Trembling Earth and Heaving Waters

Getting   the  news  about  the  massive  earthquake 

and  tsunami  in  Japan this  afternoon was  so  shocking and  stunning

There  are   tsunami  warnings all across  the  globe.

In 1991  I experienced  an earthquake in

the Himalayas and  although  it

was  of  a lower  magnitude than today's

I  just  cannot  forget  it.

It  took  me  a long  time  to  recover from  it

My  deepest  sympathies are  for  the  people  of  Japan

and  everyone  who  is  under this  untimely  threat.

May  they  experience God 's  protection and  comfort.

They  say  hundreds  have lost their  lives -

apart  from loss of  property.

My  dear  mother  had  a  strange dream early  this  morning.

It  was hours  before the  disaster struck  Japan.

While watching the  news  she  recalled her  dream.

It  was  early  morning  and  there was an earthquake

in  our city.  My  mother  shook me awake 

and  asked  me to gather  all the  important documents

and make an  exit from the  house.

She  also asked  me to take a  blanket for  her

as she would feel  cold in the outdoors.

Mama said  the  dream was very  real.

Maybe  it  was  a   supernatural warning.

God speaks  to  us  through dreams.

The  Bible says

The  name  of the  Lord  is  like  a

strong  tower,

the  righteous run  to it

and  are safe.

We  are  living in perilous  times

as  if  on  the  edge  of  a precipice.

Our lives and times are in the 

hands of  the Lord  God.

Life Sentence for Dara Singh

India 's Supreme Court upholds life sentence for Dara
New Delhi, Jan 21, (PTI) :

Dara Singh, convicted for burning alive Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons in January 1999, on Friday escaped death penalty with the Supreme Court ruling that the crime was not the ''rarest of rare'' case and upheld the life sentence awarded to him.


“In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity,” the court said.

Dismissing CBI’s plea for death penalty to Singh, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan endorsed the Orissa High Court’s finding that his crime did not fall under the rarest of rare category.

In its 76-page judgment, the court came out strongly against the practice of conversion. “It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone’s belief by way of ‘use of force’, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other,” it said.

On May 19, 2005, the Orissa High Court had commuted to life imprisonment the death penalty imposed by the sessions court on Singh for the murder of Staines and his sons—Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6.

Along with Dara, his accomplice Mahendra Hembram was convicted in the case.
The Staines family was burnt alive in Keonjhar district in Orissa. Staines had worked with leprosy patients in Orissa for 30 years. He and his sons were sleeping on a cold January night when a mob in Manoharpur village poured petrol over his car parked in front of the village church and torched it.

They tried to escape but the mob of about 50 people allegedly prevented them.
Singh had filed an appeal challenging his conviction and the life sentence awarded to him. The appeals were admitted by the apex court in October 2005. “In a country like ours where discrimination on the ground of caste or religion is a taboo, taking lives of persons belonging to another caste or religion is bound to have a dangerous and reactive effect on the society at large,” the court said.

“It strikes at the very root of the orderly society which the founding fathers of our Constitution dreamt of,” the bench added, while upholding the conviction and entailing life term also to Hembram of Keonjhar.

“Our concept of secularism is that the State will have no religion. The State shall treat all religions and religious groups equally and with equal respect without in any manner interfering with their individual right of religion, faith and worship.

“We also conclude with the hope that Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of religion playing a positive role in bringing India’s numerous religion and communities into an integrated prosperous nation be realised by way of equal respect for all religions,” the bench said.
Report taken from the Deccan Herald

***********************

Many people in India feel that Dara Singh deserves a death sentence for his diabolical crime.
The words of the judgement stung me very sharply. Was Dara Singh trying to 'teach them a lesson ' against 'forceful ' conversion by his extremely evil act?
Dr and Mrs Stains served leprosy patients in India faithfully for 30 years. There is no evidence that the Stains were converting people by force. A few days after the killings a Hindu radical swami visited the area where Dr Stains worked and found all Hindus there - leprosy patients being treated and rehabilitated.
Anyone else would have been frozen with shock and anger at the news of the brutal killing of their husband and 2 sons, but ains said she forgave the murders. She kept on working in Orissa Gladys Stains wanting to carry on her husband 's service.

You can read their story in the book Burnt Alive by Vishal Mangaalwadi .

The Supreme Court has given a life term to Dara Singh.
God has given him time to repent of his sin.


Psalm 11:7
For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.
Psalm 11:6-7

Do remember to pray for Christian workers and missionaries in India

CWG 2010- WELCOME TO DELHI

After yesterday 's adrenalin rush , nervous anticipation and smouldering suspense things have been peaceful. No unpleasant incident has been reported and today was a normal day although security forces will be in place for a week or so because sometimes wounds fester slowly.

The Muslim Board has indicated that it wants to approach the Supreme Court. They have a period of 3 months to do that , until then the court has declared status quo on the situation.

The common man had generally accepted the verdict. But its the self serving politicians and fundamentalist leaders from both sides who are flashing their colors.But seems the case has moved one step forward. But I hope that th e majority fundamentalists don 't use this judgement as a whip to flay the minorities.

Now everyone is looking forward to the grand opening of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on Oct 3rd. After the initial hitches and glitches, lapses and collapses, scams and slams Delhi opens her arms wide open to receive international guests and athletes from 71 countries.There is excitement in the air hedged by tight security measures of course.

A view of the Games Village where the athletes are staying.

Some of the world class venues Canadian athletes on a shopping spree at the Games Village

Shera - the Mascot

Teams from 71 commonwealth countries are participating.

Jawaharlal Stadium Games Village (artists impression)

Delhi Hotels in readiness to receive tourists.

Here is more information from Wikipedia.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be the nineteenth Commonwealth Games, and the ninth to be held under that name. The Games are scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India between 3 October and 14 October 2010. The games will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi and India, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982.

The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium, in Delhi. It will also be the first time the Commonwealth Games is held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

The preparations for the games received criticism in news media due to issues including: bad weather, infrastructural compromise, preparation delays (in particular, that of the Games Village[2][3]), the withdrawal of prominent athletes,[4] and allegations of widespread corruption.[5] However no nations have withdrawn and the games have not been postponed.

Host city
New Delhi, India
Motto
Come out and play
Nations participating
71 Commonwealth Teams
Athletes participating
More than 6000 [1]
Events
260 events in 17 disciplines
Opening ceremony
3 October
Closing ceremony
14 October
Officially opened by
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Pratibha Patil, President of India
Main Stadium
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Website
cwgdelhi2010.org

Listen to the theme song. The video is very nice





Today I called our family doctor to examine my Mom, praise God she is OK. He prescribed some health suplements and pills for some minor problems.

Ayodhya Verdict- Land to be Divided between Hindus and Muslims

The whole nation waited with bated breath, glued to television sets when the verdict was disclosed to the media at about 4.30 PM.

The disputed land is to be divided between 2 Hindu groups and the
Muslim Board. On television Hindus displayed satisfaction and relief whilst the Muslims guardedly said they accepted the courts decision and would decide whether to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

An uneasy calm prevails everywhere and till now there have been no reports of violence or provocation. Extreme precaution has to be exercised from now onwards. Schools will remain closed. I shall refrain from going to the District Court tomorrow where I had some business to attend to. The streets are deserted and many shops closed by 3PM. The milieu remains dangerous and volatile.

In the media everybody is making fervent appeals for calm and communal harmony. But India is very unpredictable a small spark can ignite a blazing inferno. It is for people not to give in to their hurt religious sentiments and listen to rumours or provocation.

This is a historic moment for our country and we must stand together as children of one God.

According to media interpretations, no one has 'lost ' so to speak. Both religious groups should let go of the past and share the space allotted to them. I don 't know the details of the judgement but this much is clear. India can rise up to the occasion and show the world that people of different faiths can live in peace and harmony side by side.

Below is a news update from the New York Times website.

(All photos are taken from the Internet)

NEW DELHI — With the nation on high alert, an Indian court handed down a long-awaited decision on Thursday over control of the country’s most disputed religious site by splitting the land into three portions to be divided among Hindus and Muslims, according to lawyers in the case.

Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press

Much of the detail and rationale behind the decision issued late Thursday by a three-judge panel in the state of Uttar Pradesh remained unclear. The court was expected to release the complete ruling only later in the evening. But lawyers in the case, interviewed on Indian news channels, said the panel had unexpectedly ruled by dividing the land in a way that gave something to both Hindus and Muslims after a legal battle that originated six decades ago.
The case focused on a site in the city of Ayodhya, which many Hindus have long claimed as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram, but which also was the site of a mosque, known as the Babri Masjid, built in the 16th century by India’s first Mughal ruler. In 1992, Hindu extremists destroyed the Babri Masjid, sparking riots that would claim the lives of about 2,000 people, mostly Muslims.
One of the central questions in the case had been whether a Hindu temple had existed on the site before the construction of the Babri Masjid. Lawyers in the case said the court’s ruling would reserve one-third of the land for construction of a temple to Ram, another third for another Hindu party to the case, while designating the final third for Muslims to build a mosque.
“The judgment is in favor of Hindus,” said H. S. Jain, a lawyer for one of the Hindu groups in the case. “The belief of Hindus that this is the birthplace of Ram is upheld.”
But Zafaryab Jilani, a lawyer representing one of the Muslim parties, denied that the ruling represented a loss to Muslims.
“There is no reason of any loss of hope,” Mr. Jilani said, noting that the judgment was several thousands pages long. He added: “We do not agree with the formula of giving one-third of the land to Muslims.”
Despite Thursday’s ruling, the court said that the status quo at the contested shrine would remain in place for three months. Lawyers representing both Muslim and Hindu groups said they would appeal the verdict to India’s Supreme Court.
The 1992 violence became a searing rebuke to modern India’s secular identity and deepened the religious passions invested in the Ayodhya case.
In recent weeks, India’s government has beseeched the public to remain calm, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the leaders of the major political parties issuing appeals for peace.

As a precaution, the Home Ministry deployed almost 200,000 paramilitary officers from both state and federal forces across Uttar Pradesh, which includes the contested site. One unit was assigned to stand guard outside the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra. The ministry also placed a temporary nationwide block on bulk text messages as a measure to block rumors or efforts to organize mass protests.
By early Thursday evening, with the details of the case becoming public through television reports, there were no reports of protests or violence. Earlier, P Chidambaram, the home minister, had predicted the Indian public would respect the court’s finding.
“I think, India has moved on, young people have moved on,” he told the Indian media. “I think young people have recognized that the India story is much more than a dispute over a place where one religious group claims they are entitled to [rather] than another religious group.”

Indian leaders have warned that an eruption of violence might derail the economic and social progress the country had made since the 1992 outbreak. The destruction of the Babri Masjid occurred a year after the national government initiated reforms that have transformed India into one of the world’s fastest growing major economies, if also a country of deep inequality. Moreover, the political potency of the Hindu nationalist movement, which took the destruction of the Babri Masjid as a rallying cry, has since eroded.
Hari Kumar contributed reporting.

Where Does God Live?

On the eve of the much awaited Temple/Mosque Judgement Day I want to draw the attention of my readers to the words from the Bible

Jesus said" God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Gospel of John, Chapter 4 (Bible)



Words of Saint Paul to worshippers in Athens

24"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;
25nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
26and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
27that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

Act 17 (Bible)

A Hindu man prays on a train station

Minarets of a Mosque

A church in Medak, India

Night falls in the temple town of Ayodhya

Police Patrol in Ayodhya

Tomorrow is the D-Day and the whole of India is poised for it. The media is a-buzz with messages for peace and calm from the government, civic authorities, social political and religious leaders , celebrities and people from all walks of life.

True worshippers worship God in spirit and in truth as He does not dwell in buildings made with human hands this is something to reflect upon against the backdrop of this temple/mosque battle.

The whole nation had been put on high security alert, I got its feeling when I passed the city centre this evening. A flag march was taking place with truck loads of police and paramilitary jawans. I didn 't mind the traffic jam as the presence of security forces made me feel less nervous of untoward incidents taking place. Later on we saw a helicopter on air patrol.

The news will be out on Thursday between 3.30 and 4 pm.

We are praying that the outcome of this long judicial process will be peacefully accepted by both Hindus and Muslims.

(All the above photos have been taken from the www)

Judgement After 60 Years

New Delhi: Sixty years after it first went to court, there shall be a verdict in the Ayodhya title suit on Thursday. This, after the Supreme Court today rejected a petition seeking that the verdict be deferred and said the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court could go ahead and deliver judgment on the property dispute.
(Map taken from BBC News)
(The Ayodhya dispute: A timeline)The High Court is expected to deliver its verdict on Thursday, September 30, after 3 pm. On Friday, October 1 one of the judges hearing the case, Dharamvir Sharma, retires.The verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute will decide whether the 2.7 acres of disputed land on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on December 6, 1992, belongs to the Sunni Central Waqf Board or to the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.In the Supreme Court today, Chief Justice of India HS Kapadia read out a one-line order to reject the petition of retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chand Tripathi, who had sought that the verdict be deferred and the matter be settled through reconciliation. Justice Kapadia said, "Having considered the detailed arguments advanced in this cases, we are of the view that the special leave petitions deserve to be dismissed. Accordingly, we hereby pass the following order: Special leave petition (C) Nos 27466-27467 of 2010 stands dismissed."
(The Mosque before it was demolished on Dec 6,1992)
The court heard arguments for over two-and-a-half hours before announcing its order. The decision of the three-judge bench - comprising Chief Justice Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice KS Radhakrishnan - was unanimous. (Read: Will High Court judge DV Sharma get extension?)Centre appeals for calm, issues advisory (Read: Centre issues advisory ahead of the Ayodhya verdict)With a date set for the verdict, the Centre has appealed for calm. In an advisory issued today, the Home Ministry also said that,
32 places have been identified as "sensitive."

(A sadhu walks amid security)

Kerala, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have been identified as trouble-prone.
Central forces would be 10 minutes away and on call with extensive deployment near sensitive spots.
India Air Force aircraft would be on standby to transport troops to eight places across the country. (Watch: Appeals for calm after Ayodhya verdict)Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/ayodhya-verdict-supreme-court-rejects-plea-for-deferment-55445?cp

(News story from NDTV}
The next 2 days will be very tense for all of us. My state and city are highly sensitive spots. We were told that 4 truck loads of para millitary policemen disembarked just a block away from our campus on the main street. Earlier there were flag marches in certain parts of the city.
Everyone is hoping that the contending groups will show maturity and restraint after hearing the judgement. The aggrieved party can appeal to the Supreme court , that option is open.

Please pray that peace may prevail in India.

The Ram Temple and Babri Mosque Judgement Delayed

There were mixed reactions from the general public after we heard the deferment of the crucial judgement till Sept. 28th. The Supreme Court has given the two contending groups, Hindus and Muslims a few more days to seek an amicable solution. But neither party displays any eagerness for that. What could not be done in the past 60 years cannot be accomplished in a week.

And there is the time factor too. The judgement ha s to be pronounced by Sept. 30th because Justice Sharma . one of the judges of the 3 judges bench is retiring on Oct. 1st. If the judgement does not come by then , a new judge will have to be appointed and all the hearings repeated , causing months of delay.It is a very complicated situation.

Some people heaved a sigh of relief as all of us were preparing for a self imposed curfew for the next 3 days, fearing the worst. I was invited to a ladies Bible study yesterday but did not go. We cancelled today 's prayer meeting. Two much awaited movie s were not released today. Some schools had already announced a holiday today, so children missed a day 's study. Please pray for peace in our land.


Below is a news report from NDTV.

New Delhi: The verdict on the Ayodhya title suit has been deferred by at least five days by the Supreme Court. It was scheduled to be delivered on Friday by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court will now hear a plea before it again on Tuesday, September 28. (Watch: Ayodhya verdict deferred) The warring parties may see reason and try and bring a solution so that the judgement is not delivered," said Mukul Rohtagi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court. Zafaryab Gilani, the counsel for the Muslim Wakf Baord said after today's court order,"I don't think there is any chance of reconciliation.""There can be a reconciliation only after there is a proposal from the other side. Otherwise, we will respect whatever the court decides," Mahant Bhaskar Das of the Nirmohi Akhara told NDTV. In the Supreme Court on Thursday, there was a difference of opinion between the two judges who heard Tripathi's petition. Justice HL Gokhale said, "Even if there is one per cent chance of reconciliation, it should be given. Consequences for ordinary people, but not for the petitioners.If there are consequences, people will blame the Supreme Court."
Another key decision by the Supreme Court on Thursday was making the Centre a party to this case. After the divided opinion, the court has issued notice to all parties in the Ayodhya case and to the Attorney General, which means that the Centre, which had hitherto not been a party to the case, can now put forth its views.

A three judge bench is now expected to hear the case as a detailed order on the Ayodhya deferment plea says in view of the difference of opinion between the two judges, the matter will be placed before the Chief Justice for constituting a larger bench.All eyes are on whether there will be a verdict by the end of this month. This because one of the High Court judges hearing the case in Lucknow retires then. If the verdict is not delivered before September 30, the entire trial may have to be conducted again. The Supreme Court took this into account before fixing its next date of hearing for deferment to September 28. The centre has been wary in the run up to the Ayodhya verdict. There have been appeals from the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the cabinet.

(Read: Ayodhya verdict: Chidambaram's peace appeal)A ban on bulk SMSes and MMSes has been extended till the September 29.

There is unprecedented security at the Lucknow High Court and many battalions of paramilitary forces. 60 years after the case was first dragged into court, the dust over the Babri dispute still refuses to settle down, and the court order is still a way out. But the next few days are an opportunity for the wisemen of the two communities, who in 1947 decided to share a nation - the Babri dispute is over just 70 odd acres of land.

(Read: High security ahead of Ayodhya verdict) Also read: Lucknow schools, colleges close ahead of Ayodhya verdict
Story first published:
September 23, 2010 21:02 IST
Tags: Allahabad High Court, Ayodhya deferment plea, Ayodhya verdict, Supreme Court Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/supreme-court-defers-ayodhya-verdict-plea-to-come-up-again-on-september-28-54340?cp
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The woman who comes to help me a with a little cleaning work arrived this morning with her face shining.

She is uneducated and belongs to an impoverished background. She lives with her husband, mother-in-law and 4 children in a small shack .Their living conditions are deplorable.

This woman has a myriad of struggles to make ends meet as her husband is an alcoholic. Her son is lazy and un-settled and loses interest in any employment he finds. Both men hardly contribute to the family 's income.The 3 daughters are of marriageable ages (teens) and the mother is worried for them. They are conservative and don 't allow the girls to work.

There is no running water in their house. A neighbour had been giving them water in lieu of payment, but a few months ago he stopped that as his water supply dropped. Poor N has been going to a roadside tap to collect water for her entire family, every morning before coming for work. She washes the family clothes at our garden tap. Her men do not lift a finger to help her and the girls are not allowed to go to the roadside.

Today this lady was all smiles because a community leader finally managed to get a water connection for their shanty settlement. She was so excited and told us that the workmen have already started laying the pipes. She is planning to save some money and get her own connection from the community pipeline she told us proudly.
It was as if she has discovered an oil gusher in her back yard.

India is a land of glaring contrasts. There are those who have luxuries like these pictured below.