Q. re: varna/caste

[Sumedh Mungee]

On Fri, 8 Jan 1999, Partha Banerjee wrote:

> >We are seeking a scholar to write a chapter on _varna_ (caste), based on
> >knowledge of classical Hindu texts for our forthcoming book the _Hindu
> >World_ (Routeldge).
> >
> >Regards,
> >Sushil and Gene
> _____________________
>
> I hope when someone writes a chapter on the caste system in Hinduism, he or
> she writes about the historical exploitation aspect of it, i.e., how varna
> custom with its extreme rigidity has oppressed the so-called lower castes
> and untouchables in South Asia, and consequently, how many millions of
> Hindus have left their religion to find refuge in other systems that are
> relatively free of this social menace.

Such as ? Name your religion and I will show you the poor and
downtrodden. And yes, millions of converts too. But only your
favourite religion (Islam) has the dubious distinction of being the
most bloody system (or the lack thereof) this world has ever known.

> I want to quote Swami Vivekananda here:
>
> "The Mohammedan conquest of India came as a salvation to the downtrodden,
> to the poor.  That is why one-fifth of our people have become Mohammedans.
> It was not the sword that did it all."  (Complete Works, Vol. 3: p. 294)

It didn't do it all, it did most of it. Starvation, poverty and
subsequent chaos did the rest. Rape a country for long enough, and you
can get enough confused illogical decisions to fund the twisted
ideologies of a thousand left-wingers like you Mr. Banerjee.

Yet another of these Swami Vivekananda quotes taken out of context, and
yet another harmless post being misused for personal propoganda. Yet
another mailing list being subjected to your hate mail.

Please, Mr. Banerjee, surely you know the difference between "poor and
downtrodden", and the four varnas. There are various works that
describe the varnas in great detail, and how it's distributed and
decentralized system has been one of the strengths of hindu society,
until the current Dark Age. Feel free to read them.

Mr. Banerjee, this list is called "Indology", and not "Anti-Hinduism",
and definitely not "Banerjee-logy". Join some
Muslim/Christian/Communist mailing lists for spreading your personal
hatred about Hinduism. If you like Islam so much, feel free to embrace
it. Either way, I couldn't care less, as long as you stop subjecting
me and the other Hindus on this list to false anti-hindu propoganda.

Oh, and I have about a thousand quotes on communism, the Islamic
conquest of India, and the various other themes you use to spread your
hatred about Hinduism. Yes, some of them from Swami Vivekananda
too. Don't get me started. Who knows, you might decide to return to
the RSS, and you wouldn't want that, would you ? I have a feeling the
RSS wouldn't. :-)


~sumedh