipity seems to be ruling Buddhist research in the State and if things continue in this vein, Orissa might soon become the most important place of pilgrimage for the followers of Buddha around the world.