Date: 17 Aug 2009
I do not know of any other family that gave so much to this country. Of course lots of people made lots of sacrifices fighting for India 's freedom. These people were from all religions. One other notable leader was Subhash Chander Bose. All leaders including him were fighting for a secular India . He had Hindu, Muslim and Sikh generals in the Indian National Army. I do not think Nehru intended to create a dynasty. It is rather the ignorance of the masses that put the Nehru family on the pedestal of worship. If it wasn't the Nehru family it would have been some other family, perhaps more corrupt than Indira. Most Indians believe in idol worship and they have to find some person to idolize, otherwise they feel lost. I know my history of before and after partition. I was part of that history. I was 11 years old when partition occurred. I happened to be on the wrong side of the border ( Sialkot in Punjab ). Our family lost everything and one of my uncles was murdered and his wife was abducted. A year earlier at 10 years of age I had signed a pledge in my own blood at my school to rid the country of the British. And I can tell you it was not only Hindu children like me. There were Muslim and Christian children as well. The convoy from Sialkot to Jammu that we took was attacked by the Muslims on the way and I saw Hindus and Sikhs being killed with swords and daggers with my own eyes. Our family had a miraculous escape that day. But when we left Jammu 6 months later I was equally horrified to see what Hindus and Sikhs had done to Muslims. From the Ravi river to Amritsar our truck that we rode on was most of the time driving over dead bodies of Muslim children, women and men. In Amritsar , we occupied a house owned by a Muslim family. We had to have the bodies of this family removed and house cleaned before we could move in. I still get nightmares sometimes of this horrible experience. My friend, I have seen madness among both Hindus and Muslims with my own eyes. It has to end, and end for ever if possible. India is facing huge problems: extreme poverty, lack of healthcare and education facilities, and political and government corruption, These problems affect members of all religions equally. Let us try to solve these problems first. Let's get our priorities right. May I suggest we look to the future rather than the past. Regards. Ravi" 000000000