------------------------------------------------------- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------
When Jawaharlal Nehru died his body was cremated as per Hindu rites, on the banks of the Yamuna river. This was in accordance with his wishes. He was an avowed atheist but whatever his intellect had rationalised away, his emotions could not divest him of his cultural identity. He was a Hindu. He was also a statesman and a secularist, the likes of which India will rarely see again. Being a secularist has very little to do with religious tolerance or intolerance. Saddam Hussein, best known for his persecution of Shi'a Muslims and gassing of Kurds, was infact a staunch secularist and Iraq was a secular country amidst a sea of Muslim theocracies. Ironically, the US which purports to be a robust secular nation has much of its law from euthanasia, marriage, abortion, homosexuality to stem cell research influenced by Judeo-christian theology. Secularism is the separation of state and Church. It is loosely construed as to mean religious freedom and hence, while no religion is to be discriminated against, neither is any religion to be given preferential treatment. Given India's pluralism, defending one's religious and cultural identity has taken on an intensity of its own. People's religious, caste and cultural identities have been regularly used to discriminate against from schools, jobs, marriage to housing and at times as in the case of Gujarat, led to genocidal pogroms. In India, one's identity has literally come to mean life or death. Is it any wonder then, that we all become overheated when religion is mentioned? Being a secularist doesn't make one tolerant or intolerant of religion. Secularism is not the domain of only atheists and agnostics. Being a secularist doesn't make one blind to the ridiculousness of religion, in the name of religious tolerance. The world is faced with may decisions at the moment. Do we encourage pluralistic societies or do we march towards a homogenised society? Do we become secular or do we allow morality based on religious code to guide public decisions? Do we become tolerant of everything that religion espouses or do we become discerning individual basing our public decisions on humanistic morality. The answers to these questions, I believe, lie in constant examination of our own conscience. My own personal code of ethics demands that I respect all human beings precisely because they are human. selma ____________________________________________________________________________________ It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/
