Who is St. Xavier

Francis Xavier or St. Xavier who is revered by many indians, and we come across institutions in his name but in his life time he has massacred many innocent hindus in goa due to his role in initiating the Inquistion Laws. Francis Xavier had destructed the native idols and temples in goa and requested the Inquisition laws to be implemented in Goa. Though he never saw it happen; it commenced eight years after his death.

He used to refer to natives as devil-worshipers and spiritually blind, Hindu teachings as repulsive and grotesque, Vishnu's transformation as foulest shapes, Shiva as shameless, Kali as clamoring for sacrifices, many-headed and many-armed gods and goddesses in temples as hideous forms and temples and altars as place of degrading rites.

According to Rao, "St. Francis Xavier made it a point not only to convert the people but also destroy the idols and ancient places of worship."

On May 16, 1545, Xavier requested the King of Portugal to establish the Inquisition in Goa: "The second necessity for the Christians is that Your Majesty establish the Holy Inquisition in Goa because there are many who live according to the Jewish Law and according to the Mohammedan Sect, without any fear of God or shame of the World. And since there are many Hindus who are spread all over the fortresses, there is the need of the Holy Inquisition, and of many preachers. Your Majesty should provide such necessary things for your loyal and faithful subjects in the Indies."

Here are some other quotes from him: "These children, I trust heartily, by the grace of God, will be much better than their fathers. They show an ardent love for the Divine law, and an extraordinary zeal for learning our holy religion and imparting it to others. Their hatred for idolatry is marvellous. They get into feuds with the heathen about it, and whenever their own parents practise it, they reproach them and come off to tell me at once. Whenever I hear of any act of idolatrous worship, I go to the place with a large band of these children, who very soon load the devil with a greater amount of insult and abuse than he has lately received of honor and worship from their parents, relations, and acquaintances. The children run at the idols, upset them, dash them down, break them to pieces, spit on them, trample on them, kick them about, and in short heap on them every possible outrage."

"When I have finished baptizing the people, I order them to destroy the huts in which they keep their idols; and I have them break the statues of their idols into tiny pieces, since they are now Christians. I could never come to an end describing to you the great consolation which fills my soul when I see idols being destroyed by the hands of those who had been idolaters."

"Following the Baptisms, the new Christians return to their homes and come back with their wives and families to be in their turn also prepared for Baptism. After all have been baptised, I order that everywhere the temples of the false Gods be pulled down and idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols by the very people who formerly worshipped them."

"I order everywhere the temples pulled down and all idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols." "When the boys informed him that some had made an idol, he went with them and had it broken into a thousand pieces. If in spite of all his advice someone persisted in making idols, he would have them punished by the Patingatis (Parava headsman) by exile.... One day when he heard that idols had been worshipped in the house of a Christian, he ordered the hut to be burnt down as a warning to others."

Hindi is not the Official Language of India

THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT, 1963
(AS AMENDED, 1967)
(Act No. 19 of 1963)
An Act to provide for the languages which may be used for the official purposes of the Union, for transaction of business in Parliament, for Centrtal and State, Acts and for certain purposes in HighCourts. Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fourteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title and Commencement -
1. This Act may be called the Official Languages Act, 1963.
2. Section 3 shall come into force on the 26th day of Januray, 1965 and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.
2. Definitions.-
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
a. "appointed day" in relation to section 3, means the 26th day of Januray, 1965 and in relation to any other provision of this Act, means the day on which that provision comes into force;
b. "Hindi" means Hindi in Devanagari Script.
3. Continuation of English Language for official purposes of the Union and for use in Parliament-
(1) Nothwithstanding the expiration of the period of fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution, the English language may, as from the appointed day, continue to be used in addition to Hindi,
a. for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before that day; and
b. for the transaction of business in Parliament:
Provided that the English language shall be used for purposes of communication between the Union and a State which has not adopted Hindi as its Official Language:
Provided further that where Hindi is used for purposes of communication between one State which has adopted Hindi as its official language and another State which has not adopted Hindi as its Official Language, such communication in Hindi shall be accompanied by a translation of the same in the English language:
Provided also that nothing in this sub-section shall be construed as preventing a State which has not adopted Hindi as its official language from using Hindi for purposes of communication with the Union or with a State which has adopted Hindi as its official language, or by agreement with any other State, and in such a case, it shall not be obligatory to use the English language for purposes of communication with that State.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) where Hindi or the English Language is used for purposes of communication-
i. between one Ministry or Department or office of the Central Government and another;
ii. between one Ministry or Department or office of the Central Government and any corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or any office thereof.;
iii. between any corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or any office thereof and another translation of such commmunication in the English language or, as the case may be in Hindi shall also be provided till such date as the staff of the concerned Ministry, Department, office or the corporation or company aforesaid have acquired a working knowledge of Hindi.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) both Hindi and the English languages shall be used for-
i. resolutions, general orders, rules, notifications, administrtative or other reports or press communiques issued or made by the Central Government or by a Ministry, Department or office thereof or by a corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or by any office of such corporation or company;
ii. administrative and other reports and official papers laid before a House or the Houses of Parliament;
iii. contracts and agreements executed, and licences, permits, notices and forms of tender issued, by or on behalf of the Central Government or any Ministry, Department or office thereof or by a corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or by any office of such corporation or company.
(4) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) the Central Government may, by rules made under section 8, provide for the language/languages to be used for the official purpose of the Union, including the working of any Ministry, Department, Section or Office and in making such rules, due consideration shall be given to the quick and efficient disposal of the official business and the interests of the general public and in particular, the rules so made shall ensure that persons serving in connection with the affairs of the Union and having proficiency either in Hindi or in the English language may function effectively and that they are not placed at a disadvantage on the ground that they do not have proficiency in both the languages.
(5) The provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1), and the provisions of sub-section (2), sub-section (3) and sub-section (4) shall remain in force until resolutions for the discontinuance of the use of the English language for the purposes mentioned therein have been passed by the legislatures of all the States which have not adopted Hindi as their Official Language and until after considering the resolution aforesaid, a resolution for such discontinuance has been passed by each House of Parliament.
4. Committee on Official Language-
(1) After the expiration of ten years from the date on which section 3 comes into force, there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament with the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses.
(2) The Committee shall consist of thirty members, of whom twenty shall be members of the House of the people and ten shall be members of the Council of States, to be elected respectively the members of the House of the People and the members of the Council of States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Committee to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for the official purposes made in the use of Hindi for the official purpose of the Union and submit a report to the President making recommendations thereon and the President shall cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to all the State Governments.
(4) The President may, after consideration of the report referred to in sub-section (3), and the views, if any, expressed by the State Government thereon, issue directions in accordance with the whole or any part of that report :
Provided that the direction so issued shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of section 3.
5. Authorised Hindi translation of Central Acts, etc. -
(1) A translation in Hindi published under the authority of the Prtesident in the Official Gazette on and after the appointed day-
a. of any Centrtal Act or of any Ordinance promulgated by the President, or
b. of any order, rule, regulation or by-law issued under the Constitution or under any central Act, shall be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in Hindi.
(2) As from the appointed day, the authoritative text in the English language of all Bills to be introduced or ammendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament shall be accompanied by a translation of the same in Hindi authorised in such manner as may be precribed by rules made under this Act.
6. Authorised Hindi translation of State Acts in certain cases -
Where the Legislature of a State has prescribed any language other than Hindi for use in Acts passed by the Legislature of the State or in Ordinances promulgated by the Governor of the State, a translation of the same in Hindi, in addition to a translation thereof in the English language as required by clause (3) of article 348 of the Constitution, may be published on or after the appointed day under the authority of the Governor of the State in the Official Gazette of the State and in such a case, the translation in Hindi or any such Act or Ordinance shall be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in the Hindi language.
7. Optional use of Hindi or other Official language in judgements etc. of High Courts -
As from the appointed day or any day thereafter the Governor of a State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorise the use of Hindi or the official language of the State, in addition to the English language, for the purposes of any judgement, decree or order passed or made by the High Court for that State and where any judgement, decree or order is passed or made in any such language (other than the English language), it shall be accompanied by a translation of the same in the English language issued under the authority of the High Court.
8. Power to make rules -
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or more in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of on effect, as the case may be so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
9. Certain provisions not to apply to Jammu and Kashmir-
The provisions of section 6 and section 7 shall not apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mother Teresa - An Image of Poverty

Another reason why Indians often exhibit a negative idea of themselves, may be because India is always associated in the world with poverty : Mother Teresa, Unicef, or Calcutta. This image has been reinforced by books such as the City of Joy, an international best-seller, which takes a little part of India - the Calcutta slums - and gives the impression to the naive and ignorant western readers, that it constitutes the whole of India. Another factor which reinforces the image of poverty is the tremendous fame which Mother Theresa enjoyed in her lifetime - and even after her death, as she is in the process of being made a saint. While it is true that Mother Theresa did a tremendous job in Calcutta, she never tried to counterbalance the very negative image of India that her name was carrying, with some praise for the country which had adopted her for fifty years. She could have spoken for instance about the great hospitality of Indians, or the open-mindedness of Hindu religion, which had allowed her to practise Christianity near one of the most sacred temples of the country, or even about the near worship which most Hindus showed for her.

It is true that there is a tremendous amount of poverty in India, and that many people can only afford one meal a day. But four things should be known. Firstly, that until the 18th century, in spite of the repeated Muslim invasions, India was known as one of the richest countries of the world, the land "of milk and honey". You only have to read the numerous accounts of travellers from different countries, who all marvelled at India's prosperity. The second thing, is that all the great famines of India happened during the British time. Many historians, such as Frenchman Guy Deleury, have documented the economic rape of India by the British : "Industrially the British suffocated India , gradually strangling Indian industries whose finished products, textiles in particular, were of a quality unique in the world which has made them famous over the centuries. Instead they oriented Indian industries towards jute, cotton, tea, oil seeds, which they needed as raw materials for their home industries. They employed cheap labour for the enterprises while traditional artisans were perishing. India, which used to be a land of plenty, where milk and honey flowed started drying" (Modele Indou)... According to British records, one million Indians died of famine between 1800 and 1825, 4 million between 1825-1850, 5 million between 1850-1875 and 15 million between 1875-1900. Thus 25 million Indians died in 100 years ! The British must be proud of their bloody record. It is probably more honourable and straightforward to kill in the name of Allah, than in the guise of petty commercial interests and total disregard for the ways of a 5000 year civilisation. Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century, India was bled dry and there were no resources left.

The third fact, is that after Independence, whatever poverty there still was in this country, there were no more famines, as India managed to become self-sufficient in food through the Green Revolution (whatever negative side effects it had on India's ecology - but that is another story). This is a great achievement, a tremendous task of which India can be proud off. For if you look at China, India's largest neighbour, which always invites natural comparison with India as they share many of the same problems and characteristics, it went through tremendous traumas after independence. Millions died of hunger, for instance, when Mao diverted peasants from cultivating the land, in his misguided and megalomaniac effort to increase steel production. It should also be said that later it did look as if China fared better than India in its effort to feed adequately its people. But that is because they employed coercion to control their own population, whereas India, a democracy, never tried to force its citizens to have less children - except for a short while under Indira Gandhi (who lost the elections shortly after).

The fourth thing is that there is a tremendous amount of black money in India - as much as 40 to 50% of the total economy. If that money could be tapped and channelled to the White economy, it would give a tremendous boost to the nation. But you need a government wise enough to enact laws which make people cheat less. People have been cheating since 1947, because Nehru had decided that Socialism, partly modelled after the Soviet Union, was the best tool to bridge the yawning gap between the very rich and the very poor of India. At that time, it seemed a good idea, but as years passed, it proved a disaster, spawning a huge bureaucratic system, breeding corruption, stifling free enterprise and overall making people cheat, because it had introduced one of the heaviest taxing system in the world. And the sad thing is that Indians - from the middle class to even the poorer people - are some of the greatest savers in the world. Not for them the credit card system, which is ruining the West, by artificially enhancing the economy - no, they save in land, gold, jewellery, or in cash, often stashed at home. And that is a tremendous asset for India, if it could be brought in the open. There is nowadays an economic crisis in the so-called Tiger countries of Asia - even Hong-Kong is affected by it. But so far, India's economy has remained sound. Of course there are drawbacks: the Rupee is not yet fully convertible, subsidies drain the Exchequer, import duties are still levied on many goods... However this partially insulated economy has helped India to protect her own industries, while switching gradually to a fully liberalised financial system. Thus, if that tremendous amount of black money could be tapped, it would also contribute towards changing this "poor" image sticking to India, which is harming her in her quest for foreign investments and international recognition.

China too had a very negative image until the late sixties : the Red menace, the communist Dragon, the great Backward leap... But after Nixon's visit in 1971, everything changed - that is the Western Press, which was responsible in the first place for China's negative image, started projecting a more positive picture of China. It also helped, that contrary to Indians, the Chinese are proud of themselves and possess a strong nationalistic bend - maybe because they have never been colonised, except for short periods. And today, there is not only a fascination for China in the West, but the Industrialised World has also placed many of its economic chips there. France, for instance, invests 10 times more in China than in India. Yet, India is a much more interesting country from the investment point of view : it is democratic, which China is not; people there speak more English than in China; it has laws to protect contracts, which is not the case in China; it is a stable country, in spite of the political problems and all kinds of separatist movements... But still, the world hardly takes notice of India - although things are beginning to change. And that is because of India's negative image, of course ! And nobody is more responsible about this negative image than Indians themselves. India has to stop going around with a begging bowl in her hands. For India does not have to beg : it has the material and intellectual wealth - it has even the monetary resources