Religion for culture, not spirituality

I wish to clarify my position on a matter that inevitably keeps coming up every now and then, and is the cause of considerable confusion.

The matter in question is my religious affiliation and how strongly I practice it. Ask anyone, including some of my close friends, and chances are they’ll say that I am a Christian, Roman Catholic to be precise. There is a sizeable chunk that thinks of me as an atheist, often equating the lack of belief in God with wrong doing, evil and indiscipline. The fact is, I think of myself as being somewhere close to the mid-point of these views. I would say I am a non-believing, non-practicing Christian.

Non-believing because as a man of science I simply cannot accept some of the teachings of Christianity, and I have a few notions of ethics based on my experiences and observation, some of which are in direct contradiction with Christian tradition. For example, I have nothing against condoms, divorce and abortions when necessary, stem cell research, and euthanasia, all of which are being vehemently opposed by Christian leaders. Now don’t get me wrong here, but I think of Jesus Christ as a friend, an influential friend but someone who’d pull you up if you did something wrong (It shouldn’t take rocket science or some half baked religious texts to tell you that you are a bad guy if your actions or inaction contributes to someone suffering). And I have a perfectly logical and scientific explanation for everything mundane that people attribute to the ‘divine’, if J.C. indeed is only in my mind, else to cover for him.

Again, non-practicing, because I do not follow all the rituals of Christianity, at least not in the typical sense. But my actions would probably be more acceptable to J.C. and his dad, than those of most of those who follow all the prescribed rituals.

The above views have made me a lot of enemies among Christians, as well as Hindus who consider my views anti-conformist. (Et tu, A.B.? Then fall Manu.)

Being a member of a religion is not just about subscribing to its beliefs, it is also about a way of life, and often manifests in the mentalities of its followers. With all due credit, Christianity does not condone any kind of violence and killing. With the exception of the U.S.A, all predominantly Christian countries do not have the death penalty. No other religion (except possibly Buddhism and Zoroastrianism) would allow a guy like Dan Brown to, according to them, blaspheme their religion and live.

Before you form any opinion on the subject while reading this post, I must say that in all this I put ethnicity, language and culture first and consider myself a Goenkar first and foremost (like how Albanians care about their language and culture first, irrespective of whether they are Muslims, Roman Catholics, or Eastern Orthodox Christians).

Right Turn

Today, I decided which way I'm gonna vote for in this year's elections for the state legislature of Goa. And my decision is an about turn from my previously held centre-leftist leanings.

The main reason I'll be voting for the far right this time is my realization that the centre-left Indian National Congress is proving to be the downfall of India.

The INC thrives on dividing people on the basis of ethnicity, religion and caste, pitting one community against another, and hoping to get support from all the communities by creating a false impression that they alone can unite India's various ethnicities and faiths.

If there is one event that prompted me to go against the INC is the fact that they incited the Muslims of Bangalore to protest the execution of Saddam Hussein. As usual, the mozzies began rioting and vandalizing the city as if Bangaloreans were responsible for what had happened to Saddam Hussein.

Whats worse is that they even get subsidized travel to Mecca for their Haj ritual, and yet, instead of being loyal, patriotic Indians put religion above nationality. The INC wants to go as far as reserving seats in educational institutions for them.

Even though I myself belong to a religious minority, I feel the years of INC rule have led to a regime in which minorities are getting unduly pampered. And I totally loathe people who put religion and misplaced religious pride above country, language, and culture.

Racism? Not quite..

I personally think we South Asians are taking the matter of racism too far. I want to mention two events that had taken place last week that prove my point.

Pakistanis are, in general, a violent and terrorist-sympathizing nation. The supporters of their cricket team are the rowdiest the sport has ever seen. If they begin pelting debris at the South African team, that too in South Africa, is their behavior not animal-like? Why was Herschelle Gibbs punished for stating the obvious truth?

Second, about the Shilpa Shetty on Big Brother issue.. Again, some of the comments made about her were simply mean ones and could have been said about anybody (without any racist intent). It also serves to mention that Bobby Darling, a small time transvestite and gay bollywood actor, faced discrimination based on sexuality on India's version of the show.

In my opinion, a nation like India, which has prejudices, based on a really illogical system of castes should just not point fingers at others when their own house is not in order.

New Year, New Fears

[ NOTE: All previous posts expressing sentiments contrary to this one now stand invalid. ]

I am back to the blogosphere, after three really hectic months spent in setting in motion actions aimed at furthering my career, education, and life.

During this time, I, or rather, my parents have shifted their home in Goem from Panaji to a semi-urban area, North of the river Mandovi. On my last visit (during Christmas), I realized that my homeland is well and truly facing peril.

The turn of the year brought with it the news of the execution of Saddam Hussein of Iraq. While the whole act reminded me of the execution of William Wallace by the invading forces of King Edward LongShanks, without getting too much into this I just want to say that I would rather that it would have been the individuals I'm gonna talk about in this post.

Goa is at present facing a threat to its very existence. The neighbouring state of Karnataka is illegally building a dam across the river Mhadei (as our Mandovi is known as in Karnataka), in violation of orders from the federal government and the supreme court of India. If it goes ahead, the destruction of the Mandovi would spell ecological and economic disaster for Goa as we depend on this river for agriculture, drinking water, fishing, .. life.

We goenkars as a race are increasingly being marginalized in our own land. Bhinknakars (a term used to refer to non-Konkani speaking Indians) are everywhere, some of them, e.g. Vijay Mallya, in cahoots with our politicians, have even bought vast swathes of our land and are actively involved in propagating an incorrect image of our land and culture. Uncontrolled tourism is bringing about tremendous hardships to the local ethnic-goenkar population. It’s not just the uneducated labourers who are brought in from other states, but the bigger danger is from the rich bhinknakars who come to Goa to make money, often by cheating and brow-beating us.

I regret to mention that you can hear hindi and kannada, and not Konkani, being spoken even in the building where my parents reside.

The Government of Goa stinks. Period.

Instead of protecting us and our state from hostile elements like these, far from it, these sons-of-b*tches are actually selling of our state and our culture to these very inimical entities.

Monster-rat (thats close to his actual name) is a money-lender cum extortionist cum gangster cum minister recently proposed the by now infamous "Regional Plan 2011" which effectively is a blue print to sell of Goa to the builder-hotelier-tourism-polluting industries lobby, purely with the intention of filling his pocket and that of his big boss in the congress party.

Who can forget the government apathy and corrupt interests, accompanied by police brutality, that sold Goa to the Konkan Railway Corporation, the Meta-Strips company, and other companies who have absolutely no regard for the local population.

#######################

So, mogall goenkar bhavva-bhoinniannon, we must rise above our internal differences like religion, and ensure the defeat of Pratapsingh Rane and his government at this year's elections. It is the need of the hour to promote our Konkani language and enforce discrimination against those who live in Goa, who do not speak it.

Foot-note: You may argue that I am following double standards by emigrating to Karnataka to work, and complaining about bhinknakars settling in Goa. Well, Kannadigas are a few millions in number, and their state is as large as an average COUNTRY in Europe. We are less than a million in number, and our state is just about the size of Kosovo. I AM in favour of an exchange of immigrant populations, though.