Hinduism is under siege. But unfortunately most Hindus are not aware the massive extent of the attack that Hinduism is going through and many even implicitly support it due to wrongly understanding the ideas of tolerance and passivity and because of petty internal squabbles
Everyone who is a Hindu should read this book!
It talks about the abuse that foreign invaders - Mughals, Portuguese, British - have inflicted on India and Vedic tradition over the past 1000 years. How more Hindus have been killed by artificial famines created by the British, the decimation of Kashmiri Pandits, the Portuguese inquisition etc than the Nazi holocaust. And yet no one is talking about these.
More importantly, it shows how the abuse continues till date through the educational and administrative systems that they have left behind which continue to work for the foreign political-religions and companies against the interests of India.
How the media continue to work against Hinduism and how the laws have been manipulated to enable easy conversion of people and to target all symbols of Hinduism. It also has a number of ideas that the author presents on how we can protect Vedic tradition and why it is critical for the world that we do..
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From http://www.stephen-knapp.com/crimes_against_india.htm
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Book Review by David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)
Hinduism remains the most attacked and under siege of all the major world religions. This is in spite of the fact that Hinduism is the most tolerant, pluralistic and synthetic of the world’s major religions. Hindu gurus have more than any other religious teachers in the world tried to find an underlying unity of religion to create peace in humanity. Yet though Hindu gurus have called for respect for all religions, leaders of other religions have not responded in kind by offering any respect for Hinduism. Instead they have continued to promote their missionary agendas and plan the conversion of India to their beliefs.
Why is Hinduism still so much a target of missionaries and the media? It is really very simple. Hinduism is the largest of the non-conversion, non-proselytizing religions and so offers the greatest possibilities for conversion. It is the vulnerability of Hinduism that makes it a target, not the fact that Hindus are trying to convert or conquer the world for some hostile belief.
After Christianity and Islam, Hinduism is the world’s largest religion and the largest of the non-Biblical traditions. India, where most Hindus reside, has the most open laws allowing in foreign religious groups. While missionaries are virtually banned in China and in Islamic countries, in India they are often tolerated, respected and given a wide scope of activity. Since Christianity is in decline, particularly in Europe, it has a need to find new converts for which India is one of main potential locations, particularly as a comparatively high percentage of Hindu converts are willing to become priests and nuns. Pope John Paul II in a trip to India some ten years ago spoke directly of looking for a ‘rich harvest of souls in the third millennium in Asia’, specifically India.
Yet most Hindus and groups sympathetic to them are not aware of this ‘siege on Hinduism’ that continues unrelenting as part of the multi-national missionary business. In this context, the book of Stephen Knapp, Crimes Against India: and the Need to Protect its Ancient Vedic Tradition, is very timely, well written and well documented. The siege on Hinduism has been going on since the first Islamic armies and Christian missionaries entered India as he clearly delineates and has continued in various forms, violent, subversive or even charitably based.
While people know the history of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazis, the greater and longer genocide of Hindus by Islamic invaders is hardly noticed. Even the genocide in the Bangladesh War of 1971, in which most of the several million killed were Hindus, is not acknowledged as a religious genocide. While people know the history of the Inquisition and the burning of witches in Europe and the genocide of Native Americans by Christian invaders, they don’t realize that India has a similar history in parts of the country like Goa. Knapp fills in these gaps and makes these connections.
More importantly, people don’t realize that questionable conversion tactics are still being used in India today, where in the South, the rate offered for conversion is around twenty thousand rupies, going up and down with the economy! They also don’t realize that it is now American Evangelicals of the Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson line – the religious right that brought George Bush to power – that is spearheading conversion activity and church building in South India, pouring billions into the country.
Yet Knapp’s book is not just written to make us aware of this assault on Hinduism and its many dangers. He also provides a way forward, showing how Hindu Dharma can be revived, better taught, better communicated and more widely shared with the global audience, which is becoming progressively more receptive to Hindu teachings of Yoga, Vedanta and respect for nature. He documents the Hindu renaissance and the modern Hindu movement, which though small is growing rapidly as a Hindu response to this denigration of its venerable traditions. He shows that Hindus are not responding in terms of becoming another intolerant, exclusivist missionary cult. They are organizing themselves in terms of teaching, service and spiritual practices.
The book is well worth reading and will show any open minded person the Hindu side of a millennial debate on religion that has so far largely excluded the Hindu point of view. That Knapp is a western born Hindu adds to his credibility and conviction. He is not simply defending a tradition handed down by his family or his culture, but one that he has embraced from deep spiritual conviction and profound inner experience.
One hopes that readers in India will listen to his voice and that those outside of the country will recognize the Hindu plight along with the other forms of oppression going on in the world. Religious minorities at a global level are still under the assault of religious majorities, which have long been armed with petrodollars, high technology and control of the media. Yet as the book demonstrates, the tide is beginning to turn.
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Contents
PART ONE
THE WAR AGAINST INDIA’S ANCIENT TRADITIONS
Chapter One:
The Purpose of This Book and Defending Dharma
Chapter Two:
The War Against Hinduism
Chapter Three:
Vedic Culture: The Last Bastion of Deep Spiritual Truth
The Prison of Religion * The Freedom in Vedic Culture
PART TWO
INDIA’S HISTORY AND ITS BATTLES TO PROTECT ITS CULTURE
Chapter Four
Early Invasions and the Weaknesses of India
The First Attacks of Islam * The Main Failure and Weakness of India * Do Not Miss the Message of the Past
Chapter Five
The Real Intentions of Islamic Invaders
Chapter Six
Historical Episodes in India’s History that Should Not be Forgotten
The Attacks of Mahmoud Ghazni * Mahmoud Ghazni’s Attack on Mathura * The Destruction of Somnath * Muhammad Ghuri * The Slave (Mamluk) Sultans * The Khaljis * Warning Signs of Tyranny * The Sacking of Chidambaram and Sri Rangam * The Tughlaqs * The Plunder of Jagannatha Puri * Invasion of Kathmandu * Muzaffar Shah’s Attack on Somnath * Amir Timur * The Sayyids * The Lodis * Sikandar Lodi’s Treatment of Mathura * Dwaraka Destroyed by Muhammad Begrha * The Mughals * The Destruction of the Govindaji Temple in Vrindavana * The Destruction of the Keshava Temple in Mathura * The Muslims Burn Lord Jagannatha at Puri * The Bahamanis * Shivaji and the Marathas * How to Win
Chapter Seven
The Portuguese and the Goan Inquisition
Chapter Eight
The Real Intention of the British in India
The Missionaries * Keeping Indians in Poverty * Demeaning the Vedic literature * The Real Good that Came From British India * Interest in Ancient Indian Traditions in Europe * How European Interest in Hinduism Came Back to India Through Gandhi * Historical Incidents of the British in India * The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 * The “Divide and Rule” Policy of the British * On the Road to Independence * The Plague * The Slaughter at Jallianwala Bagh * The Final Struggles for a Free India—in Summary * Jinnah and the Muslim Attitude for Partition
Chapter Nine
The Salt Tax: The Cause of Much Suffering and Many Deaths
The Need for Salt * Death and Dying Under the British
PART THREE
THE STRUGGLES THAT GO ON TODAY
Chapter Ten
Insidious Ideas
Belittling the Vedic Literature * The Aryan Invasion Theory * Was There Ever an Aryan Invasion? * TheTerms “Aryan” and “Dravidian” * The Proto-Indo-European Language * The Caste System
Chapter Eleven
Casteism: Is It the Scourge of Hinduism, or the Perversion of a Legitimate Vedic System?
What Casteism is Today * What is the Original Vedic System Called Varnashrama * The Earliest Reference to the Varnas * How the Present Casteism Developed * The Dangers of Casteism as we Find it Today * What we can do to Eliminate the Caste System
Chapter Twelve
Condescending Attitudes of India’s Elite
Chapter Thirteen
Cultural Preservation in India’s Northeast
Why Bother with the Northeast? * Traveling in Arunachal Pradesh * The People of Arunachal * The Dangers in the Northeast * Working to Restore Cultural Balance * My Lectures * Preventing Loss of Culture in Nagaland * Christian Conversion Tactics in Other Parts of India * Denigration of the Vedic Tradition
Chapter Fourteen
The Threat Against Hindu Temples and Vedic Culture by India’s Government
Protecting Vedic Temples
Chapter Fifteen
Some of the Present Threats and Challenges
Hindus Need to Be and Do More * Lack of Unity * The Waning of Vedic/Hindu Society * Unequal World Press * Terrorism and the Loss of Hindus Around India * Ridiculous Foreign Policy * India’s Politicians * Bureaucratic Corruption * The Legal System * The Threat of Pakistan * Kashmir * Muslim Tactics in Other Areas * China in Tibet
Chapter Sixteen
Social Problems
Cleanliness of India * Saving the Girl Child * Dowry * Child Labor * Bonded Labor * The Homeless * Malnutrition * Literacy * Overpopulation
PART FOUR
WHAT WE CAN DO NOW
Chapter Seventeen
Hindus Must Stand Strong for Dharma
What is Vedic Culture
Chapter Eighteen
Sanatana-Dharma: Its Real Meaning
Chapter Nineteen
About the Name “Hindu”
Chapter Twenty
Save Your Culture
Solutions
Chapter Twenty-one
Vedic Culture: As Relevant Today as Ever
Chapter Twenty-two
Giving Vedic Culture to the Next Generation
Monitoring and Reviewing Children’s School Books
Chapter Twenty-three
Creating a Spiritual Revolution in India for Protecting the Vedic Heritage
Focusing on the Villages * Ways of Reaching Out to the Villages Doing Padayatras by Swamis and Acharyas * Organizing and Teaching Villagers * Building Little Temples in Each Village * Establishing an Open-Door Policy of Sharing Culture and Traditions * Villages and Conversion * Providing Spiritual Education and Practice * Book Distribution * Retraining for Temple Priests in the Villages * Providing Assistance for Medical Concerns * Providing Free Food Distribution for Children * Rallies to Protest Government’s Biased Actions * Follow-Up Actions and Organizing Villages
Chapter Twenty-four
Vedic Temples: Making Them More Effective
It’s all in the Presentation * Using the Universal Language * Temple Classes * Educating the Youth * Mentoring Programs * Training Temple Members in Service * Temple Ashramas * Temples Must be Well Kept * Festivals & Programs for the Local Community * Welcoming Non-Hindus into the Vedic Fold * Book Distribution * Cultural Presentations * Outreach Programs * Temple Tours and Cultural Exhibits for Local Students * Temple Exhibits * Temple Gift Shops * Spiritual Libraries * Temple Restaurants * Support Groups * Pilgrimages to the Holy Places of India * Promotion * Temples Must Share Methods that Work * Temple Must Help Unify People
Chapter Twenty-five
A Call to be Vedic Ambassadors
Being a Vedic Ambassador
Conclusion
Glossary / References / Index
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