Mera Bharat Mahaan? Thakur's "offending" Facebook Posting

Thakur Ranjit Singh: India Independence Facebook Posting and Hypocritical Indian leadership in Auckland

Birth of FIJI PUNDIT blogsite is directly attributable to my Facebook posting on India independence, telling of few home truths that angered some male-chauvinistic Indian leaders in Auckland and Indian Newslink’s Editor. They ganged up on me, apparently had an Indian lynch-mob after me and forced Waitakere Indian Association to sack me as its Vice President.

When on an overseas in USA in August, I was sickened by euphoria of Indians towards their 65^th Independence, and wrote some truths about once proud nation. I wrote this posting from capital city of California, Sacramento and addressed to my friends only. That was seen by one of my ‘friends” at Aotea Centre in Auckland and spread like wildfire. In emotional frenzy, some Indian leaders lost all sense of reality. Blinded by misplaced loyalty for their former country, they always try to sweep rottenness, corruption and other vice under carpet and glorify business acumen, as if making money is all that matters for India as a nation and to Indians.

Some people may be wondering what Thakur wrote on his Facebook that triggered the wrath of Indian leaders.

THIS IS WORD BY WORD WHAT I HAD POSTED ON MY FACEBOOK

“As every Indian man and his dog talk about India's Independence celebration on 15 August, we need to stand back, away from misnomer and misplaced tagging of "MERA BHARAT MAHAAN"[Our India is great] and reflect on our achievement as the largest democracy on earth. Tagged as the worst country in the world for a woman to live, with largest amount of black money hoarded in Swiss Banks, with most corrupt politicians and officials, with very lucrative businesses and businessmen worldwide, but bereft of human kindness that goes with it. As a business community we have done well, how about as human beings? Look as Olympic medal tally. China with the same population is in top 3 while India with a billion people HAS BECOME A LAUGHING STOCK. Do we still have corrupt officials like Kalamadi leading our sporting team? HOW IS OUR BHARAT MAHAAN? So this INDEPENDENCE DAY, bow your head and pray for a miracle to salvage the name of a once proud country, so once again we can say, we are proud to be an Indian. FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR ALL THOSE SUFFERING FROM OSTRICH SYNDROME. I am proud to be Fijian, and thank my grandfather for running away from India in 1915 for a new home in Fiji.”

Subsequent to the above posting, I was forced to apologise to Indian leaders in Auckland. These among other included Venkat Raman, Editor of Indian Newslink, Jeet Suchdev of Bhartiya Samaj, Balubhai Mistry of Manukau Indian Association, Sunny Kaushal, Labour party politician Vinod Patel of Hindu Council of New Zealand. I was defamed and misquoted in Indian Newslink by both its editor Venkat Raman and politician Sunny Kaushal.

Just a note, subsequent to my posting above, India has been suspended from International Olympic Committee. [Read FIJI PUNDIT: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=207937644965682419#editor/target=post;postID=7654402821953823988 ]

In light of recent gang rape in Delhi, there is renewed awakening about mistreatment of women in India with protests spreading like wild fire in all states of India. The protest is against male chauvinistic justice system where rapists are neither caught, if caught, not punished and laws are so lopsided against women. As I write, there are nationwide protests in India where our mothers and daughters do not feel safe in buses. In fact there have been calls for death penalty for rapists and protests and awakening from this gang rape will hopefully deliver some respect for women from Indian males.

Fiji Pundit will carry further writings on this subject as New Zealand public may not get the true story from spin doctoring Indian media which endeavours to hide news on vice of India under the carpet. Or Indian leaders silence and bully people telling truth about India, as they did to me. No wonder we hardly have any Indian journalists or commentators, writing without fear or favour, as Rajendra Prasad and yours truly do.

YOU BE THE JUDGE ON WHAT WAS OFFENSIVE AND DEROGATORY THAT I WROTE. Now, WHO SHOULD APOLOGISE TO WHOM. Is our Bharat mahaan?

[I suspect many Indian leaders do not correctly comprehend what the phrase “every man and his dog” means]