Social Activists

"No anti-porn feminist I know has suggested that there is one image, or even a few, that could lead a non-rapist to rape; the argument, rather, is that taken together, pornographic images create a world that is at best inhospitable to women, and at worst dangerous to their physical and emotional well-being. In an unfair and inaccurate article that is emblematic of how anti-porn feminist work is misrepresented, Daniel Bernardi claims that Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon believed that “watching pornography leads men to rape women.” Neither Dworkin nor MacKinnon, pioneers in developing a radical feminist critique of pornography, saw porn in such simplistic terms. Rather, both argued that porn has a complicated and multilayered effect on male sexuality, and that rape, rather than simply being caused by porn, is a cultural practice that has been woven into the fabric of a male-dominated society. Pornography, they argued, is one important agent of such a society since it so perfectly encodes woman-hating ideology, but to see it as simplistically and unquestionably leading to rape is to ignore how porn operates within the wider context of a society that is brimming with sexist imagery and ideology. If, then, we replace the “Does porn cause rape?” question with more nuanced questions that ask how porn messages shape our reality and our culture, we avoid falling into the images-lead-to-rape discussion. What this reformulation does is highlight the ways that the stories in pornography, by virtue of their consistency and coherence, create a worldview that the user integrates into his reservoir of beliefs that form his ways of understanding, seeing, and interpreting what goes on around him."

"I literally couldn't believe the images. I couldn't believe that men created such images, and that other men wanted to watch them."

"My desire for information was, however, too strong to be turned aside and often have I been sent away from a bookstall when the owner became offended at my standing reading, which I used to do until I was sent away... I used to borrow books from a man who kept a small shop... leaving a small sum as a deposit. At the age of twenty, Place had worked through the histories of Greece and Rome and some translated works of Greek and Roman writers."

"I taught myself decimals, equations, the square, cube, and biquadrate roots. I got some knowledge of logarithms, and some of algebra. I readily got through a small schoolbook of geometry; and having an odd volume, the first, of Williamson's ' Euclid,' I attacked it vigorously and perseveringly. Williamson's is by no means the best book on the subject, yet I am still of opinion that it is the best book I could have had for the purpose of teaching myself."

"I was sometimes brought to a standstill, and at times almost despaired of making further progress... I knew no one of whom I could ask a question or receive any kind of instruction, and the subject was therefore at times very painful."

"It were once clearly understood, that it was not disreputable for married persons to avail themselves of such precautionary means as would, without being injurious to health, or destructive of female delicacy, prevent conception, a sufficient check might at once be given to the increase of population beyond the means of subsistence ; vice and misery, to a prodigious extent, might be removed from society, and the object of Mr. Malthus, Mr. Godwin, and of every philanthropic person, be promoted, by the increase of comfort, of intelligence, and of moral conduct, in the mass of the population."

"[The national economy is] a set of powers and ways used by a nation to keep and improve physical existence of its members... Moral good of a nation is a consequence of its education, and its physical good is a result of national economy."

"As a foundation for his inquiries Skarbek took two principles: economic freedom and the private interest of an individual. From this position he criticized the feudal system of Polish economy, especially the serfdom of peasants. But he tried also to find some modifications of the liberal economy, to adapt it to the then Polish conditions."

"It may be supposed that I led a miserable life but I did not I was very far indeed from being miserable at this time when my wife came home at night, we had always something to talk about, we were pleased to see each other, our reliance on each other was great indeed, we were poor, but we were young, active cheerful and although my wife at times doubted that we would get on in the world, I had no such misgivings."

"I saw among them, much merit - much patient suffering - wonderful endurance - industry - care and desire to be and to appear respectable. I saw also the oppression of the laws as well as of most of their employers, and that also in which in its immediate effect is even more intolerable, the contumely with which all who thought themselves above them treated them. I not only saw all this but I felt it also, and I resolved never to abandon the working people and I never will."

"The powers inherent in man are his intelligence and his physical capacity for work. Those which arise from the condition of society consist of the capacity to divide up labour and to distribute different jobs amongst different People ... and the power to exchange mutual services and the products which constitute these means. The motive which impels a man to give his services to another is self -interest- he requires a reward for the services rendered. The right of exclusive private property is indispensable to the establishment of exchange amongst men... Exchange and division of labour reciprocally condition each other."

"Adam Smith, Say, and especially C. J. Kraus, one of the best teachers of Adam Smith’s theory, are my guides. The aim of my work is to present, in my own arrangement, their writings and thoughts clearly and plainly, together with some of my own observations."

"I can imagine nothing except being a footman or common soldier as more degrading than being either a barber or a tailor."

"[Adam Smith was] a higher above all genius (...) who had recognized some mistakes of the mercantile and physiocrats systems, put new principles of a theory called the industrial system, and directed minds for this road, on which they should necessarily advance"

"At the age of twenty, Place had worked through the histories of Greece and Rome and some translated works of Greek and Roman writers. When unemployed, and for many months practically starving, he read many volumes in history, politics, law and philosophy, Adam Smith and Locke, and especially Hume's Essays and Treatises."

"To me serving "Mazloom" (destitute & deprived of rights) is just like praying and all human beings are equal and they all deserve equal treatment, respect, care and love."

"My religion is humanitarianism, which is the basis of every religion in the world."

"My mission is to love human beings. ... Each day is the best day of my life."

"I always say, be human and preach humanity. I started my humanitarian service by strictly observing four principles: truth, simplicity, hard-work and punctuality, and I repeat, be human, preach humanity and adopt humanity."

"In remembering Edhi sahib, we should also resolve to work for peace between India and Pakistan."

"From nothing he built one of the world’s largest and most respected charities, serving humanity was his religious duty."

"As a journalist, I interviewed many people, including heads of state, celebrities and intellectuals. But the one who meant the most to me, the one I most looked forward to, and thought so much about, was the brief interview I had with Pakistan’s most beloved son, Abdul Sattar Edhi."

"Abdul Sattar Edhi was … a heroic servant of humanity"

"Whereas the entire meaning of the Quran must easily be interpreted by the lives of Muslims, Islam's followers abandoned its essence."

"I do not have any formal education. What use is education when we do not become human beings? My school is the welfare of humanity."

"Take care of the poor people of my country."

"Empty words and long praises do not impress God. Show Him your faith by your deeds."

"I am a beggar for the poor. Serving humanity is the biggest Jihad."

"People have become educated but have yet to become human."

"Edhi was "a living example of social justice, compassion and solidarity in action.""

"As a reporter, I have met presidents, prime ministers and reigning monarchs. Until meeting the Pakistani social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi, I had never met a saint. … Shaking hands, I knew I was in the presence of moral and spiritual greatness."

"The book is The Tragedy of Partition by one of the longest-serving and most revered pillars of the RSS, H.V. Seshadri. It is the standard text of the RSS on the Partition. It is sold at every RSS bookshop, and read, its message is internalised, by every RSS swayam sevak."

"The third factor which led to the collapse of the Congress leadership was their disastrous policy vis-a-vis Hindus which broke up their will and morale. It was the direct and tragic consequence of their going after the chimera of “Hindu-Muslim Unity’ at any cost. And what was the ‘cost’? The word ‘Hindu’ was dubbed as communal; all historical memories of his glorious past were dumped into a dark corner; since the national flag Bhagava had betn ‘tainted’ by Hindu glory, it was to be shunned; since Vande mataram tended to stir the Hindu heart to its depths, that song was to be mutilated; the same with Hindi, the national language. Similar was the case whenever riots broke out. On the one hand the Muslims had declared jehad and were indulging in. barbaric’ atrocities, with Government too abetting them. On the other side were the Hindus, to whom the leaders kept on preaching non-violence, and condemning them for raising their arm even in self-defence. Thus, at every step the Hindu who was, in fact, the backbone of the freedom struggle got worsted - beaten both by the Muslims and their own leaders.."

"Further, is not the very cry ‘‘No Swaraj without Hindu- Muslim Unity” an insult to the freedom-loving Hindu ? Could there have been anything more emasculating to the Hindu— the Hindu who had successfully withstood and smashed the on. slaughts of many invaders over the past thousands of years — than telling him that he could not secure Swari.i without the help of Muslims ?"

"It is in this stale atmosphere of sterile scholarship and sloganized politics that the book by Shri H.V. Seshadri has come like a breath of fresh breeze. The Tragic Story of Partition is not only the latest but also the best study of this subject made so far. It gives us all the facts included in the earlier studies. It also takes into account many known but neglected facts. But what distinguishes it from all other studies, is its deeper probe and wider perspective in the interpretation of all facts and episodes. This remarkable book has many facets, rich in ideological implications of a far-reaching import. We will take up those facets one by one in the chapters that follow. To start with, we want to take up what we consider to be its most important contribution, namely, the unravelling of two behaviour patterns - Muslim and National - which collaborated closely for years and precipitated Partition in the final round. The Muslim behaviour pattern was characterized by acrimony, accusations, complaints, demands, denunciations, and street riots. The National behaviour pattern, on the other hand, was characterized by acquiescence, assent, cajolery, concessions, cowardice, self-reproach, and surrender. The two behaviour patterns have remained intact and are still operative. That is why the Partition in 1947 cannot and should not be considered a closed chapter. Moreover, the two behaviour patterns provide the key not only to a correct understanding of the complexities of present-day politics in India, but also to an anticipation of political developments in days to come."

"Numbers are not the supreme truth in the world. In freedom's battle in any country, do all the people of that country take part? When the Americans fought for their freedom, more than half the people of that country were with the British. In the Irish freedom struggle, how many were actually involved in it? Right or wrong is not decided by the counting of heads. It is decided by the intensity of tapasya or the single-minded devotion to the cause. The problem before the Hindus is not to devise ways and means of bringing about an artificial unity. The problem before them in how to organise themselves."

"Indeed how many were the seers and sages, poets and prophets - right from the Vedic age upto the modern times - who had fostered in the nation's breast the integrated and whole picture of Bharat as the Divine Mother. Bharat, in their eyes, was not a mere clod of clay. It was verily the Matrubhoomi, the Punyabhoomi, the Dharmabhoomi, the Devabhoomi, the Karmabhoomi - all sublimated into one single majestic figure of Bharat Mata. To Bankimchandra, She appeared as the triple manifestation of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga. Rabindranath Tagore visualised Her as Devi bhuvana-mana-mohini - the divine enchantress of the world. To Swami Vivekananda, She was the Mother of all the thirty-three crores of gods and goddesses - whose worship would gratify all those myriad deities. Guruji Golwalkar visualised Her as Trinity of Mata - the loving mother, Pita - the protecting father, and Guru - the elevating spiritual guide. The unity of Bharat is so basic to its nature, so sublime in its depths - in fact, an inseparable aspect of its national soul."

"In the [past] one thousand years many parts of our country had been ruled by the Muslims and then by the British, but the nation had never compromised, in principle, its sovereignty over any part of the motherland. As a result, our nation had never ceased to strive for throwing out the aggressors and liberate those parts. And history tells us that ultimately it did succeed in freeing the entire land from the clutches of foreign invaders. However, for the first time, Partition conceded the moral and legal right to them over certain parts of the country and declared an ignominious finale to the one thousand years old heroic struggle for freedom. Thus it was an act of humiliating surrender on the point of principle. The usual interpretation of Partition, however, does not utter a word about this aspect. Even while conceding Partition to be a tragedy, it is sought to be made out as the only practical way out then available - as the inevitable price for achieving freedom."

"“Under Macaulay’s dispensation our history opened with the chapter – ‘The Dark Age’ - which was, in fact, a period of Bharat’s unparalleled achievements in material as well as spiritual fields. Then followed the periods - Hindu, Muslim and British. The intent behind this kind of classification was obvious. The land belonged to those who for that period held the sceptre at Delhi. There were none who could he called the original children of this land, its natural masters. He who wielded the rod – to him the country belonged.”"

"For 800 years Hindusthan waged a relentless freedom struggle - probably the most stirring saga of crusade for national freedom witnessed anywhere on the face of this earth. From Maharana Kumbha to Maharana Pratap Simha and Rajasimha in Rajasthan, from Hakka and Bukka to Krishnadevaraya in the South, from Chhatrapati Shivaji to the Peshwas in Maharashtra, from the various martyr Gurus of the Sikhs including Guru Govind Singh to Banda Bairagi and Ranjit Singh in the Punjab, from Chhatrasal in Bundelkhand to Lachit Barphukan in Assam, countless captains of the war of independence piloted the ship of freedom and steered her through perilous tides and tempests. As a result of their ceaseless and crushing blows, the conquering, sword of Islam lay in dust, shattered to pieces."

"In the wake of the collapse of the military and political power of Islam in Bharat, it was Shah Walilullah Dehlavi (1703-1762) who rose to launch the fanatically revivalist Wahabi movement among the Muslims here. Wahabism upheld the puritanic traditions prevailing during the times of the Prophet and the first four Khalifas. He assigned to jehad a dynamic role “‘like a surgical operation on a pestering sore’ for establishing a universal Khalifa, whose effective authority would hold down various rulers of the decadent societies all over the world."

"The Congress, befitting its name of Indian National Congress, had declared itself a representative body of all groups, religious or otherwise, in the country. It was, therefore, its pre-eminent duty to stand steadfast by its commitment to the interests and integrity of the nation as a whole and never succumb to the pressure tactics of any particular section of whatever denomination. However, to the nation's misfortune, the Congress was trapped in the coils of the theories of "composite nation" and "composite culture" and infected with an inferiority complex that unless all communities came to its platform it could not become a national organization. It became nervous at the prospect of being dubbed "communal" if Hindus alone participated in its activities."

"There are in the Muslim mass mind some catchy phrases which never fail to set their minds aflame, such as ‘Islam in danger’, ‘‘jehad’’, ‘*Convert the Dar-ul-Harb into Dar-ul-Islam”."

"The [Ithaca] HOUR system seems stable and well-managed... and is an interesting mix of social conscience and capitalism. Merchants who have used HOURS to attract customers, raise the profits of their businesses and bolster their bottom lines speak first about the money-making benefits of the currency. And if those large zero-interest loans to build commerce, if those community organizations supported by HOURS increase the standard of living for the town, and if those in the system felt a tangible effect from those projects, the crystal ball might explode from the influence of HOURS."

"This is textbook grassroots empowerment-- people improving their lives through their own initiative, free of the federal currency system and the traditional labor market."

"With the trend in corporate downsizing, local HOUR money seems like an idea whose time has come."

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"One of our best bioregional writers.” --Kirkpatrick Sale, author of Human Scale, Dwellers in the Land: The Bioregional Vision, The Green Revolution, **Power Shift (dustjacket of Los Angeles: A History of the Future)"

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