Holier than thou

[Figleaf]

I thought the shrill exaggeration of this article was very funny. Until I realized that there are people in Christian countries who can also react like this. Anyway, you wonder how many people will rush to a church when they are suddenly confronted with (gasp) a CROSS!   My understanding is that this funny flap was caused by the new commemorative below. Check out the original article for more illustrations.

Source: News Today

Peter

P.S. IAS = Indian Administrative Services, the Indian bureaucracy

An assault on the soul of the nation
V SUNDARAM

      I had gone to the Landmark book shop on Nungambakkam High Road Monday evening. When, I got a new 2 Rupee Coin minted in 2006 as loose change towards the balance that was payable to me, I was shell-shocked to note that on one side of this coin was the usual and familiar Ashokan Lion Capitol in miniature size (! ?) with the constitutionally approved and administratively established inscription of Sathyameva Jayathe (Truth Alone Triumphs) deliberately smudged/omitted with pseudo-secular sinister intentions. On the reverse of the same coin, I could clearly see the inscription of a Christian Cross which had replaced the map of India. I asked myself a highly saffronised and communal question: Are we living in a Catholic country like Italy or Spain or Portugal where Roman Catholicism is the religion of the State and the people?

To quote the bracing and blazing words of B R Haran in this context: 'I too was literally shocked to see the Cross on the 2 Rupee coin. Some may feel that it is only a 'X' mark, but it is not true. Why should and for what reason the government of India have the 'X' sign on the coin? Whereas, the motive behind '+' mark makes sense. I am sure it is a 'Cross' and the calculated motive of the Italian-led government is only to spread Christianity in India. It is a fraud committed, not only on the so-called secularism of the country, but also on the Constitution and the conscience of our people. It is indeed outrageous and atrocious that the beautiful map of India in the previous version of the 2 Rupee coin minted in 2000 has been removed and replaced with this lousy Cross in 2006. I wonder what the opposition is doing! How it that it escaped their attention? How are we going to put an end to all this pseudo-secular drama?'

Ever since the UPA government under the dynastic stranglehold of Sonia Gandhi came to power in New Delhi in May 2004, it has been following a calculated and damnable policy which I have often described times without number as 'Christianity-Coveting, Islam-embracing and Hindu-Hating in stance, posture, ideology, philosophy, programme and action.'

In these columns I had exposed the anti-national designs of the government of India on 3 January, 2007. I had observed as follows about the dastardly slant of the government of India even in the very routine matter of presentation of government of India websites: I was going through the government of India websites 10 days ago. I had the misfortune of running into a government of India website relating to e- greetings under four heads: a) Celebrations; b) Heritage; c) Festivals and d) Glimpses of India. I did not find any e-greeting card for any Hindu festival. However, there were 16 cards for Christmas and nine for Eid. I could clearly see the egalitarian impact of Sachar Committee and Dr Manmohan Singh's Minority Appeasement Declaration (MAD) in concerted action even on a government of India website.'

In this context I would like to quote these immortal words of Shri Aurobindo in his last political speech at Uttarpara on 30 May, 1909: 'I say it again today, but I put it in another way. I say no longer that nationalism is a creed, a religion, a faith; I say that it is the Sanatan Dharma which for us is nationalism. This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatan Dharma, with it it moves and with it it grows. When the Sanatan Dharma declines, then the nation declines, and if the Sanatan Dharma were capable of perishing, with the Sanatan Dharma it would also perish. The Sanatan Dharma, is indeed nationalism. This is the message that I have to speak to you'. If India is held together, it is because of SANATANA DHARMA.'

It is shocking that a Two-rupee coin has been issued with a 'sectarian' or 'religious' motif. This is a pseudo-secular assault on the state which vows 'pantha nirapekshataa' - neutrality as to 'religion.' This is a departure from the practice of issuing commemorative coins to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, B R Ambedkar, Rajiv Gandhi, Dnyaneshwar, 1982-Asian Games, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo, Chittaranjan Das, and Chhatrapati Shivaji.

This indeed is unfortunate. Who is behind all this calculated national mischief? Is it the Congress Party and its pseudo-secular anti-Hindu allies? Is it Sonia Gandhi and her caucus with its own convoluted conduit pipes? Is it an over enthusiastic Christian bureaucrat dreaming of a Padma award or some sinecure post after his retirement? These are the questions that can be asked by every responsible and enlightened citizen in India today.

In my view, the 2 Rupee Coin issued in 2006 bearing the 'Christian Cross' resembles the Gold Coin issued by Louis the Pious (778 AD-840 AD), also known as Louis I, Louis the Fair, and Louis the Debonaire.. He was Emperor and King of France from 814 to his death in 840. He issued a coin bearing a Christian Cross which has been copied shamelessly by the Mint Master who has included the same Cross on one side of the new 2 Rupee coin issued in 2006. I am presenting below the picture of that coin issued by Louis the Pious (778-840).

Please see the Cross on the above coin on the left . There are four dots in all in the above coin, two on either side of the vertical line of the Cross. During the days of the Crusades and the Byzantine Empire, they were known a besant or besants. Besant was also called solidus, a gold coin of the Roman empire used in Europe until the 15th century. Four dots (besants) on the cross of Louis the Pious (9th century) later evolved into the 'Jerusalem Cross' which was used as a coat of arms for the Latin kingdom in Jerusalem. It was also called 'Crusader's Cross' during the Crusades. The four small dots (later small crosses) are symbolic of the four Gospels proclaimed to the four corners of the earth, beginning in Jerusalem; the large cross symbolizes the person of Christ. (http://christianity.about.com/cs/artgallery/p/jerusalemcross.htm) Four canonical gospels are attributed to the Four Evangelists: (Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John). 'Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned' (Mk 16:15-16). The Gospel of Mark is cited as the doctrine for Dominus Jesus initiated by Ratzinger, the present Pope in the Vatican. (http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html)

There is a good possibility that this initiative was the inspiration for the Bharatiya Mint Master to produce the plagiarised masterpiece of Crusader's Cross on the 2 Rupee Coin issued by Government of India in 2006 and also for deleting the words 'Satyameva Jayate' from the Indian State Emblem on the obverse of the coin.

I am presenting below two sides of the 2 Rupee Coins issued in 2000 and 2006.

Please note the Indian Two Rupee Coin above bearing the 'Christian Cross' in the coin issued in 2006.

FIRST ROW ABOVE: Obverse and reverse sides of the Indian coin (Rs 2) minted in 2000. Please see the map of India on the right. Please see the inscription of Satyamevajayate below the Lion Capitol on the left coin.

SECOND ROW ABOVE : Obverse and reverse sides of the 2 Rupee Indian coins minted in 2006.

IN THE OBVERSE SIDE OF THE 2006 VERSION ABOVE : Note carefully the 'Christian Cross' which has replaced the national symbol of the three lions. The National Symbol of India (The 3 lions from the hoary Ashoka Chakra) has at long last been crucified!

Ashok T Jaisinghani (ashokjai@sancharnet.in) has asked the following relevant questions which will be fully endorsed by the patriotic Hindus of India numbering over more than 800 millions and in absolute majority:

How many Hindus have noticed the new two-rupee coins bearing the 'Christian Cross'?

* Is the secular government of India openly using the sign like the Cross on Indian coins to encourage the spread of Christianity in India?
* Is the UPA-led government of Manmohan Singh favouring the Christian community just to keep the Italian Christian Sonia Gandhi in good humour?
* Is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acting as a mere puppet of Sonia Gandhi who is behaving like a de facto Empress of India?

I have cited the example of Christian Cross to be seen in the coins issued by Louis The Pious (778-840) which has been used by government of India on the 2 Rupee Coins issued in 2006. The pseudo-secular anti-Hindu leaders of India of New Delhi can say that the example of Louis The Pious is no longer relevant today in 2007!! To such Hindu-baiting people, I would like to give the following examples / samples of Christian Crosses from a modern website of AmeriYank's Christian Crosses:

In the second row above , the Cross on the extreme right looks almost similar (if we exclude the ornamental ends on the four arms) to the Cross on the 2 Rupee Indian Coin issued in 2006.

Today in India, tragically a Hindu has only one parichaya, only one name by which he is known. He is known as a communalist. Islamic ideology, Christian ideology, Communist ideology very humane and very civilized according to the Minority UPA government have all made such inroads that a Hindu is being called a communalist in his own land. This is the 10th wonder of the world.

(The writer is a retired IAS officer)

[Figleaf]

Some political parties have joined the fight, basically repeating the tinny tone of the previous article, but now we have a reaction from India's bishops and I learn for the first time that the Reserve Bank of India has reacted, saying they didn't mean it that way (who'd have thunk it!). The bishops predictably agree with te Reserve Bank. Somehow, I feel shutting up might have been more productive... 

Source: Catholic Bishops Conference of India

Peter

CBCI slams right wing groups for coin controversy
April 13,2007

NEW DELHI (ICNS): The controversy kicked up around the new Rs 2 coin by the right wing groups including the RSS is a ?figment of imagination of certain individuals and groups in India that are obsessed with anti-minorityism,? said the Catholic church spokesperson Fr Babu Joseph.
The RSS (Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh) and Shiva Sena have demanded immediate withdrawal of the Rs 2 coin, issued sometime last year, because they claim it contains a cross in place of the Indian map. The purported cross is actually a symbol of unity, according to the Reserve Bank of India.

?The symbol shall be seen as four heads sharing a common body. It shall be thought of as people from all four parts of the country coming together under one banner,? the RBI said in a statement.

Fr Joseph said ?the whole controversy around the symbol of unity depicted on the reverse side of the 2 rupee coin as promotion of Christianity in India is nothing short of figment of imagination of certain individuals and groups in India that are obsessed with anti-minorityism.?

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India spokesperson pointed out that the Reserve Bank of India has made clarification ?on what the symbol actually meant and the matter should have been considered closed.? But, instead, ?these vested groups are trying to whip up uncalled for passion against a symbol which is universally accepted as representative of unity of people, cultures and religions which India truly represents.?

?By raising such frivolous issues by political parties and organizations, they serve no useful purpose except create more social wedge between communities,? Fr Joseph said.

[Figleaf]

Sentiments over the coin are really getting heated. I got hold of the gist of the Reserve Bank of India's mumbling (but not thanks to the RBI web site):

Reserve Bank of India officials counter the allegation saying the so-called cross ?is a pictorial represents of nation?s unity in diversity?.  RBI officials say that the image on the reverse side of the coin is an ?aerial view? of four men from four different religions coming together and raising their hands in unity.

Meanwhile, the ultra-right nationalists got an inspired blast from Dr. John Dayal, President, All India Catholic Union: ?What was the inspired lunacy of perhaps a few fanatics has now been given an official cloak by the Hindutva Parivar and their political prot?g?, the Bharatiya Janata Party; to collect whatever electoral points they can in the Uttar Pradesh elections and elsewhere. Those who see a Syrian or other Christian Cross, on a Two Rupee coin are also the same persons who are quite eager to kill a Bhopal girl because she marries a Muslim boy of her choice, and others who will slay five Dalits accusing them of skinning a cow. These political desperados and their hate campaigns ? brought to chilling light in the compact discs distributed in Uttar Pradesh which paint every Indian Muslim as a traitor and a murderer ? will hopefully invite administrative and judicial attention and the punishments that should go with such crimes in a democratic India?.

You can say what you like, but Indians are pretty good at holding a lively debate.

Peter

[Rangnath]

You're right of course. What a wonderfully messy democracy India has!
Richie

[Overlord]

The Sunga's didn't seem to have have any issues with using both a 'cross' and a 'swastika' on their coins way back in 1st century BC.

http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,1328.0.html

Why should symbols necessarily be linked to a particular religion or order?

[Rangnath]

The swastic and the cross are popular symbols, aren't they. 
I realise that I'm getting off the subject here, but as I recently returned from a trip to Chiapas, Mexico, I can't resist. 
There we saw the cross in a different context, a Mayan one. This wasn't a case of "holier than thou" but rather the opposite; a case of syncronicity.
The Mayans had used crosses in their mythologoy over a thousand years before contact with Christians. This example below was, as I recall, from the 7th century AD. 
When Christian missionaries arrived in what is now called Chiapas in the 16th century, the Mayans in this village saw the cross and felt very comfortable with it.  They seemed to embrace Christiantiy but they did not reject their Mayan world view. 
This colonial church has votive candles in front of icons of the saints and it is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It looks like a Christian Church, but there are differences. I did not see an icon for Jesus Christ.  In fact, I didn't see an icon of Jesus Christ in the whole village! I did see healing ceremonies being conducted on the church floor complete with animal sacrifices.  The chickens first observed the evil, and then they were killed. Later they would be buried. The cross in front of the church was a Mayan, NOT a Christian cross. 
The last picture was from a cemetary.  The crosses there were all Mayan and the iconography is Mayan, not Christian.
richie

[Rangnath]

More information pulled from Wikipedia:

Controversy over 2006 two-rupee coin
The two-rupee coin issued from 2006 by the Reserve Bank, in stark contrast to the earlier coin, is rounded and simpler in design, without the map of India. The coin has already been criticized for being difficult to recognize by the visually impaired[1]. Most controversially, it features an equal-armed cross with the beams divided into two rays and with dots between adjacent beams, which the RBI claims to be "four heads sharing a common body" under a new "unity in diversity" theme[2]. However there is no history in India of a cross of this nature or any other cross being used to represent this theme. Outraged Indian commentators, bloggers and Hindu nationalists have charged that the symbol is a Christian cross, pointing out its strong resemblance (equal-armed cross and dots) to the symbol on the denarii issued by Louis the Pious. 
richie

[shariqkhan]

I don't know why this cross sign makes such a controversy.  Many signs similar to this cross signs are on Indian Coins since 300 BC . One such sign is (+) like symbol popularly known as "Hollow Cross" found on Eran Coins and various other PMC's . I also saw a similar symbol on coins of Jhabua Native State. Similar symbol are also drawn on the walls of traditional Indian Mud Houses in the art called "Sanjha" or something like that.
Please follow the links to some coins and molds with hollow cross.
http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=382344&AucID=284&Lot=566&Match=1

http://cgi.ebay.in/ANCIENT-CAST-COPPER---HOLLOW-CROSS-300---200-B.C._W0QQitemZ110278442329QQcmdZViewItem?IMSfp=TL080810091a17340

I think some people are always  looking for controversy in everything because they think that such issues may provide an opportunity to be  recognized. Especially in religious matters.   

[shariqkhan]

Dear Aiden
People who are always looking for controversies in everything may start new dispute by saying that the woman's hand with two fingers is of Mrs Sonia Gandhi(President Congress Party). Or they may also say that 1 rupee coin which shows a thumb(popular Indian quote "Thenga Dikha Diya")
is an attempt to make people fool with 1 rupee.
"I am just joking".

[Figleaf]

'Jerusalam christian cross' reappears, this time on Rs 10 coin
Ahmedabad, DeshGujarat, 12 April, 2009

The central government has issued a new 10 Rs coin with a with 'Christian Crusader's Cross' on one side.

Two years back, the UPA government had issued two Rs coin with ditto same Christian crusader cross on one side. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had taken up this issue to the people in his December 2007 Gujarat assembly election rallies(Watch video).After much protest this coin was withdrawn.

Now again, the central government has come with Rs 10 coin depicting ditto same 'Jerusalam cross.' It is same story again as was the case couple of years ago with 2 rupee coin.

In it's March, 26 press release the Reserve Bank of India said, "reverse side of the coin contains the visuals showing stylised representation of "Unity in Diversity", a defining characteristic of our country. The symbol shall be seen as four heads sharing a common body. It shall be thought of as people from all four parts of the country coming together under one banner and identifying with one nation. The visual code helps the user connect the visual with an individual denomination, which makes the process of identification quicker."

However what the RBI terms as a symbol of "Unity in Diversity," actually seems clearly a "Jerusalam cross" that was depicted on two Rs coin earlier.

It should be noted in the name of secularism, India has always refrained from depicting religious signs on currency. Even in Indonesia, which is a Muslim country, they have a picture of Ganesh on one of their currency notes but in India, that's not possible, thanks to the great secularism.

Story of the sign

The issue of Christian cross on Indian coin was first raised by V Sundaram, a retired IAS officer. V Sundaram in one of his articles wrote: The 'Christian Cross' on new coin resembles the Gold Coin issued by Louis the Pious (778 AD-840 AD), also known as Louis I, Louis the Fair, and Louis the Debonaire.. He was Emperor and King of France from 814 to his death in 840. He issued a coin bearing a Christian Cross which has been copied shamelessly by the Mint Master who has included the same Cross on one side of the new 2 Rupee coin issued in 2006. I am presenting below the picture of that coin issued by Louis the Pious (778-840).

Please see the Cross on the above coin . There are four dots in all in the above coin, two on either side of the vertical line of the Cross. During the days of the Crusades and the Byzantine Empire, they were known a besant or besants. Besant was also called solidus, a gold coin of the Roman empire used in Europe until the 15th century. Four dots (besants) on the cross of Louis the Pious (9th century) later evolved into the 'Jerusalem Cross' which was used as a coat of arms for the Latin kingdom in Jerusalem. It was also called 'Crusader's Cross' during the Crusades. The four small dots (later small crosses) are symbolic of the four Gospels proclaimed to the four corners of the earth, beginning in Jerusalem; the large cross symbolizes the person of Christ.(http://christianity.about.com/cs/artgallery/p/jerusalemcross.htm)

Four canonical gospels are attributed to the Four Evangelists: (Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John). 'Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned' (Mk 16:15-16). The Gospel of Mark is cited as the doctrine for Dominus Jesus initiated by Ratzinger, the present Pope in the Vatican. (http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/document /rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html)

Source: Desh Gujarat

[Figleaf]

The unfortunate writer of this piece is apparently terminally confused over what a Jerusalem cross is.



But he/she can still claim a lower level of confusion than those Americans who claim that "in god we trust" has fallen off the dollar coins.

Peter

[asm]

Aditya,
The designs were prepared by the NID (National Institute of Design) Ahmedabad. I did not believe that such a premier institute could come out with such pathetic designs.
Amit

[Bimat]

I liked the word Pathetic Design!! 

[asm]

Not one, all three are the same!!!!!!
Amit

[kage01]

Is this what they are referring to?