Several stories in the Jataka implicitly suggest that people had a
right to overthrow a king who was cruel, unjust or incompetent
(Ja.I,326; III,513-14; VI,156).
Uneasy is the Head-Aggañña Sutta is the 27th Sutta of the Digha Nikaya collection.-
Caste is absolutely important. Examine the Karnataka assembly polls
from any angle, you will realize that caste occupies centre stage. Only
caste calculations are being spoken at the grassroots-
Yesterday the world’s last Hindu king was unceremoniously dethroned and
an institution that stretched back to Vedic times came to an end. King
Gayanendra was, by all accounts, the wrong man at the wrong time –
aloof, arrogant and more concerned with his business interests than his
people. Had his predecessor, the popular Birendra, still been alive the
Indian tradition of kingship might have clung on. It lasted in India
until 1947 when about 260 Hindu kings were un-deified and then slowly
driven into penury by the tax man. I once had tea with the Maharaja of
Benares in his crumbling and ill-lit palace. There was plastic on the
chairs in a vain and half-hearted attempt to keep the dust off them and
we were served slightly stale Britannia biscuits. The maha and long gone out of the raja.
Nepal now stands at a fork in the road. It’s going to be either
‘Prachandra, infallible leader of the glorious Nepalese working people
and president for life’ or a colorless nonentity ‘His Excellency’
elected for a five year tenure.
The Pali words for king are manujinda, narinda and raja. The Buddha defined royal rulers thus; ‘a king is the chief of men’ (raja mukham manussanam,
Sn.568). Different religions have different theories about the origins
and nature of kinship. The Bible for example, says that all rulers
derive their power from God and thus to obey the king is to obey God
(Romans 13,1-2). In Europe this doctrine came to be known as ‘the divine
right of kings’. Queen Elizabeth still officially rules ‘by the grace
of God’ although in fact she actually rules by the assent of the people
who can be nearly as fickle and petulant as God. Confucianism taught a
similar idea called ‘the mandate of Heaven.’ According to Hinduism,
kings actually were gods. It naturally followed from all this that a
king’s legitimacy was not derived from his fitness to rule but from
divine assent or approval.
The Buddha had an entirely different and more realistic concept of kings and kingship.
In the Agganna Sutta he posited a social contract theory of monarchy.
In ancient days, he said, people saw the need for some form of
government and so they elected from amongst themselves a person who they
thought would be best able to rule them. According to the Hindu myth,
the first king of India was Mahasammata, a name which the Buddha
reinterpreted in support of his idea to mean ‘elected by the majority’
(D.III,93; Ja.II,352). Thus according to the Buddhist theory, kings
derived their legitimacy from general consent, i.e. from the people they
ruled. It followed from this that a king retained his right to rule
only for so long as his subjects benefited from it. Several stories in
the Jataka implicitly suggest that people had a right to overthrow a
king who was cruel, unjust or incompetent (Ja.I,326; III,513-14;
VI,156).
Such ideas were far too ahead of their time and there is little evidence
that they were ever applied. However, the Buddha’s teaching of good
governance had some influence in making kings more humane. The best
example of this is Asoka who was probably being completely genuine when
he said: ‘All subjects are my children. I wish for them what I wish for
my own children - their welfare and happiness both in this world and the
next.’
While the Tipitaka and later literature always exhort kings
to abide by Buddhist values, the general impression they give, almost
certainly based on hard experience, is of kings as despotic, arbitrary,
self-indulgent and ruthless. ‘Kings are fickle-minded,’ ‘Kings are
cruel,’ ‘Like a raging fire, kings are dangerous to be near’ (Ja.IV,432;
V,345; VI,419). Some were described as being ‘like dust in the eye,
like grit in the soup, like a thorn in the heel’ (Ja.II,240). When King
Milinda asked Nagasena if they could have a discussion on the Dhamma the
latter said: ‘Sire, I will discuss with you if you do so like a learned
person and not like a king.’ Milinda asked what the difference was
between these two approaches were and Nagasena replied: ‘When the
learned are discussing, beliefs are overturned, theories are unravelled,
assertions are refuted, ideas are accepted, points are made and other
points are made against them. When kings are discussing they say
something and punish anyone who disagrees with it’ (Mil.28-9).
Whether
kings were good or bad, they had great power and the Buddha modified
some of his teachings so as to avoid coming into conflict with them. In
deference to the monarch he said that a person could not join the Sangha
until they have fulfilled any obligations they had to the king
(Vin.I,39) and that Vinaya rules could be changed if the king required
it (Vin.I,137). At the same time he told monks and nuns to steer clear
of royal courts so as not to get involved in all their intrigues,
jealousies and temptations (A.V, 81).
The three kings who appear most
frequently in the Tipitaka are Pasenadi of Kosala, Bimbisara of Magadha
and his son and heir Ajatasattu. It was about two years after his
enlightenment that the Buddha first met King Pasadeni in Savatthi, the
capital of Kosaka (S.I,68). Impressed by his teaching, the king and his
chief queen Mallika soon became two of the Buddha’s most dedicated
disciples. Many discourses in the Tipitaka record dialogues between the
Buddha and the king and nearly all the discourses in one chapter of the
Samyutta Nikaya consists of such dialogues (S.I,68-102). Pasenadi’s
genuine integration of the Dhamma into his life is nowhere better
illustrated than by the fact that his commitment to the Buddha’s
teachings did not prevent him from having respect for and being generous
towards other religions (S.I,78; Ud.14). According to tradition,
Pasadeni had two sons, one of whom, Brahmadatta, became a monk
(Th.441-6).
Bimbisara came to the throne at the age of 15 and ruled
for 52 years. He had met Prince Siddhattha briefly while he was still a
wandering ascetic (Sn.408-9), again in the year after his enlightenment
and on several subsequent occasions. Bimbisara donated one of his
pleasure parks, the Bamboo Grove, to the Buddha to be used as a
monastery (Vin.I,35). Although Buddhist tradition says Bimbisara was a
devout Buddhist there is no discourse in the whole of the Tipitaka
addressed to him. Like many Indian kings, he probably supported all
religions and each claimed him as one of their followers.
While
Bimbisara is described by the Buddha as ‘a just and righteous king’
(D.I,86), his son Ajatasattu is depicted in the Tipitaka as ruthless,
scheming and unpredictable. He murdered his father to get the throne and
supported Devadatta in his machinations against the Buddha
(Vin.II,185). He also had territorial ambitions. He provoked a war with
Kosala which turned out to be a disaster for him (S.I,82-5) and we read
of him fortifying the border town of Pataligama in preparation for
invading Vajji (D.II,86). There is also a brief reference to him
strengthening the walls of his capital out of suspicion that his
neighbours were going to attack him (A.II,182). In time, Ajatasattu came
to be haunted by thoughts of his murdered father and sought consolation
from the Buddha (D.I,475). Tradition tells us that Ajatasattu ruled for
35 years and was eventually murdered by his son Udayibhadda.
There
are only three Buddhist king left, two of them beguine, well loved by
their people and secure on their thrones. Do you know who they are? The
third one sometimes gives the impression of having one foot on the
ground and the other on a banana skin. Given Gayanendra’s experience
yesterday, he would want to be careful.
The picture above is of King Mahendra’s coronation in 1955
Aggañña Sutta is the 27th Sutta of the Digha Nikaya collection. The sutta describes a discourse imparted by the Buddha to two brahmins, Bharadvaja and Vasettha, who left their family and caste to become monks. The two brahmins are insulted and maligned by their own caste for their intention to become members of the Sangha.
The Buddha explains that caste and lineage cannot be compared to the
achievement of morality practice and the Dhamma, as anyone from the four
castes can become a monk and reach the state of Arahant. Then, he explains about the beginning of the Earth and the birth of social order and its structure, including the castes. The Buddha emphasizes the message of universality in the Dhamma and how the Dhamma is the best of all things.
The
Sutta begins when the Buddha is staying in Savatthi, in the temple
donated by Visakkha, the mother of Migara. At that time, two brahmins,
Bharadvaja and Vasettha, are training with the monks (bhikkhu) and aim to be a member of the Sangha. As usual in the evening, the Buddha rises from his meditation
and strolls in the open yard near his dwelling. Vasettha sees his
Teacher strolling, tells his friend, Bharadvaja, and suggests that they
meet the Buddha to see if they can hear a Dhamma exposition from the
Buddha.
They both approach the Buddha and after some formal proprieties, the
Buddha asks the two if they received insults and denigration when they
left their caste and layman’s life in order to join the order. Vasettha
and Bharadvaja answer that they did receive a ‘flood of insults’. They
say that the other Brahmins maintain that the Brahmin caste is the best,
as the Brahmins are of high social status and authority,
pure-bred, have radiant complexions, and are born from the mouth of the
God Brahma, unlike the other lower castes. So, by the opinion of the
other Brahmins, how can Vasettha and Bharadvaja leave this good caste
and status, thus joining together with fraudulent ascetics with shaven
heads from other castes, lower in status as they are born from the feet
of Brahma?
To this remark, the Buddha tells them that the Brahmins have indeed
forgotten about their past if they said such things. The fact is that
the women in the Brahmin caste can get pregnant, give birth, and take
care of their children. But the Brahmins still say that they are born
from the Mouth of the God Brahma and other (castes) are born from
Brahma’s feet. Thus, the Brahmin’s words are untrue. The Buddha said
that the Brahmins are not speaking truthfully and they will reap a bad
result from their own deeds.
The Buddha then elaborates that if any of the caste does the
following deeds: killing, taking anything that is not given, take part
in sexual misconduct, lying, slandering,
speaking rough words or nonsense, greedy, cruel, and practise wrong
beliefs (miccha ditthi); people would still see that they do negative
deeds and therefore are not worthy of respect. They will even get into
trouble from their own deeds, whatever their caste (Brahmin, Khattiya,
Vessa, and Sudda) might be.
While those who refrain from killing, taking anything that is not
given, engage in sexual misconduct, lying, slandering, speaking rough
words or nonsense, being greedy, cruel, and practising wrong beliefs
(miccha ditthi), will be seen by people as positive and will earn
respect from the people and the wise ones. They would be profiting from
their deeds, no matter what their caste might be.
Logically, as the four castes can do either negative (demerit) or
positive (merit) deeds, so will the wise reject the statement that only
the Brahmins are the best caste. Why? Because anyone from the four
castes, if they left the worldly affairs and became a monk, and due to
their discipline and struggle, they become arahant,
people who conquered their mind’s stains, have done whatever what must
be done, have been relieved from the burden, have broken the bondage of
birth, achieved freedom, freed due to achieved knowledge, then he is the
best among others based on Truth (Dhamma).
The Buddha says, “Dhamma is the best thing for people In this life and the next as well.”
Further, the Buddha proves that Dhamma is indeed the best thing of
all things in life. He takes the example of King Pasenadi of the Kosala
Kingdom, who has now conquered the Sakyans. The Sakyans revere, praise,
and serve him with respect.
But, towards the Buddha, who came from the Sakyan people, King
Pasenadi reveres, praises, and serves the Buddha with utmost respect.
Even the monarch thinks like this: “The ShramanaGotama
had perfect birth, while I am not perfect. The Shramana Gotama is
mighty, while I am weak. The Shramana Gotama inspired awe and respect,
while I do not. The Shramana Gotama is vastly influential and charming,
while I only possess small influence.” As even the King respects Dhamma,
reveres Dhamma, and obeys Dhamma, therefore he bows and praises the Tathagatha.
The Buddha then advises Vasettha that whoever has strong,
deep-rooted, and established belief in the Tathagatha, he can declare
that he is the child of Bhagavan,
born from the mouth of Dhamma, created from Dhamma, and the heir of
Dhamma. Therefore, the titles of the Tathagatha are the Body of Dhamma,
the Body of Brahma, the Manifestation of Dhamma, and the Manifestation
of Brahma.
The Beginning of Life on Earth
In the second part of the Sutta, the Buddha tells the story of how human beings came to dwell on Earth.
The Buddha said that sooner or later, after a very long time, there
would come a time when the world shrinks. At a time of contraction,
beings are mostly born in the Abhassara Brahma world. And there they
dwell, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the
air, glorious — and they stay like that for a very long time. But sooner
or later, after a very long period, this world begins to expand again.
At a time of expansion, the beings from the Abhassara Brahma world,
having died from there, are mostly reborn in this world. Here they
dwell, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the
air, glorious — and they stay like that for a very long time.
They floated above and around the Earth. At this time, there were not yet seen the Moon and the Sun,
there were not yet Night and Day, there were not yet names and identity
or female or male. The creatures were only known as creatures.
At that period, Vasettha, there was just one mass of water, and
all was darkness, blinding darkness…. And sooner or later, after a
very long period of time, savory earth spread itself over the waters
where those beings were. It looked just like the skin that forms itself
over hot milk as it cools. It was endowed with color, smell, and taste. It was the color of fine ghee or heated butter and it was very sweet, like pure wild honey (1)
Some of the creatures of light (the Abbhasaras) who had curiosity and
a greedy nature began to dive and taste the savory Earth’s substance.
At that moment, the creature found out that it tasted so delicious.
Thus, greed started to seep in and it ate the substance voraciously,
greedily, also calling its comrades (who were flying above and on earth)
to join in the feast. Not long afterwards, the creatures began to eat
greedily, and due to the huge amount of the mud substance they could
feed on it for a very long time.
As they ate and ate, their luminous
body began to be coated by the mud substance, formed a coarser body,
then suddenly, the sun and moon were seen, so were the stars, and also
Night and Day began on Earth. The logical explanation of this was that
the creatures were the self-illuminating, so blinding and luminous that
they didn’t notice the Sun. The Earth was covered in their light. So,
when the materialization took place, the light faded inside their newly
conceived ‘body’ of mud and thus the night and day became apparent to
them. Then, as the night and day became apparent, seasons and years also
appeared.
Their body was still coarse and roughly shaped. Thus, after a very
long time, the mud-like substance began to be exhausted. Then, mushroom-like
plants began to grow so fast that they replaced the mud-like ocean. The
creatures began to devour them as well, and they also found it
delicious, like sweet honey and milk. Their body hardened more and
details began to turn finer.
After another very long time, the mushrooms also began to be exhausted, replaced by cassava or turnip-like
plants. They also began to devour them night and day, and thus they
began to notice differences amongst them. As the changes of their bodies
varied between each other, the concept of difference arose. The
concepts of the beautiful and the ugly were born. The beautiful scorns
the ugly and they became arrogant because of their appearance.
Then, after the turnips, the earth was grown with rice plants. The first rice plants were without husk and kernels.
The sweet and honey-like rice flourished seeds abundantly. The people
consumed them for a very long time. But there are people who became
greedy and lazy. They took more rice than they needed for one day’s
meals. They began to take two, four, eight, and sixteen days’ of rice
reserves as they were too lazy to take rice everyday. Owing to this,
many other creatures began to store and hoard the rice. The generation
time for rice plants became slower and slower. Usually, it took only one
night for the plant to grow and be ready to be consumed, but by the
karmic power the plant began to grow more and more slowly. Also the rice
grew in kernels and husks, scattered, which the creatures must work,
nurse, maintain, harvest, and cook in order to obtain the white rice.
By this time, the body of the creatures had become finely evolved.
There was already the distinction between male and female. The man
became preoccupied with women and vice versa. Then, as they were deeply
attracted to each another, passion and desire was aroused, and they
engaged in sexual relationships. The people who saw a couple engaged in
sexual activity scolded them, and usually the couple were forbidden from
entering the village for a certain period of time. Owing to this, the
indulgent couples built closed dwellings where they indulged in sexual
activity.
The Birth of Social Order and Castes
In
the third part, the Buddha explained about the origin of Castes, their
titles, and their order in the society system which were still rigidly
effective in Buddha’s time.
The Khattiya Caste (Rulers)
The
rice plants, as mentioned earlier, began to grow in separate plots and
people began to divide lands and tend each other’s cluster of rice fief.
They became preoccupied in tending their own field. Then, as the evil
and greed were aroused, there were people who begin stealing others’
crops. At first, the others only warned the culprit and the culprit
promised that he would never repeat it again. But when it was repeated
several times, the people began punishing him with fist, stones, and
then sticks. That is the origin of punishment forms. Then, people began
to think that they were too busy to heed every crime and abuse that
happened in their society. They grieved on the rising of evil amongst
their people. But most of their time had already been invested in
tending their fief. So, they appointed someone to rectify what is right
and what is wrong, give warnings to those who need it, give punishment
to those who deserve it, and in return, they will give him a share of
their rice. So, they went to the fairest, ablest, most likeable, and
most intelligent person and appointed him to do the judging and passing
out sentences on the reward of a share of rice. The appointed person
thus agreed and the people bestowed upon him the title : ‘Maha Sammata‘
meaning: The People’s Choice. Then, they bestowed also the second
title: ‘Khattiya’ meaning the ‘Lord of the Rice Field’, and finally the
third title: ‘Raja’ which means ‘Who gladdens people with Dhamma (or
Truth)’. This order was created by the people’s wish and need, based on
the Dhamma and not from others. The Buddha stated again that Dhamma is
indeed the best of all things.
The Brahmin Caste
Then,
amongst the people, some of them begin to think like this: “Evil deeds
have risen amongst us, such as: theft, lies, murders, sexual abuses,
punishment, and banishment. Now let us set aside evil, unuseful, and
impolite things.” The word Brahmins came, as it meant: “They who put
aside Evil and unwholesome things” (1). They set up retreats and huts in
the forests and meditated there. They came to the city at morning and
evening only to gather food and after finishing gathering food, they
returned to their huts and meditations. People noticed this and ‘Those
who meditated’ were called ‘Jhayanti’ or ‘Jhayaka’.
There are other people, who can’t meditate or dwell in huts in the
forest. So, they settled in the cities, did not meditate, but compiled
books. The people called them ‘Ajjhayaka’ which meant ‘They who don’t
meditate’. At first the Ajjhayaka were viewed lower than Jhayaka but in
the Buddha’s time, the Ajjhayaka had been viewed higher in status than
the Jhayakas.
The Vessa (Traders) and the Sudda (Hunters)
Among the people who had settled and had family, some began to adopt various trades.
The remainder of these people preferred the work of hunting. The
Sudda caste came from the word ‘Sudda’ which means: ‘They Are Base Who
Live By The Chase’ [1].
All of the castes, from Brahmin, Khattiya, Vessa, and Sudda
originated from these people, and not from others; in accordance to the
Dhamma and not by others.
The Ascetics
But
from the four clans, there were people who were not satisfied with
their living, left their home and became celibate ascetics. These are
the origin of the fifth caste formed from all the four castes’ people
who left their lay life and became an ascetic.
Buddha’s Conclusion
The
Buddha then concluded his discourse to Vasettha and Bharadvaja: (Due to
the governance of Dhamma which became the root of all castes and
people) anyone, from any the caste, who did demerit and wrongdoings,
lived a bad life of speech, thoughts, views, and wrongdoings, they would
end up after their death, in the realm of sufferings, hell, loss, and
torture.
But anyone, from any caste, who did merit and good deeds, lived a
good life of speech, thoughts, and deeds; had the right view, after
their death, they would end in the realm of happiness and heaven.
Anyone, from any caste, who did both merit and demerit, lived a good
and bad life of speech, thoughts, and deeds; had either a right or a bad
view, after their death, they could end in the realm of suffering or
the realm of joy.
Anyone, from any caste, who lived a life of disciplined deeds,
speeches, thoughts, who had trained and developed himself in the seven
factors of Enlightenment, then he would attain the eradication from the
(stains/dust/dirt/filth) of mind in this current life.
Anyone, from four castes, who became a bhikku (Monk), arahant,
who had eradicated stains of Mind, had done what must be done, had
relieved himself from burden, who had attained freedom, who had broken
the bondage of birth, who had been freed due to knowledge; then they
would be declared as the best from all of them, in accordance to the
Truth (Dharma) and not from the basis of not Truth (adhamma).
The Buddha quoted, “Dharma is the best thing for people In this life and the next as well.”
The Buddha quoted the verses of Brahma Sandakumara: “The Khattiya is the best among those who maintain their lineage; He with knowledge and conduct is best of gods and men.“ then, the Buddha asserted that the verse is indeed true, according to the Dhamma, profitable, and true.
The Khattiya’s best among those who value clan; He with knowledge and conduct is best of gods and men.“
Thus the discourse ended with Vasettha and Bharadvaja rejoicing in hearing the words of Buddha.
Digging Deeper Into the Sutta
While
the story of the world’s beginning is considered a myth, on the other
hand, the Buddhist doctrine requires a constant sceptical approach,
where one must see and prove it before one believes it (ehipassiko).
However, the profound insight of the Buddha in two major fields: science
(cosmology) and social structure’s origin indeed was revolutionary in
his era.
On the science part, Buddha implied the theory of the Evolution of
the Universe, where it is said to shrink and then expand in repeated
cycles.
While on the social science part, the Buddha’s words implied the
equality of origin in the human race, whether by their sex, appearance,
or by other categories which were founded later based on physiological
differences. Buddha also emphasized that the social structure is formed
voluntarily, based on righteousness and necessity, not based on Divine
command as some theories stated.
The Monarchy is also formed voluntarily, and the people elect the most righteous and capable person, which implied the Democracy
concept. The Monarch accepts a ’share of rice’ as his reward to rectify
the social order, which is the origin of voluntary reward which evolves
into the taxation concept. However, the Buddha states that the Monarch
is regarded worthy not because of his divine right but due to his
righteousness in deeds. [2]
The Buddha’s message was clear, however, that the best thing in the
world is Truth (Dhamma) and everything is created, measured, and valued
based on Truth and not from something other.
According to Richard Gombrich, the sutta gives strong evidence that it was conceived entirely as a satire of brahminical claims regarding the divine nature of the caste system, showing that it is nothing but a human convention.[1][2] According to Gombrich, the Buddha satirizes the Vedic “Hymn of the Cosmic Man” and etymologizes “reciter of the Veda” so as to make it mean “non-meditator” instead.[3] Not all scholars agree with Gombrich interpretation and his view is not unanimous.
Among those who disagree is Suwanda H J Sugunasiri, a Canadian
Buddhist scholar, who most recently has presented a novel interpretation
of the Sutta. Rejecting the view that the Sutta is a ‘satire’
(Gombrich) or ‘good humoured irony’ (Collins) [1], he shows how “the
Discourse is a historically and scientifically accurate characterization
of the cyclical cosmic process” [2]. He compares the stages of cosmic,
vegetation, human and linguistic evolution as indicated by the Buddha
with those in western theory, beginning with 13.5 billion years ago of
the Big Bang and ending with 150,000 years when ‘anatomically modern
humans’ appear. The Big Bang, in this interpretation, marks not the
beginning of the Evolutionary phase but the ending of the earlier
Devolutionary phase, when there appears seven suns (as in a different
Sutta), symbolic of intense heat. A critical point in Sugunasiri’s
reconstruction of the Buddha’s universe is the novel take on the
Abhassaras - as photons, translating the term Abhassara literally as
‘hither-come-shining arrow’ (ā + bhas + sara). In an expanded study [3],
Sugunasiri points to two other Suttas (Brahmajala and Patika) in which
the Buddha presents dimensions of the cosmic process. He also shows how
the Buddha cuts through the Vedic myth of creation referred to in
Gombrich.[4][5]
Ven. Shravasti Dhammika has posted an excellent article about Buddhism and government, inspired by the recent dethroning of King Gayanendra of Nepal.
Some interesting quotes from this excellent article:
Different
religions have different theories about the origins and nature of
kinship. The Bible for example, says that all rulers derive their power
from God and thus to obey the king is to obey God (Romans 13,1-2). In
Europe this doctrine came to be known as ‘the divine right of kings’. … The
Buddha had an entirely different and more realistic concept of kings
and kingship. In the Agganna Sutta he posited a social contract theory
of monarchy. In ancient days, he said, people saw the need for some form
of government and so they elected from amongst themselves a person who
they thought would be best able to rule them. … Thus according
to the Buddhist theory, kings derived their legitimacy from general
consent, i.e. from the people they ruled. It followed from this that a
king retained his right to rule only for so long as his subjects
benefited from it. Several stories in the Jataka implicitly suggest that
people had a right to overthrow a king who was cruel, unjust or
incompetent (Ja.I,326; III,513-14; VI,156). Such ideas were far too
ahead of their time and there is little evidence that they were ever
applied. However, the Buddha’s teaching of good governance had some
influence in making kings more humane.
Not to trash
Europeans or anything, but it is kind of interesting how European
countries tend to retain symbolic monarchies along with some symbolic
version of the “divine right of kings.” Perhaps this is mostly just a
sort of clinging to tradition, but there are people in the west who
still seem to believe in this “divine right of kings” idea. Essentially
they deny that people ever have the “right” to revolt against their
government, no matter what, even if democracy ceases to exist.
This
tends to come up most frequently in arguments regarding the US 2nd
Amendment since this right is used as part of the justification for it.
It’s not clear that this is always an indication of siding with some
sort of “divine right of kings” (or the general idea “subjects” exist
for the sake of the government) or just the notion that there should be
some non-violent way of revolting.
I can’t imagine a successful attempt to overthrow the government
here. You bring up an interesting point in that there might even be an
unspoken agreement that would follow the old “divine right of kings.” It
seems like the whole system of government and even voting is sort of
rigged to favor and keep in power certain people here and probably
everywhere. I never thought of this sort of thing before. It’s quite
interesting.
Well, I can sort of imagine a possible scenario, but I don’t think
anyone would seriously bother unless things got really bad. To give you
some sense of how many complaints people in colonial America had before
they resorted to violence, check out the Declaration of Independence.
(People who grow up in Canada and other place, BTW, are generally taught
that the declaration is full of propaganda. True or not, it’s probably
still a good indication of what people feel needs to be true before they
start thinking about violent revolt.)
It’s worth noting that
revolts don’t have to be violent necessarily, but if things get to the
point where one seems necessary to people they probably end up being
that way. Just try to imagine a non-violent revolt in North Korea.
Anyone trying to non-violently revolt would just be shot.
It
would be interesting to check out the Jataka tales that Ven. Dhammika
was talking about. I wonder… do they suggest that people should
revolt in certain cases or simply that people will revolt in those
cases whether they “should” or not? The reality is that “kings” do
ultimately rule by consent. If everyone just decides not to listen to
the king and kill him, then there’s nothing he can do. No god will come
to save him. So regardless of whether they “should” rule by consent, the
fact is that ultimately they’re only there because people approve or
tolerate them.
The world is a rather violent place whether it should be or not.
I think you are right about the “approve or
tolerate” them comment. I might add that another one might just be plain
fear, although that might fall under “tolerate.”
Fear would be more like one possible cause for approving or
tolerating. Other causes could be more positive, such as admiration for
the king’s good deeds, etc.
At some sufficiently bad point, fear
ceases to become a factor. Like animals backed into a corner with
nothing to lose, fear no longer matters to people if things are really
that bad.
Dear Robert, The idea of ‘rights’ in the sense that we use the
word today is a very recent (18th cent) and a very particular European
concept, so you are quite ‘right’ in raising the question of whether the
Buddha (or whoever composed the Jatakas) said people have a ‘right’
to overthrow unjust governments. He did not. I was couching the
Jataka’s idea in modern terms. The Jatakas imply that it is
understandable, okay, not impious, to do so, it is only to be expected
that it will happen. Nonetheless, even this was not a common notion in
the pre-modern world. It didn’t matter who was ruling or who was
revolting, divine justification was used. Charles I used it to justify
his autocracy and Cromwell used it to justify cutting Charles’ head off.
The Jatakas present the issue in purely practical and non-religious
terms – if it is not to your advantage, if it is to your detriment, get
rid of it. Bhante Dhammika
What’s interesting is that the whole “divine right” idea just gets
shifted around. Even in the US, the idea has gone from the “divine
right” of kings to the “divine right” of the people. I guess in
societies where people believe in a god or gods, there’s no getting rid
of the whole “divine right” of someone or the other to rule. It makes me
wonder if the Hindu gods have just shifted their divine rights from
kings to the people in places like India which currently have democracy,
or what the current thinking is.
Ajahn
Brahmali discusses the importance of moral leadership, citing examples
from the kings in Buddha’s time. Ajahn explains how morality of a leader
trickles down to the entire society.
Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online
via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BuddhistSocie…
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Buddha
Preaching the First Sermon at Sarnath, 11th century. India (Bihar,
probably Nalanda). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers
Fund, 1920 (20.43) | This Buddha from Nalanda could well have been
housed in a temple. As early images typically were attached to relic
structures this idea of venerating an independent image of the Buddha
reflects a shift in practice that was especially important for the
Mahayana Buddhist tradition. #Buddhism
It’s
not surprising that the Shwedagon Golden Pagoda was repeatedly
plundered over the years, and some parts, like three hundred years old
bell encrusted with jewels, are now lost. However, the Golden Pagoda in
Myanmar has survived to see our days in…
BENGALURU: The top-down poll narrative in all three major political parties - Congress, BJP
and the JD(S) - revolves around development and corruption. But reality
is different: Caste emerges as a compelling factor in poll-bound Karnataka.
A preliminary data analysis of the candidates fielded by the three
parties is a pointer to the fact that caste coalition concocted by the
candidate will determine winnability. “Political leaders might be
hurling words such as communalism, secularism and opportunism at each
other, but the common thread here is that all of us are pandering to
caste politics,” a senior BJP told STOI. A thought that was echoed by a
Congress leader too.
Lingayats
and Vokkaligas form the highest chunk of candidates fielded by the
three parties. While Congress has fielded 49 Lingayats and 46
Vokkaligas; the BJP has fielded 68 Lingayats and 38 Vokkaligas; and the
JD(S) had 41 Lingayats and 55 Vokkaligas in the fray.
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), who
collectively form the largest caste population, are also important for
three parties.
“Caste is absolutely important. Examine the Karnataka assembly polls
from any angle, you will realize that caste occupies centre stage. Only
caste calculations are being spoken at the grassroots,” said political
analyst Narayana A.
THE ONLY ALTERNATE AND HOPE OF THE NATION IS ELEPHANT OF BSP!
PEOPLE ARE JUST FED UP WITH CONGRESS, OTHER REGIONAL PARTIES AND BJP!
HENCE TO CAPTURE THE MASTER KEY !
ENTIRE PEOPLE HAVE TO AWAKEN WITH AWARENESS! FOR THEIR WELFARE, HAPPINESS AND PEACE! AS FINAL GOAL TO ACHIEVE ETERNAL BLISS
ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ವಿಮೋಚನೆಯ ಚಳುವಳಿ ದಿ ಎಚ್ಚರಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಬೃಹತ್ ಗ್ರಾಂಡ್ ರ್ಯಾಲಿ
ಬಿಎಸ್ಪಿ ಆನೆ ಐಚ್ಛಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಭರವಸೆ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ! ಜನರು ಕೇವಲ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ , ಇತರ ಪ್ರಾದೇಶಿಕ ಪಕ್ಷಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಜೊತೆ ನೀಡಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ! ಮಾಸ್ಟರ್ ಕೀಲಿ ಹಿಡಿಯಲು ! ಈ ಸಮಾಜದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾಗೃತಿ ಜಾಗೃತಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಸೇವೆ! ಅವರ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ , ಸಂತೋಷ ಮತ್ತು ಶಾಂತಿ ! ಶಾಶ್ವತ ಪರಮಾನಂದದ ಸಾಧಿಸಲು ಅಂತಿಮ ಗುರಿ ! ‘ ಬಿಎಸ್ಪಿ ಮತ್ತು ಜನವರಿ 15 ಬಲಪಡಿಸುವ ಸಮಾಜದ ಸರ್ವ್ ತಯಾರಿ ತಯಾರಾಗಬೇಕು ” ದೈತ್ಯ ಸೂಪರ್ ರ್ಯಾಲಿ ಬಿವೇರ್ ” ಪ್ರಗತಿಯನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸಲು ನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ
అన్ని సామాజిక స్వాతంత్ర్యోద్యమం ది జాగ్రత్తగా భారీ గ్రాండ్ ర్యాలీ
బిఎస్పి ఏనుగు ఐచ్ఛిక మరియు దేశం యొక్క మాత్రమే ఆశ ఉంది! ప్రజలు కేవలం కాంగ్రెస్ , ఇతర ప్రాంతీయ పార్టీలు బిజెపి విసుగు ! మాస్టర్ కీ సంగ్రహించుటకు ! ఈ సమాజంలో అవగాహన మేలుకొల్పగలతాయనీ సర్వ్! వారి సంక్షేమం , ఆనందం మరియు శాంతి ! నిత్యమైన ఆశీర్వాదం సాధించే అంతిమ లక్ష్యం ! ‘ యాదవ్ జనవరి 15 బలపడి సమాజం సర్వ్ సిద్ధం సిద్ధంగా ” దిగ్గజం సూపర్ ర్యాలీ జాగ్రత్త ” పురోగతి చూపించడానికి భావిస్తున్నారు
سرو سماج نجات تحریک کے ہوشیار وسیع ماہا ریلی
صرف متبادل اور قوم کی امید بی ایس پی کے ہاتھی ہے ! لوگوں کو صرف تنگ آ کے ساتھ کانگریس ، دیگر علاقائی پارٹیوں اور بی جے پی ہیں ! اس لئے ماسٹر کلید پر قبضہ کرنے کے لئے ! ان سرو سماج میں بیداری کے ساتھ بیداری کے لئے ہے ! ان کی بہبود ، خوشی اور امن کے لئے ! ابدی خوشی حاصل کرنے کے لئے حتمی مقصد ! ‘ سرو سماج کے درمیان بی ایس پی کی بنیاد کو مضبوط بنانے میں ترقی دکھانے کے اور 15 جنوری کو امید ” ہوشیار وسیع ماہا ریلی ” کے لئے تیار کرنے کے لئے تیار ہو جاؤ
Why Dr.Ambedkar Rejected of Conversion to other Religions:
Ambedkar
had rejected Jainism, as it was too austere, it glorified wantlessness
and suffering, and this did not appeal to the materialistic mind of
Ambedkar. Judaism and Zoroastrianism do not encourage conversion of
other people into their fold.
He was
drawn to Sikhism for some time due to its emphasis on equality. Also he
believed that as Sikhism was a home-grown religion it may not alienate
the SC/STs. But later Ambedkar
saw that caste feeling did prevail amongst the Sikhs and the fact that
the Sikhs as a community were only concentrated only in one region,
Punjab, made him refrain from converting to that religion.
Islam,
though it was supposed to be equalitarian, did in practice have many
hierarchical structures. Other factors that made him wary of Islam were
the foreign origin of this religion, the forced conversion of SC/STs to
Islam and the social evils amongst Muslims for instance the condition of
women in that community.
As it had a
large following in India he felt that the SC/STs identity may get
compromised if they converted to this religion. Also in this period of
the partition brewing he did want to antagonize the situation.
He
was also critical of Christianity too, as it was seen as a foreign
religion. Here too he observed the practice of caste distinctions. The
Christian concept of rewards and punishments after death was to him like
the Hindu karmic theory which supported social positions of the caste
system based on past life karma, this he did not agree with.
Earlier
in the late 20’s Ambedkar viewed Buddhism as a religion linked to
Hinduism. Because of the vast majority of upper caste individuals who
had turned to Buddhism in the 19th C, it was seen as a kind of reformed
Hinduism, he therefore did not consider converting to it, it was only
later after studying Buddhism did his resolve grow stronger.
Murderer of democratic insitutions (Modi) exposed:challenging the myths surrounding the RSS’s BJP’s Gujarat Chief Minister A Hindutva Cult Fascist.
All
the upper caste political parties made a ruckus when monuments were
built for Historical SC/ST/OBC icons were built by Ms Mayawati. Now when
the CM of Gujarat announced to build a monument for RSSised Vallabai
Patel, no body is raising their voice. Even before it has come into
existence one can see paid news (Views) / advertisements in many
electronic media.
Modi
is just a Bakara (scape goat led to the bali peet) in the RSS’s BJP.
They discriminate in the name of religion, opposed to Muslim because
most of their origin is Scheduled Castes. Because of the stringent
untouchability acts they cannot kill SC/STs. Indirectly they kill
Muslims. They are using this bakara as curry leaves and use and throw
toilet papers as they did to Yediyurappa. Their hidden PM candidates are
chitpavan brahmins. They show something and do the opposite. Once upon a
time they projected Babu Jagajeevan Ram belonging to SC commuinity as
PM but made Vajpayee a brahmin as PM. Ms Mayawati is working for real
Sarva Samaj
Sadhbhavan that is for the welfare, happiness and peace of all societies
including SC/ST/OBCs/ Minorities and poor Upper caste brahmins, baniyas
and kshatrias. But the upper caste leaders and media project her as a
Sceduled Caste leader as they do to Dr. Ambedkar though he is the father
of the Constitution. This is the real caste system in this country. If
the Congress, RSS’s BJP, AAP are once and for all thrown out of power
then a true PRABUDDHA Bharath will emerge to enable all the societies to
attain Happiness, Welfare, Peace Eternal Bliss as their Final Goal.
Big states like Uttar Pradesh should be bifurcated: Mayawati
RSS’s BJP is a liar, we’ve to stop it, says Mayawati
Fresh Efforts For International Action Against Modi
Narendra Modi
exposed:challenging the myths surrounding the RSS’s BJP’s Gujarat Chief Minister A Hindutva Cult Fascist.
Hindutva Cult Fascist.The
creator of Hindutva is RSS. Epics like Ramayana, Mahabaratha were the
creation of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Valmiki and Vyasa. They were
written to please the rulers as it was the practice. Later on the
heroes and heroines of these epics were worshiped as gods. The the Manu
started his vadha by creating 1st rate athman (soul), the brahmin, 2nd
rate, the kashtria, 3rd rate the vysia and the 4th rate the shudhra
athmans. and the panchamas who had no athmas. 2nd, 3rd
and 4th rate athmans accepted brahmins as 1st rate athmans. The Buddha
never believed in any athmans (Souls) He said all are equal. The
panchamas who followed the Buddha were declared that they had no athma
and were kept away from the society and treated worst than the racially
discriminated people of the world who became the untouchables and unseeables.
Though the SC/STs created these epics, they were not allowed inside the
temples by the manuvadis, even though these SC/STs were used as temple
builders and statues of these gods were sculpted by them.. Many of them
converted to other foreign religions and formed other state wise
religions such as lingayats, Iyengars,etc. The RSS cult took advantage
of the weakness of the gullible devoties who became the majority of the
country to capture political power. The Hindus were RSSised
and now they are known as Hindutuvaites. For the sake of votes Rama,
Krishna, Govinda and other god worshipped by the voters and popular
icons like Viveknanda, Bagat singh, Chandrasekhar Azad etc. were
RSSised. They even try to RSSise Dr. Ambedkar, Kanshiramji etc. who
criticised brahmin RSS for their hatred, anger towards SC/ST/OBC and
minorities
since they wanted equality among all sections of the society. But the
RSS cult lies that other their cult all others have no efficiency, merit
and so on. Ms Mayawti wanted to implement the Constitution for the
welfare, happiness and peace of Sarva Samaj i.e. all societies including
SC/ST/OBC/Minorities and the POOR among brahmmins, baniyas, kshatriyas
as enshrined in the Constitution.
This represents a fresh effort by organisations and
individuals to pressure the UK government to have no engagement with
RSS’s BJP’s Modi until “he has answered to a court of law” and for the setting up of
an international tribunal to try the “genocide” in Gujarat.
As Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat
in 2002, RSS’s BJP’s Modi presided over a massacre of Muslims that conforms to the
UN definition of genocide. At the time this had evoked widespread
domestic and international condemnation. Recently, however, there has
been a determined campaign to paint him in a different light. One prong
of the campaign has been to argue that the events of 2002 should be
consigned to the past as the Supreme Court of India has given RSS’s BJP’s Modi a
‘clean chit’. RSS’s BJP’s Modi
remains a figure deserving international opprobrium.”
Answer
(1 of 6): * Fisheries Scam by Modi’s Minister, when he was CM of
Gujarat * * Fisheries scam: Court issues process against Purshottam
Solanki * * How Narendra Modi shielded Purushottam Solanki of Fisheries
Scam… - Truth Of Gujarat * *…
Fisheries scam: Court issues process against Purshottam Solanki
Issuing process by a court means the particular case is “triable” and it has taken cognizance of the case.
A Gandhinagar court has issued process against minister Purshottam
Solanki, prominent BJP leader Dileep Sanghani and five others in
connection with alleged irregularities in awarding contracts for fishing
in 2008.
Issuing process by a court means the particular case is “triable” and
it has taken cognizance of the case. In the “fisheries scam” case, the
court has considered an investigation report submitted by the
anti-corruption bureau (ACB) and then issued process against the seven
accused accused.
The order passed last week by additional district judge Rizvana
Ghodhari stated: “On perusal of complaint documents produced alongwith
complaint as well as police report dated 31/5/2014 and police report
dated 23/6/2015, it appears that there is sufficient ground for
proceeding. Therefore, registry, criminal branch, is directed to
register this case and issue process against the accused no.1 to 7…” The
matter was posted for hearing on September 19.
The other accused are senior officials of the fisheries.
“The court has directed the registry to lodge a criminal case based
on the ACB report,” said advocate Vikram Thakor, who represents
complainant Ishaq Mohammad Maradia. He said that the report was filed in
May 2014 and since then the matter was pending.
Neither Solanki nor Sanghani replied to repeated phone calls for comment.
It has been alleged that in 2008, Solanki, the then MoS for fisheries
and currently state minister for animal husbandry and cow protection,
granted fishing contracts for 58 reservoirs to his favourite parties and
did not follow the mandatory auctioning process. Sanghani was the then
agriculture minister.
The matter came to light when Maradia, a Banaskantha-based fishing
contractor, approached the Gujarat High Court after being denied the
contract for a state reservoir. In September 2008, the HC scrapped the
contracts and ordered tenders be invited. These tenders fetched the
government Rs 45 crore in one year, against Rs 2.4 crore for the
contracts granted by the minister.
While, Maradia had claimed the total loss to the exchequer was Rs 400 crore in the past 10 years, but the ACB report differed.
The complainant again moved the High Court to seek Solanki’s
prosecution. The case against Solanki turned into a major political
controversy in 2012 after the then Governor Kamla Beniwal granted
sanction to prosecute the minister. The state had challenged her
decision in the High Court, but its arguments were rejected.
The ACB report came almost a year after it was asked by the
Gandhinagar court to look into the matter under Section 202 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure. The ACB officials recorded statements of over 100
people, including Solanki, Sanghani, their personal assistants, a
couple of IAS officers in Gandhinagar secretariat and as many as 50
contractors, before filing the report.
The ghost of a rice scam in the state government’s ambitious Sujalam
Sufalam Yojana in Panchmahals seems to be haunting the top district
officials. They are now trying to recover a huge sum of money from Fair
Price Shop owners who had distributed rice instead of wheat under the
scheme. Rice was supplied despite a direction from the Department of
Rural Development Agency (DRDA) to distribute wheat.
Panchmahals District Collector Milind Torawane said, “We have
recovered Rs 3.5 lakh from the nine shop owners and Rs 9 lakh from 12
others in Kalol. Further, we have served notices to them. If they fail
to respond to that, we would attach their movable and immovable
properties as per the rule.”
It was in 2004-05 when the Food Corporation of India’s local
officials had learnt about the irregularities and informed the DRDA
officials, who, in turn, initiated an inquiry into the matter. While
legal action was taken against some government officials and Fair Price
Shop owners, the investigators have still not been able to recover the
money, which was used to purchase rice instead of wheat.
DRDA officials had identified the beneficiaries to develop khet
talavdi (a small pond) in their respective farms. And, as compensation,
they were given coupons to collect wheat from the Fair Price Shop in
their villages. Interestingly, the District Supply Office of the
Panchmahals Collectorate distributed rice, which, according to DRDA
officials, was done without their consultation.
As per the information furnished by the DRDA, in 10 talukas of
Panchmahals, a total of 6,721 khet talavdis were dug up by the
beneficiaries and 4,188.978 metric tonnes of grains worth Rs 2.41 crore
were distributed among them. While 1,520.596 tonnes of rice were
distributed at the rate of Rs 7 per kg, some 2,668. 383 metric tonnes of
wheat were distributed at the rate of Rs 5.05 for every kg.
According to former zilla panchayat member Rupchand Sevkani, the
distribution was done only on paper. “About 800 khet talavdis were made
only on paper. This has been put on record by the investigating officer
from the Local Crime Branch, K B Khant, as the villagers admitted that
the talavdis were never dug up and the question of benefits in terms of
grains does not arise,” Sevkani said, adding, “The stock of 1,500-odd
tonnes of rice was apparently sold in the Maharashtra markets.”
Admitting to discrepancies in the supply, Panchmahals District
Supply Officer B N Ghantiya said an inquiry is going on in this
connection. “We had served notices to several Fair Price Shop owners,
but did not receive convincing reply.
The investigation procedure was slowed down due to elections, but
now we will take action against those involved in the scam,” Ghantiya
added. There has been a delay in the investigation even as DRDA
officials sent several reminders to the District Supply Office in the
last one year. A copy of one of the reminders addressed to Taluka
Development Officer (TDO) V B Patel, which is available with The Indian
Express, states that the officer had failed to explain anything about
the irregularity.
The letter addressed to District Supply Officer from P A Shah,
the then director of the DRDA in April 2008, said, “As part of the
Sujalam Sufalam Yojana under the Khet Talavdi scheme, it was mentioned
categorically to distribute wheat through a coupon system. Barring
Shehra, Lunawada, Khanpur and Ghoghamba talukas, rice has been
distributed in all other talukas.”
It added: “Whether the rice was sold at the rate of wheat and who
is responsible for this goof up has not been explained by the TDO
despite frequent reminders. It was made clear that even as wheat was
available for distribution, but due to lack of clarification from your
side, rice was distributed in Kalol taluka.”
17 ’scams’ that Narendra Modi doesn’t want Lok Ayukta to probe
Earlier this year, Gujarat Congress had submitted to the Governor Dr
Kamla and the president a detailed list of ‘17 scams’ that had allegedly
taken place under the Modi government. It demanded probe by an
independent agency. Last week, when it was getting apparent that a Lok
Ayukta for the state was close, the state government set up an enquiry
commission to be headed by retired Justice MB Shah. The following is the
list of alleged scams submitted by the Congress to the Gujarat governor
and the president:
Land for Nano plant at low rate The state
government allotted 1100 acres of land to Tata Motors Ltd (TML) to set
up the Nano plant near Sanand. The land was allotted allegedly at Rs900
per square metre while its market rate was around Rs10,000 per square
metre. Simply put, the government gave Tata Motors total monetary
benefit of Rs33,000 crore.
Land sold cheap to Adani Group Land was allotted to
Adani Group for the Mundra Port & Mundra Special Economic Zone
(SEZ) at Re1 per square metre. This is grossly lower than the market
rate.
Cheap land for ind, not for airforceThe Gujarat
government allotted 3,76,561 square metre of land to real estate
developer K Raheja at Rs470 per square metre, while the South-West Air
Command (SWAC) was asked to pay Rs1100 per square metre for 4,04,700
square metre land.
Agricultuure University land allotted for hotelState
government allotted 65,000 square metres of land belonging to Navsari
Agriculture University in Surat to Chatrala Indian Hotel Group for a
hotel project despite objection from the institute. This deal was
allegedly brokered by the chief minister through his office causing a
loss of Rs426 crore.
Border land for chemical firmsA huge plot of land
near the Pakistan border was allotted to salt chemical companies said to
be close to BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu.
Essar Group’s encroachmentState government has
allotted 2.08 lakh square metres of land to Essar Steel. Part of the
disputed land is CRZ and forest land that cannot be allotted as per
Supreme Court guidelines.
Land given to Bharat HotelPrime land was allotted
to Bharat Hotels without auction on Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway in
Ahmedabad. The company has been allotted 25,724 square metre land.
Corruption in allotment of lakesState government,
in 2008, awarded contracts for fishing activities in 38 lakes without
inviting any tenders; bidders were ready to pay Rs25 lakh per lake.
Land given to L&TLarson & Toubro (L&T) was allotted 80 hectare land at Hazira at the rate of Re1 per square metre.
Land allotted to other industriesInstead of
auctioning prime land in the major cities of the state, the Gujarat
government had allotted the land to some industries and industrialists
who had signed MoUs in the five editions of VGGIS.
Cattle feed fraudThe Gujarat government had
purchased cattle feed from a blacklisted company at Rs240 per 5 kg
whereas the market rate is just Rs120 to Rs140 per 5 kg.
Scam in Anganwadi centresTwo bidders apparently
formed a cartel and bid for supplying supplementary Nutrition Extruded
Fortified Blended Food (EFBF) to Anganwadi centres of the state. One
company bid for three zones, while the other for only two. Guidelines
were violated, causing the state exchequer a loss of Rs92 crore.
GSPCDespite an investment of Rs4933.50 crore, GSPC
has been able to earn only Rs290 crore from the 13 out of 51 blocks of
oil and gas discovered by the company. Contractual relations of
Geo-Global and GSPC deserve investigation since Geo-Global is to be
hired for a higher fee, above profit-sharing.
Luxury aircraft used by CM Instead of using
commercial flights or state-owned aircraft and helicopter, chief
minister Narendra Modi had used private luxury aircraft for around 200
trips in five years. The cost had been borne by the beneficiary
industries.
Rs500 crore SSY scamThe Rs6237.33 crore Sujalam
Sufalam Yojana (SSY) announced in 2003 was to be completed by 2005 but
it is still not completed. Public accounts committee of Gujarat assembly
unanimously prepared a report indicating a scam of over Rs500 crore
which was not tabled.
Indigold Refinery land scamAround 36.25 acre farmland in Kutch district was purchased and sold in violation of all norms by Indigold Refinery Ltd.
Swan Energy49% of the shares of Pipavav Power Station of GSPC were sold to Swan Energy without inviting any tenders.
Narendra Modi’s Scandals
1 . For Tata ’s Nano Plan a square Mtr worth Rs 10 lakh Land was Given only for Rs 900 to It’s Tata Group to score a Jackpot of Rs .33,000 crore .
2
.To build Mundhra port and Mundhra Special Economic Zone Atani group
was given square metres of land at the rate of Just one Rupee/sqm i.e.,
for 10 paise. Later Atani Company sold for Rs 100/ sqm and earned fat
profits .This is Illegal sales .
3 . In the main part K. Raheja The Real estate at the rate of Rs 470 a sqm 3.76 lakh square mtr was sold .When a nearby Air Force land was asked It is said it will be sold at Rs .1100 /sqm.
4 . Navsari Agricultural University -owned 65,000
Square Meters of land was given to catrala Hotel Group for building
lodge. The Gujarat state incurred a loss of Rs . 426 Crore .
5.
In the border side of the neighboring country Land should be in the
hands of state. Because of the feature associated with national
security. Buta large area of land was given to Salt companies. These
Companies belongs to Venkiah Naidu’s relatives. Can you understand why
Venkaiah Naidu supports Modi ?
6. Essar Corporate board was
allotted 2.08 lakh square meter land. An area rich in forests.As per
Court ruling this is illegal.
7. Near the city of Ahmedabad as
Location of the market price is high 25.724 sqm was given to Bharat
Hotel group. For this no tenders were sought.
8. In 38 largest lakes were given to a few Fishing rights without tenders.
9.
In place of Hacira to L & T company around 80 hectares of the land
Just for Rs.1 / -mtr i.e for 10paise /sq.ft. was gifted.
10.
Participants of industryalists in the Vibrant Gujarat celebrations many
of the principal places in the main High Places on the market Was
allocated.
11. From a blacklisted firm animal feed was Bought
at Rs .48 -for one kg. But the forage in the open market is available
at Rs.24 .
12. Only two companies are allowed for Procurement of
food items for Anganwadi centers.Because of this the loss of Rs. 92
Crore.
13. To start GSPC company Gujarat government invested Rs. 4993.50 Crore. So far income is just Rs. 290 Crore. Many crores loss per year.
14.
To the Sujalam Sufalam yojana Program in 2003 Rs. 6237.33 crore was
allotted. In 2005 this project must have been fulfilled.Not yet
fulfilled. When Gujarat Assembly Public Accounts Committee study was
made Rs. 500 crore scam was discovered.In this it should be mentioned
that BJP members are also there. The report was not submitted to the
legislature.
15. When traveling Narendra Modi did not travel in
Gujarat Government’s airplane or Helicopters But travelled only in
Private Industrialists-owned Luxurious planes. The cost was borne by
them. If wishes were horses then RSS’s BJP and all the Caste,
Religious biases like apartheid Viewspapers, magazines and medias with
ulterior ideas would ride on them.
16 .In violation of the law
The company Intikoltu purchased 36.25 acres of farmland and sold at fat
Profits. So far no action was taken against the company.
17.
Gujarat state-owned B. Power substation’s 49 percent Shares was sold to
Swan Energy establishment. No tender was sought. Why Modi’s stalemate
in Gujarat Lokpal System will soon be Known by the people.
Austin Benjamin, Skeptical Thinker,Politics Observer,Avid Photographer and Proud Tamilian
“Money and commerce are in my blood” was the proud proclamation made by Murderer of democratic institutions (Modi) to Japanese investors during
his visit to Japan in 2014. This is perhaps one of those rare occasions
when he did not exaggerate or embellish. An exemplar of this unique
trait of Mr. Modi’s is the “KG scam”. Gas is a vaporous substance, as we
all know. To pretend to extract non-existent gas requires extraordinary
skill and sleight. And to banish all of it into thin air later is even
more masterful. This is what the KG scam is all about. It is a tribute
to the Prime Minister’s dexterity that this Rs. 19,700 crore scam as
estimated by five reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of
India (CAG) over the past five-six years is still unknown to the nation.
Eleven years later
On
June 26, 2005, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced that
Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), a State government public
sector corporation, had discovered India’s biggest gas reserves in the deep waters of the Krishna Godavari (KG) river basin.
He said the discovery was 20 trillion cubic feet worth Rs. 2,20,000
crore. It caught the entire nation by surprise. Officials in the
Ministry of Petroleum were flummoxed by this bold claim. Mr. Modi
further, in his characteristic flamboyance, promised the nation that
GSPC would start production in December 2007 and make our nation energy
independent. It is 2016 now, nearly 11 years since that grandiose
announcement by Mr. Modi. There has been zero gas recovered yet from the
KG basin. Yes, zero. Why? Because there is no gas there. GSPC spent Rs.
19,700 crore during this period, ostensibly looking for the missing
gas.
Of course, the exploration of natural
resources such as oil and gas is always fraught with discovery
uncertainties. Even the best global companies have gone searching for
such resources and returned empty-handed. So, what is the purported
fraud here? Yes, oil exploration is always an expensive and risky
proposition. Yet, it is also the norm that when one realises that there
is no or minimum oil or gas to be found, one either stops exploration
immediately or reduces costs appropriately. But that is not what GSPC
did, as the below sequence of events show.
For
such an important and sophisticated exploration activity, GSPC’s
technical partner was a two-person company called GeoGlobal Resources
incorporated in Barbados, the land that is known more for Gary Sobers
and now Carlos Brathwaite. GeoGlobal, in turn, entered into a
partnership with Roy Group in Mauritius, the land that is more famous as
a tax haven than as an oil exploration haven. This entire quest for gas
in the KG river basin by GSPC smelt fishy from the beginning. Recall
Mr. Modi’s tall promise in 2005 of gas being extracted and produced in
2007? Not in 2007, but in June 2009, this fishy joint venture entity did
produce something — a field development plan report for recovering gas
from KG basin! So, a full four years after the announcement and two
years after the expected production year, GSPC produced a report of few
hundred pages that supposedly articulated how it planned to extract gas
from the KG basin. But between the announcement of the discovery of the
gas in 2005 to producing a plan document on how to extract that gas,
GSPC had borrowed Rs. 4800 crore in loans from public sector banks and
other financial institutions. Surely, it didn’t cost Rs. 4,800 crore to
produce a report, so why was so much money borrowed even before a plan
was finalised to extract the supposed gas from the KG river basin?
The
development plan in 2009 acknowledged that Mr. Modi’s claims were lofty
and cut its expectations of gas reserves by 90 per cent. More
importantly, the development plan also admitted that this entire gas
exploration operation is futile and should not be undertaken if the gas
that is recovered cannot be sold above $5.7mmbtu. At that time, the
approved selling price of gas was only $4.2mmbtu. Hence, this whole
operation was unviable and a waste to begin with. This should have been
abandoned right then. Yet, the-then Modi government in Gujarat, as
explained below, constructed an elaborate plan to borrow money to be
handed out as contracts to various dubious entities under the auspices
of GSPC.
Non-existent gas
This
joint venture entity decided to procure platform rigs to fish for
non-existent gas in the KG basin. It awarded this critical contract for
platform rigs to a company called Tuff Drilling that had zero experience
in providing drilling rigs. In fact, Tuff Drilling was set up only in
2007, much after that bombastic claim of India’s largest gas discovery
by Mr. Modi. Up to March 2015, more than Rs. 5,000 crore had been spent
in expenses to Tuff Drilling and other such entities. A total of Rs.
19,700 crore has been spent by GSPC on KG basin gas exploration activity
over the past decade and no gas has been found. What’s worse is even if
gas had been found, it would have incurred huge losses to the company
since its selling price was lower than its costs. Surely, the
self-proclaimed messiah with an astute sense of commerce knew that it
made no business sense to carry out an operation where the selling price
is lower than cost price? Now, where did GSPC get all its money from?
GSPC,
which was incorporated in 1979, did not have any loans on its books as
on March 31, 2007. Between 2008 and 2015, it had borrowed a staggering
Rs. 19,720 crore in loans from 13 public sector banks together. This
money was evidently used to farm out contracts to dubious entities whose
motives are entirely questionable. It is then a little ‘rich’ for the
Prime Minister now to wax eloquent about bad loans and industrialists
who milk nationalised banks. It is no surprise that our PSU banks are
facing the loans crisis that they are now, with borrowers such as GSPC
that borrowed money for no apparent business purposes.
The
KG scam is a depressing story of how a State PSU was used to whip up
fake claims of gas discovery and then be used as a platform not to
extract gas but money, by handing out contracts to related entities in
the garb of gas exploration. In the 2015 audit report of GSPC, the CAG
lambasts the company for indulging in futile and unviable business
activities with reckless borrowing. This and other misdemeanours of GSPC
have been repeatedly highlighted by CAG reports over the past several
years. Not a word has been heard in the media about the shady
functioning of the GSPC over the years. This is not some politically
motivated charge. Every piece of information in this article has been
pieced together through careful analysis of various publicly available
documents such as the GSPC’s Initial Public Offering prospectus filed
with Securities and Exchange Board of India in 2010, various CAG reports
of course, filings of GeoGlobal Resources with the Securities and
Exchange Commission in the United States, records of Ministry of
Corporate Affairs, and so on.
This scam, and there is no other word to describe it, is a matter fit for an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge.
Vyapam,
giving away land at throw away prices to their relatives. Now Modi is
smart. the currpotion is going to happen through complex financial
routes. Wait for the 3.5 years more. Modi talked much about Congress
corruption and promised to take action. Do you see any action. NONE.
Reason is simple. You scratch my back and I yours.
The
fact that with the last UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments, people have become
so regular with the word scandal that it is difficult for them to
imagine a government can exist without a scandal. I dont blame you
though. Anyways, there have been no corruption scandals (Sushma
Swaraj helpling Lalit Modi for visas can’t be considered a scandal) in
the Modi Government till now and hopefully there won’t be for the full
term as well.
There is a list of caste, religion biased viewspapers, magazines and
medias with ulterior ideas of supporting only the brahmin, baniya,
kshatriyas highly corrupt, incapable and security risk RSS’s BJP cult.
They are just misusing the freedom of press for their own corrupt
practice of PAID NEWS Advertisements just for amazing wealth. In fact
such corrupt media’s Known Source of Income must be probed just like
other citizens. The intellectuals of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities and other
broad minded poor brahmins, banias and kashatriyas must start countering
these paid news of the corrupt media in the electronic media by
identifying opinion and comments friendly courageous newspapers,
magazines and media since they are misused by RSS’s BJP.
what are you waiting for dear SC/ST/OBC/Minorities and the Broad Minded
brahmin, baniya, kshtria intellectuals. Start blasting the ONLINE PAID
NEWS (VIEWS) of RSS’s BJP and their off shoot AAP who think that they
are the only meritorious, efficient and intellectuals on the earth
because of their birth. And as BSP is the
only hope and alternative Mr. Shinde must support it to acquire the
MASTER KEY as desired by Dr.Ambedkar, KandhiramJi and Ms Mayawatiji for
distributing the wealth of the country equally among all sections of the
society for their welfare, happiness and peace and to help the to
attain Eternal Bliss.
Opinion and comments friendly courageous newspapers, magazines, and media in different languages: For Updated information please visit:
“Modi is the Chief Minister of
Gujarat and a leading figure in the far-right RSS’s Bharatiya Janata Party,
controversy surrounds him, largely because of his role in communal
violence against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, when over 1500 died
(including three British nationals), hundreds of women were raped and
200,000 people driven from their homes.”
Human Rights Watch described the 2002 Gujarat events as:‘what
happened in Gujarat was not a spontaneous uprising, it was a carefully
orchestrated attack against Muslims. The attacks were planned in advance
and organized with extensive participation of the police and state
government officials.’
A number of MP’s, lawyers, academics and human rights activists will
address a meeting. The list includes Yusuf Dawood from West Yorkshire,
two of whose brothers were among the victims and whose family has
campaigned for justice. Suresh Grover of the Monitoring Group will
describe key events of 2002. Professor Chetan Bhatt, Director of the
Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics,
will describe Modi’s links with the ‘Hindutva’ movement, which uses the
guise of religion for its extremist brand of politics. Pragna Patel, of
Southall Black Sisters, will speak on its disturbing links with violence
against and control of women. Professor Gautam Appa, emeritus professor
at the London School of Economics, will expose the inaccuracy of claims
often made by BJP supporters that the Supreme Court has cleared Modi of
responsibility for the Gujarat pogrom and that the state is a model of
good governance and prosperity.
An Early Day Motion to the House of Commons will be announced, along
with a delegation of MPs to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office asking
that there should be no engagement with Modi until he has answered to a
court of law or judicial inquiry for his role in the violence. The
meeting will also call for an international tribunal, involving eminent
jurists, on genocide in Gujarat.
Sting operation reveals massive manipulation by opinion poll agencies
By ET Bureau | 26 Feb, 2014, 04.43AM IST
NEW
DELHI: A number of opinion polling agencies approached by undercover
reporters agreed to manipulate poll data, a television news channel has
claimed, sparking a fresh controversy in a heated election season as
senior ministers and political parties called for an investigation.
Clips from the sting operation aired by the channel showed many
pollsters agreeing to produce favourable numbers by leveraging the
so-called margin of error, a statistical concept meant to indicate
the quality of sampling and the accuracy to be expected from survey
results. “For a price, the prediction of seats tally can be changed to suit the interests of political parties.
The
agencies have no qualms accepting even black money for this purpose,”
the channel, News Express, said in a statement. Polling agencies
approached by the channel include QRS, CVoter, Ipsos India, MMR and DRS,
apart from a clutch of littleknown ones. Representatives from these
agencies are seen responding variously to the undercover reporters, who
posed as consultants for political parties.
India
Today magazine and Times NOW have said they were suspending opinion
polls conducted by C-Voter, pending an explanation from the agency.
Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party called for an investigation.
Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal urged the Election Commission to
urgently take up the matter. “This (the expose) is a very serious
development. It shows these agencies are trying to manipulate public
opinion. It is nothing but paidnews, manufactured to serve vested
interests.
This
is an extremely serious offense that warrants a full-fledged inquiry…
I also call upon the Election Commission to take all effective steps to
ensure such shady operators are not allowed to manipulate the public
opinion in the run up to the elections.” In November last year, the
Election Commission had written to the government asking that a law be
passed to restrict release of opinion poll results after the
notification of elections. Fourteen out of fifteen national parties had
agreed to the proposal.
BJP opposed the proposal, saying such a move would impinge on freedom of expression. “We
got the idea for the sting operation from the Election Commission
letter. And then the fact that there seemed to be a new opinion poll
almost every day now. Everybody is a pollster and a psephologist it
seems,” said Vinod Kapri, editor in chief of News Express.
gship.
6
comments:
Dhamma81
said…
I can’t imagine a successful attempt to overthrow the government
here. You bring up an interesting point in that there might even be an
unspoken agreement that would follow the old “divine right of kings.” It
seems like the whole system of government and even voting is sort of
rigged to favor and keep in power certain people here and probably
everywhere. I never thought of this sort of thing before. It’s quite
interesting.
May 29, 2008 at 7:34 PM
Robert
said…
Well, I can sort of imagine a possible scenario, but I don’t think
anyone would seriously bother unless things got really bad. To give you
some sense of how many complaints people in colonial America had before
they resorted to violence, check out the Declaration of Independence.
(People who grow up in Canada and other place, BTW, are generally taught
that the declaration is full of propaganda. True or not, it’s probably
still a good indication of what people feel needs to be true before they
start thinking about violent revolt.)
It’s worth noting that
revolts don’t have to be violent necessarily, but if things get to the
point where one seems necessary to people they probably end up being
that way. Just try to imagine a non-violent revolt in North Korea.
Anyone trying to non-violently revolt would just be shot.
It
would be interesting to check out the Jataka tales that Ven. Dhammika
was talking about. I wonder… do they suggest that people should
revolt in certain cases or simply that people will revolt in those
cases whether they “should” or not? The reality is that “kings” do
ultimately rule by consent. If everyone just decides not to listen to
the king and kill him, then there’s nothing he can do. No god will come
to save him. So regardless of whether they “should” rule by consent, the
fact is that ultimately they’re only there because people approve or
tolerate them.
The world is a rather violent place whether it should be or not.
May 29, 2008 at 7:52 PM
Dhamma81
said…
Robert-
I think you are right about the “approve or
tolerate” them comment. I might add that another one might just be plain
fear, although that might fall under “tolerate.”
May 30, 2008 at 3:29 PM
Robert
said…
Fear would be more like one possible cause for approving or
tolerating. Other causes could be more positive, such as admiration for
the king’s good deeds, etc.
At some sufficiently bad point, fear
ceases to become a factor. Like animals backed into a corner with
nothing to lose, fear no longer matters to people if things are really
that bad.
May 30, 2008 at 6:49 PM
Shravasti Dhammika
said…
Dear Robert,
The idea of ‘rights’ in the sense that we use the
word today is a very recent (18th cent) and a very particular European
concept, so you are quite ‘right’ in raising the question of whether the
Buddha (or whoever composed the Jatakas) said people have a ‘right’
to overthrow unjust governments. He did not. I was couching the
Jataka’s idea in modern terms. The Jatakas imply that it is
understandable, okay, not impious, to do so, it is only to be expected
that it will happen. Nonetheless, even this was not a common notion in
the pre-modern world. It didn’t matter who was ruling or who was
revolting, divine justification was used. Charles I used it to justify
his autocracy and Cromwell used it to justify cutting Charles’ head off.
The Jatakas present the issue in purely practical and non-religious
terms – if it is not to your advantage, if it is to your detriment, get
rid of it.
Bhante Dhammika
May 30, 2008 at 9:23 PM
Robert
said…
What’s interesting is that the whole “divine right” idea just gets
shifted around. Even in the US, the idea has gone from the “divine
right” of kings to the “divine right” of the people. I guess in
societies where people believe in a god or gods, there’s no getting rid
of the whole “divine right” of someone or the other to rule. It makes me
wonder if the Hindu gods have just shifted their divine rights from
kings to the people in places like India which currently have democracy,
or what the current thinking is.