Athenaeum Library

http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/jafar_al_sadiq.htm

Unclassified Collection

1. Selected Essays - Hilaire Belloc
2. On England - Earl Baldwiin
3. English Letters of the XIX Century - Edited by James Aitken
4. Civilisation - Kenneth Clark

My Country, My Life - L.K. Advani

L K Advani feels that more Hindu-majority districts in the Sindh region would have remained with India at the time of partition had there been an `assertive leadership’ in India.In the prologue to his autobiography, `My Country, My Life’, Advani says that had this happened, India’s western boundary could have stretched right upto the sacred Sindhu river.Excerpts:“For Hindus living in those parts of undivided India, which later became Pakistan, Partition was a terrible calamity. Apart from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan, the other main provinces affected were Punjab, Bengal and Sindh. But while Bengal and Punjab were divided and so provided a natural home to the uprooted Hindus from these two provinces, Sindh became a part of Pakistan in its entirety. There were districts in Sindh contiguous to Rajasthan, like Tharparkar, which had a Hindu majority. A more assertive leadership could perhaps have succeeded in bringing these districts to India, in which case India’s western boundary could have stretched right upto the sacred Sindhu river. Sadly, that did not happen.“For the Hindus in Sindh, Partition has meant not only being uprooted from their hearths and homes, but also a tragic distancing from their culture and language. It may surprise many to know that at the time of Partition, Hindus constituted more than half of Karachi’s population of four lakhs. Out of Sindh’s population of about forty lakhs, Hindus numbered thirteen lakhs. Of these, approximately eleven lakhs migrated to the Indian side. The migration from Karachi was almost total. Although a majority of the Sindhi refugees, constituting mainly the trading community, went to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, they settled down in almost all parts of the country. “Political analysts have often wondered why the Hindus and Sikhs who came from Sindh and Punjab so were quickly and easily integrated into free India and why, on the other hand, the Muslims who went from this part of India to West and East Pakistan were treated as unwelcome muhajirs for many decades. The only answer that comes to my mind is the age-old sense of cultural unity that binds Indians of diverse castes, communities and regions into a natural national entity. In the decade of the 1980s and ’90s, I developed this theme as ‘cultural nationalism’ and made it the subject of a countrywide debate on what defines Indian nationhood. Explication of this theme is an important aspect of the raison d’etre of this book.

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L K Advani confesses in his autobiography,`My Country, My Life’ that Ayodhya movement followed a course that he had not envisaged. If the Babri Masjid was not demolished, the Hindu dream of building a Ram temple in His birthplace could have been realized, Advani feels. Excerpts:“A legitimate demand from the Hindus for the construction of a befitting temple for Lord Ram at his birthplace in Ayodhya was opposed by a set of pseudo-secular political parties, many of whose leaders privately saw merit in the demand but were afraid of saying so publicly for vote-bank considerations.“My party’s active participation in the movement for the reconstruction of the Ram temple soon snowballed into the largest mass movement in the history of independent India. The spectacular public response to my Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in September-October 1990 far exceeded my own expectations.Just as the struggle against the Emergency opened my eyes to the Indian people’s unflinching faith in democracy, the Ayodhya movement opened my eyes to the deep-rooted influence of religion in the lives of Hindus of all castes and sects across the country.Recalling what Swami Vivekananda had said about the place of religion in India’s national life, I realised that if this religiosity were to be channelled in a positive direction, it could unleash tremendous energy for national reconstruction. The Ayodhya movement also brought to the fore people’s revulsion for pseudo-secularism, as practised by the Congress party, communists and some other parties, and projected my party, the BJP, as a spirited champion of genuine secularism.“This clash between pseudo-secularism and genuine secularism manifests in different ways even today, and forms one of the main themes of this book. I dare say that the future of India depends much on the outcome of this struggle.“Having said this, I also realise, with much pain in my heart, that the Ayodhya movement followed a course that I had not envisaged. In particular, the demolition of the Babri structure on 6 December 1992 was most regrettable. As I said on that very day, it was the saddest day of my life. Had the demolition not taken place, the Ayodhya movement, I am confident, would have progressed on healthier lines and reached a positive denouement, both fulfilling the Hindu demand and promoting communal harmony. “The Ayodhya movement catalysed a process of nationwide ideological churning that witnessed my party’s spectacular rise in India’s political history—and possibly in the history of any democratic country in the world. The BJP’s rise culminated in the formation, in March 1998, of the first truly non-Congress coalition government at the Centre—that of the NDA—under Atalji’s leadership. With a renewed mandate in 1999, that government served the nation with great dedication and distinction for six years.”

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By P.Venugopal

These are times when the nation is shaken by political biographies. As if we had a dearth of issues to engage national attention.India doesn’t have a well-established tradition of prominent figures in public life writing their autobiographies. It is our good fortune that the two tallest leaders of the freedom movement, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, made a lasting contribution to posterity by penning down the stories of their lives.Mahatma’s `My experiments with truth’ will remain the best-read political autobiography for eons. Nehru’s “Jawaharlal Nehru: An autobiography” is an equally outstanding work. But then, Nehru was as well a distinguished man of letters and several immortal works like The `Discovery of India’, “Glimpses of world history’ and `Letters from Father to His Daughter’ flowed from his gifted pen. His historic `Tryst with destiny’ speech is considered to be a landmark oration that captures the essence of the triumphant culmination of the hundred-year Indian freedom struggle against the British Empire in India.Morarji Desai, who headed the first non-Congress government in India from 1977-79, wrote `The Story of My Life” which too is a valuable addition to political autobiographies.It is sad that many builders of modern India didn’t choose to write about their lives and works.India’s second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri did an immensely readable translation of the autobiography of French scientist Madam Curie, but a humble man as he was, Shastri never considered himself important enough to write his own autobiography.Two distinghisued former prime ministers, late Indira Gandhi who had an eventful life, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, considered the greatest living political orator, too never thought of writing their autobiographies.Compared to the autobiographical works of lasting value authored by historical personages of the past, what pass off as autobiographies by political heavyweights of the day are a flash in the pan. They raise heat and dust for some time and then are easily forgotten. I am even led to think that controversial twists and turns are deliberately woven into the book by their authors to promote its marketability.Former prime minister late P V Narasimha Rao’s `The Insider’, claimed to be a `fictional autobiography’, was in the news for some time, thanks to his controversial references to the Babri masjid demolition. It provoked L K Advani to comment that Rao and BJP held identical views on the Ram temple issue.Former Union Minister and BJP leader Jaswant Singh’s `A call to honour—In service of emergent India’ was in the eye of a storm for its revelation about an American `mole’ in the PMO that allegedly passed on nuclear secrets to the US during Narasimha Rao’s regime. Jaswant Singh refused to name the mole even at the height of controversies kicked up by the `mole’ issue. Nothing is heard of it since then. And here comes L K Advani with his `My Country, My Life’. The raging controversy now is about Advani’s claim that he was unaware of the decision of the then government, in which he was the Home Minister, to release hard core terrorists in exchange for those held hostage by ultras at Kandahar. Advani is yet to react to the observation of his then Defence Minister George Fernandez that Advani was privy to the decision to release terrorists and that his present claims in the book could be the result of Advani’s `faulty memory’.The timing of the release of Advani’s memoirs is significant. NDA has endorsed him as its prime ministerial candidate. And his book serves, or is intended to serve, as a timely medium to put across his views to the Indian electorate. And he did a master stroke by presenting an autographed copy of the book to his principal rival Sonia Gandhi at her house.Gandhi or Nehru didn’t organize public functions in city after city to promote their books. People went in search of them. But today’s politicians release their books in several places at high-profile functions and draw political mileage out of it. Perhaps, the only exception was the CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu whose `Memoirs—a political Autobiography’ passed off without raising much dust.But see who’s in line to write his autobiography next. None other than H D Deve Gowda. Though he could survive for hardly 11 months as prime minister, Gowda has threatened to expose many skeletons in India’s political cupboard. Till then, let’s breathe easy.

(About the author: Mr.P.Venugopal is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience.He has covered politics and current affairs from several cities across India and was the Chief of News Bureau for The New Indian Express based out of Bangalore. He is currently the News Coordinator at Indiasyndicate.com and would be writing this column every Wednesday.)FROM THE SAME AUTHOR:Will Gandhi surname sell?US sneezes, India catches a coldGold prices bring heartbreak to brides
BPO jobs: Gloom beneath the glamourWill Indian Government accept Nooyi?How safe are girls on the gravehard shift?Stock markets feel terror tremoursSouth India on terror radarAirports ready, how to get there?ALSO READ:EXCERPTS FROM ADVANI’S AUTOBIOGRAPHYBureaucracy ate up Ganga Action PlanAdvani sets agenda: Governance, development, securityBut for assertive leadership, Sindh could be in IndiaAdvani on Ayodhya: I regret Babri demolitionWhat saddens Advani? India high on corruption, low on development WATCH VIDEOBJP will come back to power:Advani

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Operation Blue Star:Badal comes to the rescue of Advani
New Delhi: Many Akali leaders may be upset over references to 1984’s Operation Blue Star in L.K. Advani’s autobiography but Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has come to his rescue.Evading a reply on Advani’s reference to the storming of the Golden Temple complex, Badal said on Thursday that, “mediapersons are in the habit of posing questions without going through the concerned matter. They can convert an animal into a demon in no time.” Later, Badal waved Advani’s book, saying that “we have the book and we know what is written in it... you people should not make an issue from a non-issue.” His son and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal asked media persons whether they had gone through the book. Badal’s defence of Advani means that the Akali leadership would like to cap the controversy lest it rock the coalition in Punjab, which is dependent on the BJP’s support. Earlier, senior Akali leaders like S.S. Dhindsa had described Advani’s references as ill-timed and avoidable.When a reporter drew Badal’s attention to page 430 of Advani’s book, Badal read out two paragraphs typed out on a separate sheet of paper. These paragraphs related to Advani praising the visit of former Prime Minister V.P. Singh to the Golden Temple in an open jeep in 1990s. “See... Advani has even hailed V.P. Singh for visiting the Golden Temple Complex and he praises everything that brings peace in Punjab,” Badal said. Advani wrote in his book that “on May 3 (1984) Atalji, along with Charan Singh, led a contingent of demonstrators the next day. I raised the issue in Parliament, charging the government with abdication of its responsibility in the face of unprecedented challenge to national unity and rule of law... the Prime Minister was ultimately forced to use the military to liberate the Golden Temple from its anti-national occupants.” This was interpreted by the Sikh leaders as “justifying the army action at religious place in Amrtisar”. The Badals were in the Capital to welcome the merger of Delhi-based Panthic Akali Dal with SAD, which they expect could give them lever to eject the pro-Congress management of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC). With the merger, the strength of the SAD (Badal) in the DSGMC has gone up to 20 in the 46-member House.© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.

New Book On Islam Sets the Record Straight

Dr. Peter Hammond's new book: SLAVERY, TERRORISM & ISLAM The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat is a fascinating, well illustrated and thoroughly documented response to the relentless anti-Christian propaganda that has been generated by Muslim and Marxist groups and by Hollywood film makers. As Karl Marx declared: “The first battlefield is the re-writing of History!”
Slavery, Terrorism & Islam sets the record straight with chapters on “Muhammad, the Caliphas and Jihad”, “The Oppression of Women in Islam”, “The Sources of Islam” and “The Scourge of Slavery the Rest of the Story”. With 110 pictures and 12 maps and charts, this book is richly illustrated. It consists of 12 chapters and 9 very helpful appendix's including demographic maps of the spread of Islam, a Glossary of Islamic Terms, a comparison of Muslim nations' military spending vs. their national prosperity, a chart on how Jihad works depending on the percentage of Muslims in the population and guidelines for Muslim evangelism.
"Peter knows first hand the nature of the enemy the West is facing and exposes it brilliantly in his book in Islam. He begins by documenting the close relationship between Islam and slavery and then chapter by chapter reveals the terrible cost of thirteen centuries of Islamic invasion, conquest and brutilization. This is a book that every Christian should read and pass along to friends; and one that every home-schooling family should require as part of their children's curriculum." Rev. Brian M. Abshire, Ph.D, International Institute for Christian Culture (click to read the article)
"Dr. Peter Hammond cuts through layers of misinformation and uncovers astonishing historical facts and details long buried by Islamic revisionist. You’ll find out their real agenda for tomorrow by discovering what they actually did yeasterday – plus a field-tested plan of how to win Muslims to Christ." Rev Bill Bathman
“’Slavery, Terrorism and Islam’ is a well-researched account of historical events that impact directly on present developments. For the sake of this generation, and coming ones, someone had to do what Dr. Peter Hammond has just done; setting the record straight on the different role players in the slave trade.” Rev. Fano Sibisi
“Thank you for the history book. Slavery, Terrorism and Islam is a powerful tool for Christian schools.” Eugene Kalunga, Excellence Christian Acadamy, Zambia
“ The conflict between Islam and the rest of the world may dominate the headlines, define our foreign policy, and give new urgency to the day-to-day mission of our churches, but why that is the case is still not very well understood. It is for that reason that Frontline Fellowship has produced this vital new study of one of the most neglected aspects of Islam. Born out of the difficult experience of missionaries on the front lines of the battle for the soul of Africa. This book is designed to equip ordinary Christians from every walk of life to wisely and Scripturally minister in a world where the conflict between Islam and civilization is all too obvious.” Dr. George Grant
“Slavery, Terrorism & Islam, is must reading to all those who want to find out the roots of the terrible Terrorism that is threatening global security. Slavery, Terrorism & Islam traces the roots of terrorism quite scientifically, and especially the roots of Quaran itself is very interesting. It will help and extensively educate the International community to understand this monster called Terrorism.” Rev. Jeffreys Kayanga, Episcopal Church of Sudan
“Slavery Terrorism and Islam is the most important and well-documented book I have ever read. The book is a precious jewel and eye-opener to me... this book has brought Revival to my Soul.” Bishop T.C.G. Maseko, Presbyterian Pentecostal Ministries in Africa

Slavery, Terrorism and Islam is an eye opening, positive and practical handbook to empower you to respond effectively to the challenge of Islam today.
TITLE: SLAVERY, TERRORISM, AND ISLAM Review by Dr Ted Baehr, Movieguide
Quality: * * * Acceptability: +4
WARNING CODES: Language: None Violence: None Sex: None Nudity: None
AUTHOR: Peter HammondDATE PUBLISHED: April, 2005 PUBLISHER: Christian Liberty Books
CONTENT: Christian worldview.GENRE: Non-Fiction / Islam INTENDED AUDIENCE: General
REVIEWER: Dr. Ted Baehr
REVIEW: Daily, new information comes out which reveals the nature of Islam and helps the Church to deal with this expansive and often difficult religion. Peter Hammond of Frontline Fellowship gives a very comprehensive overview of the growth of Islam throughout Africa, and he gives a firsthand report from the battlefield of Islam’s penetration into the Sudan, Nigeria, and other contemporary African countries.Peter has ministered in these areas and has firsthand knowledge not just of slavery but of the torture and terrorism. As he shows so clearly in the book, these atrocities are part of the very fabric of Islam. This short book is a wonderful overview with a very comprehensive guide to how to witness to Muslims. This book is highly recommended.

Available from: Christian Liberty Bookswww.christianlibertybooks.co.za
e-mail: info@christianlibertybooks.co.zafor just R58 a copy (Overseas $12 - including postage).

Stripping the Gurus

http://www.strippingthegurus.com/ebook/download.asp
PDF of Stripping the Gurus

History of English Literature

A Critical History of English Literature - Volume I

From the beginings to Milton - David Daiches

A Critical History of English Literature - Volume II

The Restoration to the present day - David Daiches

A learned and imaginative critical history of English literature from Caedmon to D.H. Lawrence.

Professor David Daiches' Critical History gives the reader a facinating insight into over twelve centuries of great writings. With enormous intelligence and enthusiasm, he guides the reader through this vastly complex and rich tradition, finely balancing historical background with highly informed criticism. Daiches' groundbreaking work is essential reading for all lovers of literature.

'To read this splendidly daring work is to be delighted, illuminated and (the word is no exaggeration) exalted.' Peter Greene

Essays in Vedic Interpretation

Monday, February 19, 2007
Essays in Vedic Interpretation
Authority, Anxiety and CanonEssays in Vedic InterpretationEdited by Laurie L. Patton
Sri Garib Das Oriental Series No. 183Sri Satguru Publications (Delhi), ISBN: 81-7030-425-3
Price: Rs. 390
Contents:
PART ONEThe Vedas Reflect on Themselves
1. The Mastery of Speech( Cononicity and Control in the Vedas)David Carpenter
2. Veda in the Brahmanas( Cosmogonic Paradigms and the Delimitation of Canon)Barbara A. Holdrege
3. The Veda and the Authority of Class( Reduplicating Structures of Veda and Varna in Ancient Indian Text)Brian K. Smith
PART TWOThe Vedas in Classical Discourse
4. PuranavedaFrederick M. Smith
5. From Anxiety to Bliss( Argument, Care and Responsiblity in the Vedanta Reading of Taittiriya 2.1-6aFrancis X. Clooney, S.J.
6. "Whither the Thick Sweetness of Their Passion ?"( The Search for Vedic Origins of Sanskrit Drama)David L. Gitomer
PART THREEThe Vedas in Modernity and Beyond
7. The Authority of an Absent Text( The Veda, Upangas, Upavedas and Upnekhata in European Thought)Dorothy M. Figueira
8. From Interpretation to Reform( Dayanand's Reading of the Vedas)John E. Llewellyn
9. Redefing the Authority of Scripture( The Rejection of Vedic Infallibility by the Brahmo Samaj)Anantanand Rambachan
10. Poets and Fishes( Modern Indian Interpretation of the Vedic Rishi)Laurie L. Patton
Afterwords, Contributors, Index
About the Book
Authority, Anxiety and Canon elucidates a principal fundamental to Hinduism's self understanding - the Veda - while at the same time examining the methodological issues of the role of canon in religious tradition. Spanning the early periods of Indian religions history up to the twentieth century, the book combines theoretical sophistication and detailed scholarship to produce one of the first comprehensive works on Vedic interpretation since Louis Renou's Le Destin Du Veda.
Laurie L. Patton is Assistant Professor of Asian Religions at Bard College.
What a feast these essays provide! Together they constitute the most sophisticated yet accessible volume I have come across in years. There are moments in reading when I simply had to pause to write the word 'stunning' and to ponder the implications of what the author had just said.
Thomas B. Coburn, St. Lawrence University
This anthology assembles a series of superbly researched and written articles around the theme of authority and anxiety as it displays itself in the Hindu Tradition. The authors are the best of the generation of young scholars now establishing or having established their names in the field. There is a very good level of conversation amond the articles, and the editor's introduction does an exceptionally clear and compelling job of setting forth the issues of canon and authority with respect to the place of the Vedas in traditional Hindu culture and modern Western scholarly and Hindu tradition. The volume is well crafted, coherent and well written
Paul B. Courtright, Emory University
For Copies contact at your nearest bookshop
or
Indian Books Centre40/5,Shakti Nagar,Delhi- 110007Ph No. 91-11-2384 4930 2384 6497Fax No.91-11-2384 7336E-mail ibc@indianbookscentre.comWebsite: http://www.indianbookscentre.com
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