Lies, Lies and More Lies: The Campaign to Defame Hindu/Indian Nationalism (Paperback)

by Vivek (Author)
Key Phrases: temple desecration, Kashmiri Pandits, New York Times, Indian Express (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
In Lies, Lies and More Lies - The Campaign to Defame Hindu/Indian Nationalism, the author, Vivek, has made a case for challenging all the major controversies that seem to surround the concept of Hindutva. -- Ganadeva Bandyopadhyay,desicritics.org

Vivek's iUniverse-published non-fiction book, Lies, Lies, and More Lies, is a defence of Hindu nationalism. Whatever else may be said about the book, it is pretty clear that it is well written. -- Michael Allen, Grumpy Old Bookman (listed by Guardian in 2005 as one of top ten literary blogs)

Product Description
It is no coincidence that India’s recent rise as an economic and military power has been closely linked to the increasing influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Indian politics and its term in office during 1998–2004. Driven by the philosophy of Hindu/Indian Nationalism, this entity, more of a movement than a political party, has served to instill in the majority of Indians a sense of confidence and restored lost self-esteem in a people who suffered foreign domination for over a thousand years. Detractors of this ideology have attempted to paint this philosophy as hate rant and supremacist indoctrination. Far from being that, it is the agonizing cry for justice and dignity of a people long suppressed and long tortured; a cry that embodies the agony of the past and a new-found confidence of the present and which together hopes to ensure a secure future.

With Hindu/Indian Nationalism continuing to play a dominant role in Indian politics, this book is a must for those (businessmen, academics, and others alike) who wish to interact with India and Indians for it enables them to understand the Hindu/Indian psyche better. Further, this book dispels the unsavory view of Hindu Nationalism that has been propagated in the West by vested groups opposed to it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 163 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595435491
• ISBN-13: 978-0595435494
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #935,762 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant book, December 16, 2007

By	Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This brilliant and irrefutable text conjures up not only the grandeur of what was Hindu India but also takes aim at the machinations of post-independence Indian politicians. He points out the attempt to make the colonization of India by Islam into a 'Golden period' and also notes the very dissimilar reactions to the massacre of Hindus in Gujarat and the massacre of Muslims. Most importantly he assembles a great amount of quotes from noted historians such as John Keay to show that the ideas of Hindutva are not mere conjecture. Important asides relate to V.S Naipaul's view of India and show that attempts to compare the BJP to the Nazis are without merit, that the actions are of the Nazis are better mirrored in those who hate the BJP.

The author examines in detail the question of Hindu Temple destruction at the ahnds of the Muslim colonizers of India and refutes those academics such as Richard Eaton who have whitewashed this destruction or tried to justify it. Subsequent sections examine Kashmir, the boundary dispute and the ethnic-cleansing of Hindus from Kashmir.

Most importantly this book takes aim at the lies disseminated by India's secular intellectual class. Whether it is supporting terrorism, re-writing Indian history, blaming the Indian government for terrorist acts, or simply making up fake atrocities to blame on 'Hindu nationalism' the academics and intellectuals in India have played the most nefarious role in the country's affairs. An expert understanding of the press and frequent quotes illustrate the depth of the misinformation campaign directed against Hindutva and also the depth of self-deception that the press and others will go to in order to justify terrorism and ethnic-cleansing in India. The author reminds us that "Compared to the pessimism that pervades the writings of Indian
authors, Western writers tend to be more fair and balanced about
India." He adds important rejoinders such as "Conversion represents a
retreat in the course of man's spiritual progress." In the final analysis this book, which is a collection of discussions of various issues affecting modern India, is one of the most important books on the subject today and far surpasses most of the other books that examine the post-Independence period of Indian history.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A passionate and thoughtful call for perspective on hot-button Indian social issues., January 4, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Lies, Lies and More Lies: The Campaign To Defame Hindu/Indian Nationalism is a sharp retort to unsavory portrayals of Hindu Nationalism (Hindutva), including accusations that equate the philosophy with pogroms and ethnic cleansing. Though author Vivek admits that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should not be excused of the killings that have happened under its watch, notably in the Gujarat riots, he decries the tendency (especially among intellectuals) to unilaterally condemn the entire BJP and all of Hindu Nationalism, or even equate both with fascism. Worse, too much misinformation has spread concerning Hindu Nationalism and the BJP. Lies, Lies and More Lies spells out the reasoning behind Hindu Nationalism precepts: injustice exists under the current legal system that largely leaves temples of Christianity and Islam to themselves but taxes and restricts Hindu temples; religious conversion needs to be banned because there is no way to distinguish between voluntary and forced conversion; and more. Too little attention is being paid to the threat of Islamofascism, argues author Vivek; demographic birth and immigration trends that are gradually increasing the percentage of Muslims in India and a Muslim community that is too slow to condemn the pogroms it perpetrates fuel an immediate national crisis. Above all, India's salvation lies in preserving its new legacy of democracy and equality. "Without proper guidance, there is a real danger of Hindutva degenerating into a rampage of revenge. Hindutva is not to be equated with communal riots that kill innocent humans. Hindutva cannot be an ideology that relegates another individual to second-class status. It should be a force that makes all Indians conform to the pluralistic, secular tradition of our land that respects one and all." A passionate and thoughtful call for perspective on hot-button Indian social issues.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very brave attempt, December 20, 2007

By	Vir "Virtus Sola Nobilitas" (USA) - See all my reviews

The fact that the author is not comfortable using his last name, and thus revealing his true identity, bears testimony to the disturbing truth contained in his work. Hindus, the one people on the face of this earth who hold in their heritage and culture the key to a harmonious and peaceful future for humanity, are today the most maligned and terrorized people in the world. They constitute what is perhaps the largest dispossessed and disenfranchised community, one that has been deprived of its homeland, divested of its rightful dignity and denied even the right of self-defense against hostile colonial ideologies such as Islamism and Christian Supremacist Evangelism that seek to destroy it and assimilate its members within their own fold. As the author demonstrates, this is nothing new. It is merely the result of a centuries old campaign of aggression on the part of falsehoods that have reduced all the world into warring camps bent upon converting, slaughtering or enslaving each other in the name of the one true God.

The solution is for Hindus to understand their own heritage, become its living representatives and also its aggressive votaries. It is their very passiveness that will lead to the eventual extinction of the Hindus, nothing else. However, their aggressiveness must be directed first at themselves and not their oppressors. Each Hindu who feels for this cause must consecrate himself to the spiritual aim and ideal of India, to recreate himself and the world anew, to realize and, ultimately, incarnate the secret Divine Truth within both, if not in this lifetime then in some future one for which this one will serve as a preparation. The sincere implementation of this ideal within himself and its aggressive propagation in the world is the answer, for the Hindu does not seek to convert others to this or that ideology so much as to liberate them from their delusions about themselves and the world. As long as Hindus don't take this fight into the enemy camp of ignorance, the battle will continue to be fought on their home turf, at increasingly greater peril to themselves, for in the absence of Truth falsehood prevails by definition, and in the absence of Light, darkness.

The great danger here is that even in this respect Hindus will do nothing more than imitate their oppressors and match fanaticism with fanaticism, ignorance with ignorance and blind hatred with blind hatred. The self-styled secularists of India, the intellectual progeny and apostles of every conceivable imperialist ideology that seeks to dominate and ultimately eradicate Hinduism, be it Islam, or Christianity, or Communism or ravenous Consumerism, are virtually guaranteeing that the reaction from Hindus will be one that is shot with desperation and fired by the urge for destruction. However, all Hindus who are even remotely in touch with the eternal fount of Truth and Force that throbs at the very core of their living tradition will assert that the only effective and noble way to destroy as well as to preserve is to create, create anew with such vigor and élan that nothing can stand in the way of this New Creation. This is a principle that can be seen at work even in the successes of Islam and Christianity. It can be very easily argued that they destroyed much that was nobler and more true than themselves, but the intent was always to create, and if not to create then at the very least to expand, in one instance the Kingdom of God upon earth, erroneously identified with the Church, and in the other an empire of faith, corrupted by its intolerant insistence on a static and blind faith in the exclusive veracity of just one sole representative of God on earth. India must become the "Empire of the Soul" that She was always destined to become and this time She must aim to spread Her compassion for suffering humans, and Her spiritual knowledge and psychological discipline of Yoga that can liberate the 'human' being from its present limitations and transform it into a Diviner Being, not just within India or Asia but throughout the world. It is only such a massive Force for a new Divine Creation that can galvanize Hindus, guarantee their continued existence, and bring about peace and harmony in the world, and we are already witnessing the beginnings of this process.

It is to be hoped that this work constitutes a step in that direction. One small suggestion would be to change the title to something less shrill. The parts of the book that I have read seem to be the result of sober reflection backed by good research. It would be a pity if potential readers are discouraged from approaching the book due to any misperceptions arising from the title.