74 thoughts on “Biju vs. The Stanford Daily”

1. It is not as if FOSA has not previously perfected the art of the smear….

2. 49

   The congress ruled Bengal till the late seventies and there were no religious riots in that period as well.

3. Wasnt the IDRF involved in arming the thugs who killed hundreds of people in Gujarat. I guess that isnt too bad because I am sure all the Muslims killed in Gujarat were terrorists

   Yeah right, Biju Mathew took photographs and videos of IDRF folks arming people in Gujarat.. :-)).

   Their gripes against IDRF’s Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram was for “Hinduising” tribals. I don’t find anything wrong with that. I believe IDRF at the max, collects a million (or a couple ) dollars per year, a pithy amount compared to the total of 10000 crores of rupees flowing into India in the form of “well meaning” NGOs. link Looks like they won’t mind “soul saving” / “arabising” tribals.. :-))

4. Just all Hindus who like gujarati dokhla or pappadi are branded as foetus disembowlers at Godhara by our social workers like Biju Matthew and Angana. Right? Don’t say it didn’t happen, it did at Rice University in ’03

   Interesting article on activities of Biju and his “social workers” FOIL Primer

   Any reason why a computer science professor of Rider University would put Unabomber Manifesto on his website? What social or academic purpose does it serve? Any attendees of the YSS! summer camps around?

5. the smear campaign against the IDRF was a total and abject failure with the perpetrators not being able to substantiate any of their claims. they looked especially silly when it was discovered that the IDRF gave money to a christian-run program, amongst many others.

6. Wasnt the IDRF involved in arming the thugs who killed hundreds of people in Gujarat

   With a handle that links to ACLU, i know we cannot question you but I would like to get educated as to how you acquired this knowledge.

   I guess that isnt too bad because I am sure all the Muslims killed in Gujarat were terrorists.

   The sarcasm is stinging but please show me the post that says this.

7. “Hell hath no fury like a self-righteous who has been caught”

8. so while Mathews should have been allowed to speak and put forth his point of view, perhaps now FOSA knows what it feels like to be be the victim of a rumour campaign.

9. i just *HATE* the word ‘Islamist’. HATE IT. GRRRR. it makes it sound like dangerous frundamentalism is inherent in Islam. I understand that the word is to define the brand of bad fundamentalism (and evry faith has its own) that claims its roots in Islam but the word “islamist” suggests that the views of this faction are dominant and true. am i crazy?

   i just HATE the word ‘Hindutva’. HATE IT. GRRRR.

   it makes it sound like dangerous frundamentalism is inherent in Hinduism. I understand that the word is to define the brand of bad fundamentalism (and evry faith has its own) that claims its roots in Hinduism but the word “hindutva” suggests that the views of this faction are dominant and true.

   am i crazy?

   Just all Hindus who like gujarati dokhla or pappadi are branded as foetus disembowlers at Godhara by our social workers like Biju Matthew and Angana. Right? Don’t say it didn’t happen, it did at Rice University in ’03

   Only a small minority of dokhla-eating-hindus are rioters. The communists make it seem like all dhokla eaters are trying to kill muslims.

10. Nara: I dont know much about the IDRF (as you can tell by the fact that I did not make an assertion but posed a rhetorical question about the IDRF) I dont really keep track of the politics of either the IDRF or their detractors. I do remember reading at numerous places, about the alleged involvement of IDRF in the Gujarat riots and I also remember reading about the US State Department investigating the links between the IDRF and militant groups in India. I do read and rely on the Human Rights Watch usually for such issues and here is their take:

    http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/india0703/Gujarat-02.htm

    Foreign Funding of Sangh Parivar Activities The sangh parivar-sponsored militarization of a growing Hindu nationalist cadre enjoys political patronage, outright impunity, and, as evidence increasingly suggests, funding from Indians living abroad. Since the release of “We Have No Orders to Save You,” details have emerged identifying sangh parivar outfits in the United States and United Kingdom as major sources of funding for sangh activities in India. A November 2002 report titled The Foreign Exchange of Hate: IDRF and the American Funding of Hindutva, for example, documents the financial ties between the Indian Development and Relief Fund (“IDRF”), a U.S.-based charity, and sangh parivar groups that have been linked to attacks against Muslims and Christians and to forcible conversions of tribals to Hinduism.27 The report is based on analyses of more than 150 pieces of documentary evidence, almost three-quarters of which were published by the RSS and its affiliates. IDRF has rejected the allegations contained in the report and has asserted that it “does not subscribe to any religious, political, or sectarian agendas.”28 Many who donate to IDRF and other such groups do so for charitable and humanitarian purposes and likely are unaware of the uses of some of their funding.

    The Citizens’ Tribunal report states:

    · The Tribunal recorded evidence of the vast amounts of money at the sangh parivar’s disposal, to lure cadres, pay for advertisements in the mass media, print hate literature, hold arms training camps, distribute trishuls in lakhs for free and even employ fully paid cadres. · Fund-raising has become a zealous activity for the RSS and VHP, the latter known as the World Hindu Council abroad. Evidence before us suggests that organisations such as the Hindu Sevak Sangh (HSS), a U.K.-based `charity’ and many such fronts in the U.S. collect and contribute large sums of money to these organisations. · The VHP finances the Bajrang Dal, which remains an unregistered body, from the money it receives as donations for charitable work. · Evidence before the tribunal suggests that the VHP itself has floated several organisations through which it collects funds that are in addition to the contributions it receives from other sources. · The most active have been VHP (USA) and VHP (U.K.), both of which are also connected with other “charitable” societies in these countries.29

    The U.K. Charities Commission is reportedly under pressure from London-based South Asian organizations to withdraw the charity status of the U.K. unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, which have been accused of diverting charitable donations to fund sectarian violence in India.30 Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has asked the Justice Department to look into reports suggesting that the India Development Relief Fund is siphoning off funds received from major U.S. companies and individuals to RSS-run institutions with the express purpose of furthering the “Hindutva” agenda.31

    I guess that isnt too bad because I am sure all the Muslims killed in Gujarat were terrorists. The sarcasm is stinging but please show me the post that says this.

    Hang around here for a day or two and someone will make this astute observation.

11. Speaking of the Gujarat riots, I just read the testimony of Nashini Hussain about her dad (an ex member of the indian parliament) and a few dozen people who took refuge in their house and were all killed by a mob. The police apparently never showed up.

    I personally believe that Muslims living in cities with a history of sectarian violence like Ahmedabad or anywhere in UP are in a way irresponsible for not arming themselves especially when they are financially able to do so. A few dozen rounds of ammo and a few SLRs can hold back a rampaging crowd of semi-naked trishul clad hoodlums. I know all my relatives living in kasbas and cities across UP have guns to protect themselves. If you are living in Surat or Ahmedabad or Meerut or Bhagalpur you are pretty much forewarned that the police will not/cant come if your house gets surrounded by a mob.

12. Why do we get into these false dichotomies. Biju Mathews and Narendra Modi can both be condemned.

    So Biju Matthews may or may not have political opinions you disagree with and has helped organize taxi workers in New York and is a generally thoughtful person. Narendra Modi is complicit in (choose your word: [pogroms,genocide,massacres]) which not only targeted Muslims, but also led to backlash against Hindus. You’re comparing political opinions with complicity in murder (at minimum). And you’re equating these two men?

    People who sit in the comfort of a free capitalistic society and seek to foist communism on poor Indian’s disgust me. ABCD’s in particular have absolutely no idea about what they are talking about here.

    I can see how this might be annoying. I’ve been guilty of this on occasion. And I’ve also been annoyed with people who don’t know what the f@#k they’re talking about commenting about various other areas (from Brooklyn, Bangladesh, Iraq, etc.).

    I’m not clear on how many of the problems you talk about in WB have to do with the fact that the government is communist as much as that it has essentially enjoyed one-party dominance over the region for the past decades. I would guess it has to do with both to varying degrees. For example, from what I’ve heard, in recent years, it’s been engaged in projects to remove poor people so that large malls can be built for wealthy people to go shop at Pantaloons, which is not exactly a communist proposition–and more pertinently, humane in any sense.

    This, to me, strikes me as another indication that whether your party is called Communist, Democratic, Republican, Christian Democrat, BNP, Jammat-e-Islam, or otherwise, if you have no political opposition and have consolidated your rule, you can pretty much do whatever you want, including a whole lot of stupid, abusive, and poorly thought out shit. Moreover, outside of the realm of electoral analysis, if you have one dominant ideology and no one challenges it, you also end up doing a lot of stupid shit (for example, neoliberals in the United States in both the Democratic and Republican parties over the past 2-3 decades).

    But as someone who lives in a country where many people still look over their shoulders when they talk about Communism in anything less than a hostile light and dissident opinions have been systematically uprooted and/or excluded through immigration policy, McCartyhism, intimidation, and many other means, I can tell you that having a few socialists (or even Communists) around in some places is somewhat useful.

13. alfd:

    the human rights report you quoted seems to be nothing more than a requoting of the original, unsubstantiated campaign and report “Foreign Exchang of hate” and other reports put out by the same group of people. hardly what one would call original investigative work, either on the part of human rights watch or the authors of the original report. since none of their claims were substantiated and the idrf is going strong, despite the pressure by the indian american christian organization and christian and muslim organizations in india and the uk (who made up most of the south asian groups you mention) on the us state dept. etc., one has to wonder about their claims and why they could not substantiate any of it? and i wonder how many of the groups that complained about the idrf would explain what all their sources of funding are and where the money goes and for what type of work, especially in india?

14. “I personally believe that Muslims living in cities with a history of sectarian violence like Ahmedabad or anywhere in UP are in a way irresponsible for not arming themselves especially when they are financially able to do so.”

    does that also apply to hindus who live in cities with a history of sectarian violence and who have been on the receiving end, as recently in UP in Mau and other cities where they were attacked/killed for celebrating festivals or for refusing to shut down their shops to protest bush’s visit?

15. A few dozen rounds of ammo and a few SLRs can hold back a rampaging crowd of semi-naked trishul clad hoodlums

    This is needlessly inflammatory. Unworthy of you.

16. Also I still this in the IDRF logo Public Charity, Tax – Exempt Organization under U.S. Internal Revenue Code, Sec. 501(c)(3)

    Don’t know if the state dept. investigation is done or not. Can someone clarify?.. maybe Biju Mathew knows..

17. A few dozen rounds of ammo and a few SLRs can hold back a rampaging crowd of semi-naked trishul clad hoodlums

    This is needlessly inflammatory. Unworthy of you.

    Actually, there is truth to this. I want the vulnerable people armed.. The same thing goes for folks who have shops near mosques to guard against the Quran thumping hoodlums.. They just get a dose of quranic verses against kafirs/polytheists/idolators on friday come out and rampage the neighbors..

18. does that also apply to hindus who live in cities with a history of sectarian violence and who have been on the receiving end, as recently in UP in Mau and other cities where they were attacked/killed for celebrating festivals or for refusing to shut down their shops to protest bush’s visit?

    Yes, if the police wont come/cant come to save them, then yes, they should arm themselves. Private weapons are not illegal in India. I have talked to people who have been through terrible riots in Meerut, Surat and Bombay and and they have all expressed the view that the people who were the least likely to be killed were the ones who were armed. For some reason, the police does not show up in these places. If the police does not come to protect you then its incumbent upon the individuals to protect themselves as long as its legal. I am not advocating breaking the law. There is nothing wrong in arming yourself if it can protect you. I know guns in India are not illegal though I think fully automatic rifles are prohibited.

    This is needlessly inflammatory. Unworthy of you.

    I am not being inflammatory. I have consistent views on guns: http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/002150.html#comment23720

19. There is nothing wrong in arming yourself if it can protect you.

    Intelligent advice from referers of Human rights reports and self styled Gandhi followers.

20. amfd:

    i understand your point about innocent people dying because of ineffective police presence and i can see how being armed can help. however, i think going down the private gun ownership route in india, where people tend to get worked up sometimes over a variety of topics from religion to film stars, is dicey.

21. I dont believe this is an oppressor Hindus versus oppressed Muslim thing. I would have the same advice for a Kashmiri Pandit living in Srinagar or for a Hindu living in certain areas of Bangladesh where the police does not show up either. The other day I saw this documentary by Christiane Amanpour about these lower caste villagers in India who were being harassed by upper caste landlords in some remote village in Bihar. The women there took up arms as a means to protect themselves and the physical harassment stopped.

    however, i think going down the private gun ownership route in india, where people tend to get worked up sometimes over a variety of topics from religion to film stars, is dicey.

    They already have private gun ownership in India though its heavily regulated and licensed as I understand.

22. amfd:

    i don’t know much about gun ownership in india, but in the course of looking found this site: http://www.abhijeetsingh.com/arms/india/

    the author seems to agree with you in terms of guns being a deterrent.

23. taz, the photo you linked points to cobrapost.com – the seemingly non-aligned blog who conducted operation duryodhana – is afterall a communist mischief!

    The following passage makes it clear, without doubt, that FOSA and others have roots in Communist Party of India.

    Although great work is being done by organizations that have long predated DESIst such as AID, ADP, ASATA, FOSA, CAC, SACA, PBN etc these each have their particular organizational and functional limitations that prevent them, for one reason or another, from being the vehicle or the impetus for the building of a radical anti-imperialist South Asian anti-war movement. In some cases these organizations exist under charters that are more ‘developmental’ (AID) in focus or charitable in nature, resulting in politics centered around the zealous protection of some sort of non-profit or 501c(3) status. In other cases the particular organization has a more regional, religious, linguistic, or ethnic thrust which is bluntly and unabashedly exclusionary – again less than conducive to the discussions and analysis that would necessarily be needed to transcend these boundaries in building a broad participatory movement that can truly be labeled South Asian. This is in no way meant to disparage or belittle the real work being done to push the boundaries within these organizations by committed comrades who have decided to tackle the hard work of engaging these issues from the inside rather than criticizing from without. The point here is more that regardless of how much effort is expended in ensuring that an anti-imperialist philosophy consciously permeates these organizations, they ultimately have different purposes and need to function in manners expedient to the reasons for their existence. What is imperative here though is that DESIst could not have come together without the years or decades of groundwork done by organizations and comrades in the Bay Area to create a context in which DESIst can exist. Lastly, it would be unfair and dishonest to leave readers with in impression that the Bay Area has never previously seen South Asian organizations come together for similar political purposes. South Asians for Collective Action in particular is a group that has seen many years and many rallies beneath a yellowing banner that still hails proudly at every antiwar march.

24. From the link WGIA gave:

    ment, under Lord Lytton as Viceroy (1874 -1880), brought into existence the Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878); an act which, exempted Europeans and ensured that no Indian could possess a weapon of any description unless the British masters considered him a “loyal” subject of the British Empire. An example of British thinking in colonial times: “No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. He, who has nothing, and who himself belongs to another, must be defended by him, whose property he is, and needs no arms. But he, who thinks he is his own master, and has what he can call his own, ought to have arms to defend himself, and what he possesses; else he lives precariously, and at discretion.” –James Burgh (Political Disquisitions: Or, an Enquiry into Public Errors, Defects, and Abuses) [London, 1774-1775]