Salam to all!,
I have been busy with my year end exams so that's why I have been off the radar for a while. I have a couple of days relief so I thought might as well check and see what's cooking.
I think this is also relevant to the thread.
One thing Pakistan should make sure is known to its masses is that how it became independent on August 14, 1947 (and thereby British colonial rule ended with the birth of Pakistan) and how and why "secular" Hind chose 15 August.
In fact this will shed an analytical light on how Indians view Pakistan through the superstition of astrology. My Muslim brothers and sisters (with the exception of perhaps Aejaz, Imdad Ali!- the "secularized" Indians) know how astrology stands amongst Muslims in general.
Here is an article from The Guardian (November 2003) so barely just about 7 months old. Please note how India's so-called EDUCATED people live on astrology and how they view Pakistan's trouble through a superstitious prism. And please read carefully: hind's movies, political campaigns, business decisions, marriage, revolve around this.
So if Pakistan includes these FACTS in its curriculum, then it will save a lot of time and energy when meeting people like the Hindi ones on this foum! : when they mention India's secular nature, cut the story short by asking: why did India wait till August 15, 1947 for independence? (to rid itself of the influences of "planetary mischiefs"!!!), then ask what the top layer of saffron in the hindi flag stands for (what a coincidence the saffron represents piety/patrotism - I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with a particular religion!).............., khalas, then don't waste time!
You Pakistani people are so lucky!: remember that day of August 14?
It was 27 Ramadan, after Fajr prayers that something dramatic happened in Karachi and a new nation was born. The "secular" Indians, convinced the supporters of India (including perhaps people like Maulana Azad - ie Muslims of India) that 14 August is not "an auspicious" occassion and so wait till midnight (August 15) so that none of the "mischiefs of planetary influences" are able to derail our nation!.
So when a nation is BORN and BASED on such perspectives (India), you don't need so much active indoctrination through state education do you?!
I thought the split of Pakistan in 1971 (with Hindi help) was a consequence of West Pakistan's unIslamic (and "cultural") behaviour with the Bengali Muslims and not due to the influence of planetary positions 24 years earlier in 1947!.
No one should write false stuff in school text-books but school text-books are a means to an end. Pakistan should also be careful of other indoctrination processes working magnificinetly in Hind!
I will be back after my exams - in the mean time enjoy!!
Please read how urban educated Indians are more influenced by astrology than rural Indians!. And please..........The Guardian is not funded by the ISI Mr. Talwar!!
Matches, hatches and dispatches are all made in heaven for India's millions
New Delhi
Saturday November 29, 2003
The Guardian
A monsoon of weddings has hit India with superstitious romantics pinning their hopes on the stars. As many as 12,000 couples were married on Thursday in Delhi as the power of astrology gripped those set on nuptials.
The trigger came from astrologers who designated the day as protected from Jupiter's "planetary mischief". The frenzy will be repeated in the coming weeks with more auspicious days coming up.
"Every 12 years Jupiter transits in Leo, and that definitely brings ill luck to marital unions," said one astrologer, Arvind Kumar. "The bad period will end only after January 15."
That warning spells bad news for India's multibillion rupee wedding industry. Indians spends an estimated 50bn rupees (£700m) on weddings, excluding the cost of jewellery and clothes. Too many problem days can be bad for business.
The rush to get married on special dates is a nightmare for parents, who arrange everything from selecting the bride or groom, after astrologers match individual horoscopes, to paying for lavish feasts.
Priests, brass bands, wedding photographers, even the grooms' ceremonial horses are in short supply. But astrologers have a solution for this, too. The ill-effects of a wedding on an unsuitable day can be warded off by first "marrying" the bride and groom to, say, a holy tree.
"Astrologers basically assist by providing direction," Mr Kumar said. "The rest is up to man."
Influence
The success of astrologers like Mr Kumar who specialises in "medical" predictions is evidence that astrology influences almost every sphere of life in India - politics, business, family, healthcare, sports, entertainment, even crime.
Many candidates for next week's state assembly elections filed their nominations at a time fixed by astrologers. Most Bollywood films are released after determining auspicious dates.
Many family events are dictated by the stars: an entrepreneur from Mumbai recently hired a yacht to ensure that his pregnant wife delivered his son by caesarean section at the time and location deemed lucky by an astrologer. And multibillion rupee industrial projects are guided by planetary conjunctions.
"Nobody in India does business any more without looking at auspicious dates or determining the best vaastu [India's version of feng shui]," said an editor of a business newspaper. The more India develops, the more people resort to superstitions touted as "ancient sciences".
"Astrology hardly has any influence among the illiterate and poor in rural India," said a sociologist, Asish Nandy. "It's the urban educated, grappling with an increasingly complex and uncertain reality, who are in its thrall."
The idea of India may be secular, but astrology played a role in the country's birth. The transfer of power from Britain took place in New Delhi in the early hours of August 15 1947, after an inauspicious period had passed.
Pakistan took no such precaution and became independent a day earlier. Indian astrologers say it is paying the price. It split into two in 1971, with the creation of Bangladesh, and is destined for further division.
Astrologers really came into prominence in the Indian capital in the late 60s when the prime minister Indira Gandhi began to turn to soothsayers and holy men.
"When I predicted that her son Rajiv Gandhi, then only an airline pilot, would one day become India's prime minister, she immediately summoned me for a consultation," said Lachhman Das Madan, 82, probably India's most famous astrologer. He also claims to have also predicted Mr Gandhi's assassination in 1991.
There is no reliable estimate of the number of astrologers practising in India today. A directory published by a New Delhi astrology company lists 10,000 practitioners. But the publisher acknowledges that "this probably accounts for no more than 1% of India's astrologers".
India's IT revolution has also popularised astrology and related practices. Computers allow for quick casting of horoscopes, and a variety of astrological software is available.
After the rise of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, astrology has received the official stamp of approval. There are government-funded courses in astrology at universities. It has acquired so much significance in India that it had to be excluded from a draft anti-superstition bill in the Maharashtra state assembly.
The bill, meant to protect people from charlatans and cheats was tabled eight years ago, but is awaiting New Delhi's approval. No one seriously expects it to be passed in the near future. The stars would not be in its favour.
