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(1) Crass, stupid and dangerous, `Agree to Disagree' is an opiate for the Indian masses - Swami Aksharananda
For most of us concerned with the controversy surrounding the sitcom/soap, Agree to Disagree, the intervention of the still paramount leader and other luminaries of that once paramount party raises many questions....
(2) 
(3) East Indian Surinamese Women in the United States: Acculturation, Group Relations, and Managing Strategies in Perspective - Hanan Orna
This study focuses on a segment of the East Indian Surinamese immigrant community in the United States, particularly its women. During the process of acculturation the lives of immigrants undergo many changes and they must understand the relations of power and production in the host country... 
(4) Maraj: Make Hindu Bashing Illegal - Sat Maharaj
"FOREIGN Affairs Minister Ralph Ma-raj said Hindu bashing should be made illegal. "That is what Hin-dus must ask for and this is the protection that this society must give," he declared, while addressing a Ramayan Yagna at the Spring Village Hindu School last Thursday..."
(5) Anglophone media are ‘bashing’ the RSS  - Dr. S.  Mahabir
Last week, during a dinner conversation in Washing-ton, a colleague, Dr. Kulkarni, a Visiting Professor from India, and an Applied Nuclear Physicist at the University of Maryland said there is small group of diehard RSS-bashers in the English language media in India. Mr Achal Prabhala, a journalist from India who is apparently doing a stint with the Stabroek News reminds me of the Professor’s remarks. 
(6)  Mr.Achala repeated the libel - Dhanpaul Mangru
Mr. Achal Prabhala, a young Indian journalist (?), recently wrote an extensive piece on "Hinduism at large" in Guyana, [SN 5-2-02] and inserted someinformation on the RSS and the VHP. While there are many interesting and important points in the piece, itis on the whole, misguided and unbalanced.
(7) Achal Prabhala's Allegations Against the RSS and VHP - Ravi Dev
I completed the manuscript for a book, “Hinduism in the Caribbean”, over a decade ago but haven’t published it yet in trepidation of not capturing the nuances of a living faith adjusting to the rigours of adaptation in a new environment. I therefore have to salute Mr. Achal Prabhala for writing so conclusively and definitively on such a wide range of issues on Hinduism in Guyana.[SN 6-2-02]. And this after less than a months stay in Guyana! But then, it is obvious to me that Mr. Achal had done quite a great deal of research since he claimed to know so much about my activities even though he interviewed me only a few days after his arrival here. Strike one for conscientiousness. With all of that however, there are some gaps in Mr. Prabhala’s narrative which, for the record, I would like to fill...
(8) I support Mr. Sukdeo's critique of Mr. Parris's story - Daniel F. Kissoon
I wish to give my support to everything that was so feelingly expressed by Mr Gokarran Sukdeo (23/01/02) over the derogatory racial nickname used in the "Christmas Annual." I am dismayed that Mr Haslyn Parris and Dr Ian McDonald should display such insensitivity for a cheap laugh. I am doubly dismayed at Mr Ruel Johnson's defence of them and himself for using the slur...

Crass, stupid and dangerous, `Agree to Disagree' is an opiate for the Indian masses
Author: Swami Aksharananda
Source: Stabroek News 12/25/98

Artistic expression in his context, independent or not of its own awareness and intentions, by secularizing the stereotypes and stigmas created by the dominant artistic class, produces, preserves, reproduces, propagates and inculcates those practices and beliefs in accord with the interest of the dominant class-the class that has the ultimate power to deprive Indian people of their very lives. Such art not only gives consent to the established dominance but also simultaneously tends to reject any opposition to such dominance. By creating an artistic discourse that is foreign and even contemptuous to the basic question of security for Indians, by assigning priority to matters that are distinct from this fundamental concern thereby diverting attention from it, by its preoccupation with `national unity' thus seeking to deny the reality of the ongoing attacks on Indians, by equating a militant concern for Indian security with racism, and by the non-production of an artistic discourse that explicitly names and condemns the aggressors, the producer of Agree to Disagree has given consent to the established order in which Indians are the daily victims of gruesome crimes.

EAST INDIAN SURINAMESE WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES
ACCULTURATION, GROUP RELATIONS, AND MANAGING STRATEGIES IN PERSPECTIVE

by Hanan Orna

Introduction

This study focuses on a segment of the East Indian Surinamese immigrant community in the United States, particularly its women. During the process of acculturation the lives of immigrants undergo many changes and they must understand the relations of power and production in the host country. The adjustments they must make may affect the sense of identity of the immigrants. Thus, in this study, I will examine the extent to which Surinamese Indian women adjust to these changes and how they deal with issues pertaining to race, class, gender and ethnicity, all of which are part and parcel of these challenges.

The objectives of the study are academic and policy oriented, although the applicability may not be immediate. These objectives are:

1. To add to the body of literature on East Indian women in the diaspora and the scholarly literature dealing with these issues.

2. To provide information for East Indian Surinamese who are planning to emigrate and/or study in the United States and those interested in the welfare of East Indian Surinamese women who leave Suriname to go abroad.

3. To help policy makers translate womens’ interests into planning in an attempt to better address the needs of the latter.

Limitations of the Study

A limitation of this study is that most of the interviews were conducted in Dutch, which was then translated as closely as possible into English. Accoringly, some of the intended meanings were either obscured or lost. Another limitation is representation. Only women who live in the New Jersey and New York City areas were asked to participate in the study. It is possible that the experiences of women who live in other areas may differ.

There are Surinamese East Indian women in the United States who had first lived in the Netherlands and who are not included in this study. Nevertheless, all of the women in this study came directly from Suriname, and thus had no prior experiences with the issues of race, class and ethnicity as they operate in the Netherlands where many Surinamese live. Women who once lived in the Netherlands, and are now living in the United States, may have different opinions than the women who came directly from Suriname.

All of the women in this study are first generation immigrants, and none has lived here for more than nine years. The views of the women thus represent those of a group of immigrants who have a relatively short tenure in the United States.

Surinamese Immigrants in the United States

The Surinamese in the United States make up a very small number of immigrants. For example, while The International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women at the United Nations (INSTRAW, 1996) places the figure for all immigrants at 1.5 million for 1992, only 160 Surinamese enter the United States each year. The exact number of Surinamese are not specified in the Naturalization and Immigration records. Thus the number of East Indian Surinamese cannot be ascertained. (Columbia University Electronic Data Services, 1994.)

History of Ethnicity in Suriname

Suriname is considered a part of the Caribbean, although it is located on the mainland of South America. Before the 15th century the Surine Indians (hence the name Suriname) had inhabited the region. In the 15th century the only inhabitants were the Caraib, Arawak and Awarao Amerindians. After having been under English rule, the colony remained under Dutch rule for the next 300 years, and between 1650 and 1820 some 300,000 West African slaves were brought into Suriname by Portuguese, Dutch and French settlers to work on the plantations. The plantation economy produced tobacco, cocoa, coffee and sugar, and thrived because of free labor.

When the competition with the Asian sugar producing countries started in 1773, the plantation economy fell into decline, and thus lasted until 1863 when slavery was abolished.

Guerrilla fighters like Baron, Boni and Joli Coeur had also made life difficult for the planters who eventually went back to Europe, leaving only managers in charge. The labor shortage which resulted led to he importation of contract or indentured workers from various parts of the world.

From l873 to 1917 some 37,000 indentured laborers were brought to Suriname from India, and from l893 to 1939 about 33,000 were brought from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). When the contracts of the Javanese and East Indians expired, many of them settled as farmers on land given them in the contract agreements. The Dutch then encouraged the further emigration of Chinese, Portuguese and later Lebanese workers who became merchants after their contracts had expired. Thus the ethnic diversity of Suriname was created, and thus has tended to cut across both class lines and political interests. For example, Lalmohammed (1992) states that despite the caste system which prevailed in India, the East Indian men chose women of castes other than their own, because of the shortage of women.

As of 1995, the population of Suriname was 463,000. Of this number, 233,000 were women. After 1990, slightly more than one-third of Suriname’s population was Creole (urban Blacks who are a mixture of the various ethnic groups), about one third was East Indian (from India), over 15 percent were Indonesian-descended (Javanese) and 10 percent were Maroons (African tribes who had escaped slavery and settled in the interior). There are indigenous Indian and European minorities as well (Charry et al, l983).

Sixty-six percent of the population lives in the districts of Paramaribo and Wanica, which form less than one half percent of the national territory of Suriname. These districts are the most highly urbanized and are a source for trade, shipping and export processing. Only seven percent of the total population lives on 80 percent of the national territory, which has not yet been developed and which serves as a reason for most of the population to be drawn to urban areas to find work and entertainment. The inhabitants who remain in the vast reaches of the country are mostly indigenous Indians and Maroon tribes who live along the banks of the rivers in the tropical rain forest.

The Language Situation in Suriname

Among the various languages which are spoken in Suriname are: Arawak, Caraib, Wajani, Trio and Akuri which are spoken by the indigenous Indian population. The Aukaners, Saramakkaners, Paramakkaners, Matoearies, Alukis and Kwintis, which are the Maroon tribes, speak their own languages which are heavily influenced by the languages that were spoken when their forefathers arrived in Suriname. The influence on the Maroon languages came from Western African languages and some Western European languages such as English, Dutch, French, German and Portuguese, which the colonial settlers had brought with them.

From India the East Indians had brought Hindi and Urdu (Kishna, l983). East Indian political leaders prefer to speak Hindi to their constituents, although the latter are usually more proficient in Sarnami, which consists of a mixture of Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Hindustani, Hindi and Urdu as was spoken in India at the time of their emigration. The East Indian religious leaders prefer Urdu and Hindi as well, and some texts are even in Sanskrit. Furthermore, according to Kishna (l983), in order to perpetuate Indian culture, private radio stations broadcast in Hindi and Urdu. Despite this linguistic trend, the language used by many East Indians remains Sarnami, and depending on the family, the East Indian child will either be proficient in Dutch while speaking Sarnami, or will be more fluent in Sarnami and less proficient in Dutch. For many East Indian families, judging from the tremendous number of educated East Indians, the transition to Dutch has been successfully made.

The Chinese who were contracted to come as migrant laborers spoke Hakka, Cantonese and Mandarin, and the Indonesians spoke Javanese. The lingua franca, Sranan, consists of a mixture of Western European and Western African languages and is especially influenced by English.

Dutch still serves as the official language of Suriname today, and is spoken with varying degrees of fluency by most ethnic groups, although the languages of their own ethnicities as well as Sranan are often more frequently spoken than Dutch (Charry, l983). English is furthermore only taught when students enter secondary school.

Race, Class, Gender and Ethnicity in Suriname

The ethnic diversity in Suriname, while colorful and harmonious on the surface, is far from perfect. The ethnicities live side by side but with certain tensions, while divisions of gender, class and color in all ethnic groups remain deeply ingrained in Surinamese society (Dew, l995; Sordam, l997). For example, the ethnic tensions between the Creoles and the East Indians as well as between the Creoles and the Maroons are present, while political sharing of all ethnicities helps stem the tide of more open ethnic strife. (Dew, 1995).

Class in Suriname is not based on race, as is the case in some other societies. In Suriname members of all ethnic groups may attempt, and indeed many succeed, at achieving upward mobility. Success in Surinamese society is determined by one’s economic status. Class in Suriname also means the ability to live up to the western paradigm in terms of lifestyle. For example, western clothing, music and modes of entertainment have more status in Suriname than the traditional music or dress of all ethnic groups. However, many members of the various ethnic groups continue to focus on the original culture of their countries of origin instead of on western culture which has become the norm in Suriname.

Class does not only mean ethnicity as in the case of the Maroon tribes who are terribly discriminated against, but the values that create class in Suriname intersect with gender as well, relegating many women and their children, who cannot live up to the norm, to poverty. Common-law bonds in Suriname furthermore may exacerbate the problems women and children face after the couples separate, as they may not be adequately protected financially in case of a separation. With an increase in common-law bonds in Suriname for East Asian women, the vulnerability of women in general and for the group under study in particular is thus more pronounced.

Separate from class, race is not a major social marker dividing people and denoting power and privilege in Suriname. The consequences for the social order are that people are identified more by class or ethnicity than by race. People are known as, for example, Javanese or Creole, rather than as Black or White, with an inferred class status, rather than known as Asian or African. The consequences for personal identity are that people operate with gender and ethnicity and class as major factors in shaping their world, and race assumes a muted presence. With this as an initial social context, it is not surprising that women migrating to the United States would be placed into a significantly different social order in which the configuration of race plays a major part. For Surinamese women, issues of class and race may operate in new and unfamiliar ways in the United States, as they are differently configured in Suriname. Given the tensions which exist in Suriname, this study also examines the implications for the relationship between the East Indian women and members of non-East Indian Surinamese and other ethnic groups in the United States.

Asian Groups in the United States

The experiences of the various Asian groups differ in many respects from those of other groups. For example, where they are on the one hand stratified by color, race and class, they are on the other hand praised as the "model minority" (Aguilar-San Juan, 1994).

Immigrants are also frequently placed in ethnic categories which are distinctly different from each other, although they have diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds (Sutton, 1992). According to Manning (1993), Asian groups are accorded the same treatment and are grouped as Asian or Oriental despite such widely diverging backgrounds as Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Filipino Americans, Korean-Americans, Hawaiians, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Arabs and Uzbekis. Manning attributes the labels given to black and Asian groups as "a label of inequality imposed from without rather than constructed by the group from within."

The East Indian Surinamese, as one of the smaller groups of immigrants, must deal with these challenges as part of the process of making a place for themselves in this arena at a time when the social climate is one of antagonism towards newcomers in the United States. Their challenges are especially serious, given the recent debate on immigrants and how they have flooded the welfare rolls and have taken jobs away from natives (Defreitas, 1992).

Immigrants have done well in American society. Indeed, with very few exceptions, the nation consists of immigrants and their forebears. These immigrants, of whatever ethnicity, have felt the sting of hostility or the joys of acceptance, and may feel especially blessed or targeted as the case may be.

The East Indian Surinamese women and their families left Suriname because of worsening economic conditions, and the immediate needs of this group of women are a fulfillment of their goals which were set with upward mobility uppermost in their minds. Within the above framework of immigrant experiences, the small number of East Indian Surinamese women must come to terms with these issues.

Methodology

What the current study explains is not the facts of acculturation per se but the feelings and personal interpretations of East Indian Surinamese women to their experiences in the United States. I attempted to move behind the facts and stories as it were, to the personal responses of women to the way they shape their lives. For this mode of inquiry the qualitative paradigm was the best suited. Data collection in the form of open-ended questions during in-depth interviews allowed for the flexibility and openness needed to talk with respondents at length, and to explore responses in great detail. While I did not do life histories per se, the relationships that developed with some of the respondents over time provided me with rich information about their lives and experiences in the United States.

This exploratory study was done with a non-random sample of fifteen women. Eight of the women and their families live in the Jersey City, New Jersey, area, while seven reside on the outskirts of New York City. Except for two respondents, one of whom is single and the other divorced, all of the women are married.

Most of the women are Hindus, with eleven adhering to the teachings of the Sanatan Dharma branch of Hinduism, while only one respondent belongs to the Arya Dewaker Branch. One respondent does not adhere to any religion, and two are Christians.

For the interviews, I used a tape recorder, and also took many notes. The language for the interviews was either Dutch or English, and I left the choice to the respondents.

Patterns of Acculturation

In the multiethnic society of Suriname, the large Creole population, which comprises almost half of the total number of people, attests to the mixing of ethnicities. The society of the United States is ethnically diverse as well, but because of its ethnic stratification, ethnic groups do not mix as frequently or as well as is the case in Suriname. The East Indian Surinamese women in the United States thus enter a different arena where they must find ways to come to terms with the new ethnic stratification patterns which are in place. The data yielded six major themes in terms of the acculturating patterns of the women, and these themes are:

1. Physical changes, with which is meant the reactions to physically moving from one climate to another, as well as changes of diet and dealing with life in an urban environment.

2. Linguistic changes, which include attempts to or resistance against mastering the mainstream language, as well as efforts or refusal to adopt speech patterns or the language(s) of minority populations, for example Spanish. Knowledge of English as hindrance or aid to upward mobility is also discussed.

3. Education, which includes using the media and the formal and/or informal education systems to work, study, learn and grow.

4. Employment, either in the home, on a daily basis outside of the home or as live-in employees.

5. Friendship and support systems, which include the intercultural forging of ties and networks of support, such as family and kinship ties, as well as friendship and employment and other networks.

6. Racial Discrimination, which includes the way the women view the issues dealing with race, class and ethnicity as well as their own experiences in these areas

1 and 2: Physical and Linguistic Changes

All of the women say that they have adjusted well to urbanization. The women either know each other or know of each other. The women attempt to come together through the socialization process among Surinamese East Indians and also through Surinamese organizations such as Suriyoung.

The women say that the diet of their families is almost identical with that of Suriname, because of the presence of foodstuffs which enable them to prepare traditional East Indian and other Surinamese dishes, and because of the availability of Asian and Surinamese products in the United States.

Most of the women face some difficulty with the English language, since Dutch and/or Sarnami are the languages the women speak in the home. There were only four women who say that English does not pose problems for them. The women who are exposed to the language on a regular basis appear to be more fluent in English than the women who are not.

3 and 4: Education and Employment

While the women are aware of viable educational alternatives, they cope with the undervaluation of third world educational credentials and some cite children and long hours of work as additional hindrances to return to school for further, different or additional training. Some of the women, however, are eager to further their education, and say that in the future they are willing to go back to school.

The following table demonstrates the adjustments the women had to make in terms of employment and this presents their educational level as well.

Source: Compiled by the Author

5 and 6: Friendship and Support Systems

None of the women abuse drugs or alcohol, except for medical reasons. The women say that they find solace in their small family units for the absence of the extended family in the United States.

The women voice the need to own their own homes, to eventually have better jobs which are commensurate with their educational level, and they are concerned with the education of their children. Some of the women say that they remain here so that the children will receive an uninterrupted and good education. In terms of universal health care, the women who have health care praise the health care system, while those who do not complain about the high costs of health insurance.

There is not much interaction with other ethnic groups although some casual acquaintanceships across ethnic boundaries are mentioned by some of the women.

Other support systems for the women are the employment networks which operate largely among themselves, although they also apply for work at employment agencies.

6: Racial Discrimination

The women must deal with racial issues in the United States that are not in place in Suriname, which is stratified by color and class. The women are originally from Asia, so that their experiences reflect those of Asians on the racial and ethnic stratification ladder. However, none of the women is aware of the more favorable placement on this ladder, for example as it compares to African Americans or Surinamese Creoles.

While all of the women are always identified as Asians, their ethnicities are never correctly identified. This does not cause the women concern, and they say that they are treated well by mainstream Americans. With the exception of one woman, there appear not be any problems with other ethnic groups and no problems with racial discrimination. The respondent who forms the exception says that she experienced this discrimination when she attempted to get employment as a teacher in a private school. The respondent decided not to take action against the employer, although she was aware of her legal right to do so.

Discussion

In terms of the race, class and ethnic stratification which are in place in the United States, the women’s reactions, when compared to those of other women of color from Suriname in the United States, differ considerably. For example, in another study by this author, the Creole women are in many instances thought to be African Americans and voice instances of discrimination more often. By contrast, only one Surinamese East Indian woman said that she experienced problems when she attempted to get work in white areas of New York City.

The response of anger and friction with Whites with which African Americans and other people of color in the United States react is one this group of Indian women does not have. One reason may be their more favorable placement on the ladder of racial stratification where they may not have to interpret experiences of racism directly. The women may also simply not want to deal with the issue of race because they rely on the mainstream and other ethnic groups for their employment and other social needs, and an admission of being discriminated against might cause them anxiety. Treating any kind of discrimination against themselves and others as a chance occurrence lessens the sense of rejection and/or alienation in the host country.

Furthermore, discrimination and ethnic divisions and tensions are not areas of open discussion in Surinamese society. Their inexperience with the issues of race may also hinder the women’s perception of when racism and discrimination really occur, and they may treat such acts towards themselves as occasional incidents which will not repeat themselves. However, the inability or unwillingness to confront the issues of race, class and ethnicity as these pertain to themselves may leave the women vulnerable to exploitation in the work place, and to discrimination in housing, education and other areas. Educational credentials of developing countries are not always considered equal to those in the United States, and Suriname is a case in point. Although educational standards are high in Suriname, and Surinamese educational credentials are fully accepted in the Netherlands where half of the population lives, this is not always the case in the United States. For example, one of the respondents has several advanced degrees and has almost completed her doctoral studies in Suriname, where she taught at a teacher’s college, and has also been a high school principal. She was told by the Board of Education of the City of New York that she did not qualify as a high school teacher. The same credentials from the Netherlands would have been accepted.

As a matter of course, but also when the women feel the absence of their families, the strategy of returning to Suriname is held as a safety net. All of the women say that despite misgivings with some facets of the American education system, they want their children to complete their education in the United States because of the broad curriculum. This factor is one that configures greatly in decisions which will affect the women’s decisions to return to Suriname even after many years.

This study points out that acculturation is different for people coming from numerically small immigrant groups than it is for immigrants who are present in larger groups because of the different managing strategies which occur in the smaller populations. Another point is that women of color in the United States are often arbitrarily grouped together, in this case the women are simply "Indian". Grouping the women together because of physical characteristics may lessen their sense of individuality and leave them open to biases as these may arise or may be in place against the population of a particular country where or when the political climate so dictates.

The ethnic tensions with other Surinamese ethnicities prevent many women from coming together and makes it more difficult for the women to seek out friendships with each other. However, the East Indian women have the security of generally small but strong family ties, a system of networking, and a general lack of financial tension in their lives which helps them overcome the isolation they often experience.

It is not yet certain what tensions will result when the young children grow into young adulthood in the United States and challenge some of the traditional cultural patterns, for example the arranged marriages that some families still prefer. However, if the successful stance of East Indians in Suriname, after six generations of separation with the subcontinent of India, is any indication, the Surinamese East Indian women and their families will prevail.

 References

Aguilar-San Juan, K. " Linking The Issues: From Identity to Activism.." In K. Aguilar-San Juan (ed.), The State of Asian America. Activism and Resistance in the 1990s. (pp. 1-18). Boston, Massachusetts: South End Press.

Charry, E. in E. Charry, G. Koefoed and P. Muysken (eds.), De Talen van Suriname [The Languages of Suriname]. Muiderberg, The Netherlands: Couthino Press, 1983

Collins, R. (1979) The Credential Society. New York: Academic Press,1979

Columbia University Electronic Data Services (1993). SPSS Release 4.1 for IBM VM/CMS

(1993) [Machine-readable data file]. Columbia University: New York (Producer).

DeFreitas, G. " Economic Effects of Recent Immigration to the United States. In M. D’Innocenzo and J.P. Sirefman (eds.), Immigration and Ethnicity. American Society - "Melting Pot" or "Salad Bowl"? (pp. 221-229). Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1992.pp.221-229

Dew, E.M. (1995). The Trouble in Suriname, l975-1993. (2nd ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers,1995.

International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (1995). The World’s WomenTrends and Statistics. New York: United Nations,1995.

Kishna, S. "Het onstaan van het Sarnami" [The Origin of Sarnami]. In E. Charry, G. Koefoed P. Muysken (eds.) De Talen van Suriname. Muiderberg, The Netherlands,Couthino Press,1992.

Lalmohamed, B. Hindostaanse Vrouwen. De Geschiedenis van Zes Generaties. [Hindustani Women. The History of Six Generations] Utrecht, The Netherlands,1992.

Manning, M. Beyond Racial Identity Politics: Towards a Liberation Theory for Multicultural Democracy. Race and Class 35 (1), 113-130,1993.

Sordam, M.I. Meer - Kulturen. Achtergrond Informatie Kultureelgedrag van Surinamers. [Cultural Pluralism. Background Information Cultural Patterns of the Surinamese]. Baarn, The Netherlands: Bosch & Keunig, 1997.

Sutton, C.R. (1992) in M. D’Innocenzo and J.P. Sirefman (eds.), Immigration and Ethnicity. American Society - "Melting Pot" or "Salad Bowl"? Greenwood Press, Connecticut, 1992.

Maraj: Make Hindu bashing illegal

Source: Trinidad Express April 26, 1999

Anglophone media are ‘bashing’ the RSS 

Author: Dr. S. Mahabir
Source: Stabroek News, 6/13/02

Dear Editor,

Last week, during a dinner conversation in Washing-ton, a colleague, Dr. Kulkarni, a Visiting Professor from India, and an Applied Nuclear Physicist at the University of Maryland said there is small group of diehard RSS-bashers in the English language media in India. Mr Achal Prabhala, a journalist from India who is apparently doing a stint with the Stabroek News reminds me of the Professor’s remarks. Mr Prabhala’s articles in the Sunday Stabroek titled ‘The Rise of Hindu Extremism’ (SN, 2.6.02) wickedly and falsely maligns the RSS, the largest Hindu voluntary organization in the world. He argues essentially that: (1) RSS is guilty of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination; and (2) RSS incites riots against Muslims.

 He wrote: "Nathuram Godse, a staunch Hindu member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) delivered what was to be a fatal blow to the organization, one evening in 1948. Godse famously assassinated Mahatma Gandhi at Birla House in Delhi, and was hanged for his crime... The RSS has never quite regained its respectability." The fact is Nathuran Godse was at one time a member of the RSS, but left because he felt the RSS was too soft towards Muslims during the struggle for a separate Muslim state, which later became Pakistan - India’s worst enemy today. Much later after he left the RSS, Godse shot Ghandhi after bowing to his feet. In his testimony to the court, Godse admitted that he was at one time a member of the Congress Party and also actively participated in many Ghandhi-led programmes. By Mr Prabhala’s logic, the RSS is responsible for Godse’s action; then using the  same logic the Congress Party and even Ghandhi himself would also be responsible for Godse’s action. Godse was also a journalist, and by Prabhala’s logic the journalistic fraternity would also be responsible.

 Mr Editor, the infamous American ‘Unibomber’ studied at Harvard. By Mr Prabhala’s logic, Harvard University would be responsible for the ‘Unibomber’s’ action. Timothy McVeigh, the person found guilty of bombing a federal building in Oklahoma, was a member of the Christian Methodist Church. By Mr Prabhala’s logic the Methodists would be responsible for McVeigh’s action.

 Mr Editor, the court records are available for anyone to read. The fact that the RSS was cleared of all charges by a number of courts in India did not matter to Mr Prabhala. Deposing before the Kanpur Commission, Shri RN Banerjee, Congress Party’s Union Home Secretary at the time of Ghandhi’s assassination, testified that no member of the RSS was involved in the assassination. The report documents his testimony: "It (RSS) had a slant against Gandhism, but its anti- Gandhism did not seem to go to the extent of personally harming Mahatma Gandhi." (Kanpur Commis-sion Report, Vol. II, p. 75). The then Home Minister, Sardar Patel, in a response to a letter from PM Nehru suggesting that Ghandhi’s assassination was, "a part of a much wider campaign organized chiefly by the RSS," wrote: "I have myself gone through the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case, and... it... clearly emerges that... the RSS was not involved at all..." (Sardar Patel’s Correspondence: 1945-1950, Ahamdabad, Navjeevan Publishing House, 1973). In 1978, then PM Morarji Desai, on the floor of  Parliament absolved the RSS completely from the Gandhi assassination.

 Mr Prabhala should know that recently, AG Noorani, a journalist for a newspaper called the Statesman in India, for accusing the RSS of murdering Mahatma Gandhi had to appear before the Delhi High Court and begged to submit an unconditional apology to the RSS. The apology was published in the Statesman on March 3, 2002 and included this: "We wish to clarify that the publication was made without malice and with no intention to denigrate or defame any person or persons, or the RSS. We regret the publication."

 Mahatma Gandhi himself, prior to his death visited an RSS camp on September 14, 1947 in Bhangi Colony, New Delhi, and was full of praise for the RSS. The RSS morning prayers still have the name of Ghandhi, and it is sung daily by RSS members. Hindus must ask this question: Why is it that people who are opposed to the RSS continue to peddle the lie that the RSS is guilty of Gandhi’s murder? The reason they continue to peddle this lie is obvious: this is the last trump card that RSS-bashers can play on Hindus. It is powerful because of its emotional connection to Mahatma Gandhi.

 Mr Prabhala’s other main argument is that the RSS is anti-Muslim and incites riots. In his Gujarat example, he was clever not to mention that it was Muslims who first torched a train carrying Hindus returning from a pilgrimage in Ayodhya, and it was this that sparked the backlash. Several Hindu men, women and children were torched to death in this incident. Dr Zenab Banu of Gujarat, for her PhD dissertation looked at communal riots since the 18th century in India and found that over 95% of the time Muslims initiated riots. Her work was published in a book entitled ‘Politics of  Communalism’ (1978). That the RSS is anti-Muslims is totally false for even Saudi Arabia has praised the RSS for the assistance RSS volunteers gave to Saudi passengers of a crashed Saudi airline in India. In the aftermath of the Gujarat earthquake, the RSS distributed thousands of food packets to Muslims. Even a small number of Muslims have attended RSS camps, and this is usually widely reported in Indian newspapers.

 Mr Prabhala also accuses the RSS as being "extremist" for saying, "Let the Muslims understand that their safety lies in the goodwill of the majority." Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, a favourite of the Marxists and pseudo-secularists also said the same thing. Sardar Patel said the same thing. The Justice Niyogi commission investigating Muslim-Hindu riots also said the same thing. By MrPrabhala’s logic, Nehru, Patel, and members of the Niyogi Commission are all extremists. Mr Editor, on these issues discussed here, one can only conclude that Mr Prabhala has an anti-RSS agenda.

 Yours faithfully,
Dr S. Mahabir

Mr.Achala repeated the libel

Author: Dhanpaul Mangru

Dear Editor,

Mr. Achal Prabhala, a young Indian journalist (?), recently wrote an extensive piece on "Hinduism at large" in Guyana, [SN 5-2-02] and inserted someinformation on the RSS and the VHP. While there are many interesting and important points in the piece, itis on the whole, misguided and unbalanced.

Mr. Achal, after his brief sojourn at an US university, betrays a pathology that bedevils many a self-alienated Indian-trying-to-become-American. It appears that despite having little prior background, by supplying the Stabroek News with the "caste, cows, and curry" myth of India, he ropes in the Hindus of Guyana as part of the continual reconfirmation of the superiority of the West over Hinduism, pushed by a growing genre of uniquely Indian intellectualism which has been called "simultaneously stupid and gifted, living paradoxically in an ivory tower." These young, English-language writers are of a new breed, with revulsion to anything even remotely connected with Hinduism. As typical Macaulayites, they see nothing in Hinduism except for inequality between empty rituals, castes and burning of women. The paradox is that they are also sharp and acute critics of the dominance of the whites, colonialism, neo-colonialism, corporate greed of America, etc. In other words, they have memorized well the rhetoric of Marxism, nowadays reinvented as "the leftist progressive circle."

However, to them, India's history of things worthwhile starts only when the Muslims colonized it. While masters at deconstructing everything pertaining to British colonialism, what can these scholars replace it with? Answer: nothing prior to the Muslim invasion. Since the British period was cruel, and pre-Mughal India was primitive (except for Buddhism which gets moved under East Asian  Studies), what is seen as any positive Indian culture is Mughal centric! Why? Answer: They simply lack any knowledge of Sanskrit Classics, and find it very embarrassing when this is pointed out to their white cohorts. Imagine Mr. Prabhala does not know the Gayatri Mantra! American liberal education includes a solid foundation in the Greek Classics, as that is regarded as the basis for Western civilization. The equivalent thing would be for these Indian "liberals" to be well grounded in Indian Classics.

But so successful has their hatred become for anything indigenous to India, that today most world class scholars in Sanskrit Classics have got their PhDs from Western universities, and most top academic journals and conferences on Indology are in the West - because this Marxist wave expelled Indian Classics and Indology from India's own higher education. Sanskrit got condemned as being part of "The Evil Brahmin Conspiracy" – as exemplified by the Purohit at his upainayan ceremony. Imagine! Mr. Achal telling his American liberal arts college that Greek, Latin and the Classics as being from a primitive, pagan, and slave-owners' culture, should therefore to be eradicated!

This is the lie they live behind: the pretence that they are authentic ambassadors and representatives of Indian culture: look how condescending (yet simplistic because of his lack of grounding) Mr. Prabhala was in his appraisal of Divali in Guyana. In fact they represent the West's successful mental colonization of India, hence, their paradox and neurosis, when this gets exposed. This is the syndrome that Richard Crasta has called "impressing the whites." It is what Enrique Dussel, Frantz Fanon, and Edward Said explained as the process of the dominant culture appropriating a tier of intellectuals from the dominated culture to become their proxies in ruling over the rest. In exchange for this loyalty to the dominant culture, they receive a considerably enhanced position, rewards, and a sort of neo-white status.

Over 95% of all firing and other forms of police atrocities in the British Empire were done by Indian Sepoys. Interestingly, the Chinese did not make good sepoys, because they were not so willing to sell out to the masters. Today, the Indian Sepoy archetype is found in academics in the West, in the humanities. Their role on behalf of the dominant culture is to supply the myth of the "other" so as to fit into the dominant culture's grand narrative of itself. As Said pointed out, the West was defined only with respect and in relation to the "others." To sustain this self definition, an obsessive Indological scholarship was carried out since the time of William Jones in the 1700s. Ironically, this Orientalism is precisely what they try so hard to fight against! But on behalf of which culture - do they even know the culture on whose behalf they are obs! essed to fight?

Today, it is these brown-skinned Kiplings who supply the "caste, cows, and curry" theory of India - the eternal land where nothing changes except for foreign importation, which therefore, legitimizes colonization, multinational takeover of the indigenous, and Christian Proselytizing. Mr. Achala flays the RSS and the VHP for attempting to rectify these historical by selective quotations and misrepresentations: a court absolved RSS for any connection to Nathuram Godse, who shot Gandhi. Yet Mr.Achala repeated the libel.

Having said all this, I do agree that any inter-religious violence, such as that in Gujerat, is a terrible reflection upon the local governance. But I would not so simplistically rush to a one-sided causal explanation. For instance, Mr. Achal fails to stress the initial premeditated burning of Hindus on the Sabarmati or acknowledge the 50,000+ madrassas operating in India, many with Saudi ! petro-dollars, and promoting "cultural imperialism" of   Arabism, as V. S. Naipaul so eloquently describes in other non-Arab countries.

However, the greater issue I have with this young Indian-turned-American trying to "impress with whites" is his sheer ignorance about Hinduism and nationalism. What might be his position concerning pluralism, as contrasted with religion-based nationhood, the latter being the choice Pakistan wants to force upon Kashmir, given that it was the demand for an Islamic State on which Pakistan was founded?

Rather than name-calling however, Mr. Prabhala should display some sophistication in analyzing contemporary world processes. The left/right dialectic, that he seems to have grown up on, is too simplistic and obsolete. The view that tradition and modernity are in mutual opposition is still well entrenched in India's left, while the rest of the world has moved on. Hence, he should se! t himself free from this need to "otherize" Hindu traditions. America is a land of hyphenated identities: Italian-American, Irish-American, Japanese-American, Jewish-American, Black-American, Muslim-American, and so forth. Hence, he should not fear his Indianness as negative baggage, and try to learn about it – maybe as he says from the Guyanese Hindus who seems to be very proud of their Hindutva.
Sincerely,

Dhanpaul Mangru

Achal Prabhala's Allegations Against the RSS and VHP

Author: Ravi Dev

June 3^rd, 2002

Dear Editor,

I completed the manuscript for a book, “Hinduism in the Caribbean”, over a decade ago but haven’t published it yet in trepidation of not capturing the nuances of a living faith adjusting to the rigours of adaptation in a new environment. I therefore have to salute Mr. Achal Prabhala for writing so conclusively and definitively on such a wide range of issues on Hinduism in Guyana.[SN 6-2-02]. And this after less than a months stay in Guyana! But then, it is obvious to me that Mr. Achal had done quite a great deal of research since he claimed to know so much about my activities even though he interviewed me only a few days after his arrival here. Strike one for conscientiousness. With all of that however, there are some gaps in Mr. Prabhala’s narrative which, for the record, I would like to fill.

Mr. Prabhala connects me and ROAR to the VHP and RSS (“affiliation with Hindu extremists”) solely because he, “noticed Ravi Dev’s name among the many Guyanese who traveled to Trinidad in 2000, for the World Hindu Conference, where the keynote speakers included VHP president, Ashok Singhal and RSS chief KS Sudarshan, both specially flown in all the way from India”. Now if Mr. Prabhala had noticed my name (from where?), surely he would have noticed Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud and Mrs. Varshnie Jagdeo and so many other prominent Hindus from Guyana? Does this mean that the PPP is “affiliated” to the VHP and RSS? But the larger question is why does anyone have to question the right of the VHP and the RSS be present at a World Hindu Conference organized by all fifty two Hindu organizations in T&T? Are VHP and RSS not Hindu organizations? Mr. Prabhala and others may disagree with aspects of their work in India, this is a right the Indian Constitution gives them, but VHP and RSS are legal entities there, aren’t they? The VHP is only the single largest Hindu organization in the world.

I am not sure what Mr. Prabhala means by suggesting that Messrs. Singhal and Sudarshan were “specially flown in”. All delegates paid their own air-fares and the Guyanese delegates were the only ones who were given concessions on their lodging. It is surprising that Mr. Prabhala, who is from India did not mention that the main speaker was Shankaracharya Divyananda Teerth Maharaj. This was the first time that a Shankaracharya, one of only sixteen in India, had left the shores of India: this was a very important moment for Caribbean Hinduism. But maybe it was because it may have spoiled Mr. Prabhala’s thesis of RSS dominance of the Conference. Mr. Prabhala had insisted to me that it was the Shankaracharya of Kanchi, who was sympathetic to VHP, who had attended. He promised to check when I pointed out that it was not so. Mr. Prabhala did not also mention the hundreds of delegates who came from across the world – South Africa, Malaysia, England, Mauritius etc.

One of Mr. Prabhala’s premise is that these big, bad organizations from India will come into our countries and make their agendas ours. I guess he’s also worried that Christians from the US such as the Mormons and Islamic teachers from Pakistan and elsewhere will pollute us. This is a very condescending position taken by many Indians from India, especially from the Western-educated, elite strata. It assumes that we “natives” can’t think for ourselves and make our own decisions as to what is good for us. Mr. Prabhala ignored the distinction I made between the theological elements of a religion, which are universal and the sociological elements which are contextually generated and may not be relevant for all times and places. I pointed out that in my view, the struggle between the Hindus and Muslims in India is a sociological contingency generated by India’s belated attempt to address their “national” question, which Pakistan had already resolved. In Guyana, I pointed out, this “national” question had worked to bring together Indians of all persuasions to challenge the dominant Creole culture (which had excluded them in its evolution) and its carriers – the Africans. Thus no serious thinker would import the Indian national question into Guyana.  Mr. Prabhala also ignores ROAR’s success in putting into practice the message that it has placed on the national agenda since its formation – that each group must have authentic representatives representing their viewpoints – by having a Christian lay preacher, Charles Sugrim as its President, Salahudeen Nausrudeen, a devout Muslim as the VP and Ravi Dev, a practicing Hindu in its top Executive positions. Mr. Prabhala egoistically assumes that “sensing what I may want to hear, (Dev) talks mainly of ethnic representation”. How would I know what Mr. Prabhala wanted to hear? Mr. Prabhala also ignored my point about the widespread feeling of alienation amongst Indians by omitting the source of the cricket anecdote – the Marxist Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

Mr. Prabhala’s response to my request for the name of some other group that may provide liturgical materials to Hindus, if he felt that the VHP should be persona non grata even in that respect, was to suggest the Brahma Kumari Mission. I pointed out that the Brahma Kumaris do not define themselves as “Hindus”. He promised to get back to me with some names. So I guess, contrary to what he declared in his article, he was “the only person in Guyana who (did not) know of the widely respected, progressive Hindu Arya Samaj” who he now claims could provide such materials. Incidentally the Arya Samaj were at the World Hindu Conference and Arya Samajis are members of the VHP. In any case, his suggestion about “Hindus” seeking liturgical materials from the Arya Samaj displays his total lack of understanding of the local doctrinal schism between the Sanataanists and the Samajis, which is much more pronounced than in India.

One could elaborate on so many other elided points but I will conclude by advising Mr. Prabhala, that as he completes his three-months stint at the Stabroek News (who sought out whom?) he projects his sub-continental orientations a little less into our local situation. We may have come from the subcontinent, to paraphrase our poet David Dabydeen, with cutlasses in our hands, but we have demonstrated that enough of us have exchanged our cutlasses for pens that we can begin to plot our own courses to navigate our own journeys. 

Sincerely,
Ravi Dev

I support Mr. Sukdeo's critique of Mr. Parris's story

Author: Daniel F. Kisson
Source: Stabroek News, Jan. 31, 2002

Dear Editor,

I wish to give my support to everything that was so feelingly expressed by Mr Gokarran Sukdeo (23/01/02) over the derogatory racial nickname used in the "Christmas Annual." I am dismayed that Mr Haslyn Parris and Dr Ian McDonald should display such insensitivity for a cheap laugh. I am doubly dismayed at Mr Ruel Johnson's defence of them and himself for using the slur. We have lost another generation to our low race war.
I have further unease over Mr Miles Fitzpatrick's defence of the crass racial remarks McDonald makes in his novel. My unease arises from Stabroek News' recent editorial stand on Naipaul's Nobel Prize which emboldened a host of critics to charge that Naipaul is a racist among other things. These critics found support in two blistering SN editorials. The first one, "Sir Vidia's Shadow", published on October 25, 2001, quoted from Caryl Phillips who stated that Naipaul has made "the most outlandish, racist, unscholarly and inaccurate statements in books and interviews ...". SN's editor added after this quote that Naipaul's "literary fame has allowed him to get away with a great deal of shameful nonsense".

The protagonist in McDonald's book bluntly expresses revulsion for whole races of people but Fitzpatrick dismisses this as the mere musings of a fictional character. Stabroek News never considered this defence as a possibility in Naipaul's case (putting aside whether the charge of racism against Naipaul has merit) and therein lies my unease. Fitzpatrick points out that there are rules of engagement in these matters and the learned SC must realise that SN has set a precedent on the criteria used for determining who is racist. The rules of engagement must be applied fairly and even-handedly. It would be very sad indeed if it were discovered that the rules are applied by Stabroek News in a racially discriminatory manner - that the criteria used to determine racism if you are an Indian differ from the criteria used for others.

I have further unease in the excuses being made for McDonald's racist statements by Fitzpatrick since I believe they are both directors of Stabroek News. It smacks of cronyism.

Johnson seems to be a very silly young man who knows little about everything and even less about language and its contextual usage. He is being given responsibilities that are way above his reach. He should note that racists are also courageous and honest, qualities he attributes to Dr. McDonald. Courage and honesty have to be linked with goodness, humility and intelligence before we can have decent people and societies.
Is Stabroek News also racist towards Indians is my question.

Yours faithfully,
Daniel F. Kissoon

Editor's note
We believe that Mr. Ruel Johnson, responding to a letter by R. Sukhraj in his letter of the 20th January 2002, made a genuine effort to grapple with the difficult and sensitive issues involved when he stated: "What McDonald's novel did was to validate and express the general psychic tension of Caribbean "white" people in an era of changing racial concepts in the region. Regardless of the historical juxtaposition of the races in post-colonial societies like ours, no individual should be denied the right to express a genuine emotion using literature, autobiographical or otherwise; the colour of someone's skin should not provide the equation by which we measure the validity of that person's feeling.
To write anything even vaguely autobiographical, Sukhraj, is an act of extreme emotional courage and intellectual honesty; to recognize and confess to the prejudices that have been conditioned into us is always a monumental task.
The Hummingbird Tree adequately captures the angst suffered by an individual and an era; as such its validity as one of the more useful pieces of Caribbean literature is beyond dispute."
Dr. McDonald is not a director of Stabroek News as the writer states but has been a most distinguished op-ed columnist since the newspaper started.