Decoupling Hypothesis for India and Myth of Sisyphus

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 417

Palash Biswas

Economy showing signs of upturn: Manmohan Singh

New Delhi,November 07(ANI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that that India was better placed than ever before to push reforms in Asia's third largest economy and forecast more than 7.0 percent growth next year.Singh said that some reforms are required in the insurance sector and the government would strive to build the political consensus needed for these legislative actions in this.

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http://videos.sify.com/watch/Economy_showing_signs_of_upturn_Manmohan_Singh-jlitOcbbcef.html

Rich & NRIs eye foreign properties

8 Nov 2009, 1842 hrs IST, Neha Dewan & Ishani Duttagupta, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: With real estate prices in the niche segment in India showing signs of robust recovery, high net worth Indians and NRIs are again

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eyeing foreign shores for real estate investments. With real estate prices going down by a whopping 25-30% and hitting rock bottom in some geographies and distress asset sales becoming the order of the day, there could be no better time than this to pick up a dream home abroad. And experts confirm that the decision to buy property overseas is driven strongly by an end-use perspective.

Some of the places which now offer good investment opportunities for HNIs include the Middle East especially Dubai. In USA it's particularly New York City, Virginia and San Francisco. The others include Singapore and UK, according to Rajiv Sahni, partner, real estate practice, Ernst & Young.

Mayank Patel, group chairman & CEO of Azibo Group, a London-based private investment firm, who is himself a real estate investor agrees that globally there are huge opportunities to invest in real estate because of distress sales. "I am an investor in real estate myself and feel that the UK provides good opportunities for high net worth non-resident Indians and people of Indian origin. This is mainly because the pound sterling has fallen against the Euro and the dollar and prices of various prime properties are much lower today than they were about a year ago. So NRIs who are based in the US or Europe will find good deals here. Also worldwide, in locations across geographies such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, France, Spain, Florida and New York, property prices have fallen 30% over the last one year, because of distress asset sales and the credit squeeze by banks and FIs. While the Indian community globally, does have sophisticated portfolios, the fundamental business culture is one of going in for fundamental investments in real estate - and that's the reason that many of the HNIs are grabbing the investment opportunities globally," says Patel.

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E&Y's Sahni feels that it is best for HNIs to take a mid to long-term view on exchange rates along with other important factors if the intention to invest in real estate is to save and earn an appreciation.

In view of the meltdown globally, an important trend is that NRIs and HNIs in India are often looking at property overseas from the end-user perspective. Says Shveta Jain, national head, marketing and investment, residential of global real estate consultancy Cushman and Wakefield (C&W), India: "Investments by NRIs nowadays are coupled with an end-use objective. The consideration could be education of children or if they frequent the destination from a business point of view. But any real estate purchase outside India has a strong end-use purpose. It is more of market dynamics than the exchange rate that drives their decision as this class is not really price sensitive." Jain says that London and Dubai are preferred destinations which keep the wealthy families and the noveau rich class interested.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/the-sunday-et/companies/Rich-NRIs-eye-foreign-properties/articleshow/5208220.cms

Whenever our India Incs affliated Intelligentsia, Politicians, Policy Makers and the worst of the lot, so called EONOMISTS talk on Risilient Economy and Decocupling Hypothesis is made, it reminds the Myth of Sisyphus immediately!In Greek mythology, Sisyphus (pronounced /?s?s?f?s/; Greek: ??????? sísyp^(h)os Ell-Sisyfos.ogg [?sisifos] (help·info)) was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity. It may be seen in SENSEX Tug of war in Indian Economy. While involving ourselves with the Corporate Imerialist Zionst Fate of Galaxy war Economy and getting all kind of Foreign capital Inflow, putting on everything on Sell Off , from Natural resources to PSUs and everything tagged as Government. Agriculture is destroyed as destroyed are Indigenous Production system and Aboriginal Livelihood. FIIs Rule the Economy. Monetary and Fiscal Policies are modified in accordance with the dictation from IMF , World bank and USA. Economic reforms acomplisned introducing Genocide Culture and SEZ drive created Foreign Territories and defenders of Foreign interest with Nuclear, Biological and chemical Warfare. Constitution is killed as India Incs take over Governance, Policy making and Legislation led by Extra constitutional elements while Parliamentary Politics bastardised with Human Face and so called falg Ship Proggramme to be implemented with Foreign funded NGO partnership and the resistance and Mass movements also go Projected. It reminds me Sisyphus.

The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus. It comprises about 120 pages and was published originally in 1942 in French as Le Mythe de Sisyphe; the English translation by Justin O'Brien followed in 1955.In our nainital Days, our Economist Friend and Professor who later joined UP Planning Commision and died untimely, DR. Chandresh Shastri, a regular contributer in Naintal Samachar, our original space used to explain the SISyphus Phenomenon in Indian Political Economy. We miss you, Dr. Shastri, but we may not forget the formula to analyse the Economic growth and Sensex economy in Glittereing India with Enslaved, Starving , Chosen to be killed Majority Masses!

In the essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: "No. It requires revolt." He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

The work can be seen in relation to other works by Camus: the novel The Stranger (1942), the play Caligula (1945), and especially the essay The Rebel (1951).

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma addressed a session on "Reinforcing Economic Imperatives: India's Global Engagements" at the 25th India Economic Summit jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry and World Economic Forum in New Delhi.

Speaking at the session, he said that although every country across the world has been affected due to the crisis, resorting to protectionist measures in these challenging times will prove counter productive and will delay the recovery process.

As against the growing tendency of protectionism amongst the countries of the West, India's endeavor is to deepen its trade engagements with the major economic groupings of the world.

Earlier, in the space of two weeks, India had signed two economic agreements, a broad-based trade, services and investment pact with South Korea and a free trade agreement with the ASEAN group of ten countries. The successful ratification of the two agreements preceded India's renewed engagement in the WTO Doha Development Round. The informal ministerial meeting hosted by India shows its commitment to resolve the deadlock in the Doha round of trade negotiations.

Though India's growth has not been affected to the same extent as other economies of the world, yet its exports have suffered a steep decline since last October due to a contraction in demand in the traditional markets. Considering this, the challenge that India faces going forward is to sustain and enhance its global engagements. Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce has aptly followed an enhanced market access and diversification policy for exports in its 2009-14 Foreign Trade policy.

As economic indicators are pointing to a mild recovery, our trade continues to fall, although the steepness of the free fall seems to have been arrested, said Mr Anand Sharma. Whether this turnaround will be durable is to be seen in the coming months.

The Indian economy has undergone a considerable change since economic reforms began in 1991, during which India's integration into the world economy has been very rapid. India's healthy growth story and pro investment climate have helped it attract huge investment inflows, especially since the last decade. Although the previous year has seen significant flight of capital due to the global economic crisis, investment inflows, both direct and portfolio, have seen a robust comeback in 2009.

The economic and financial crisis has also lead to a change in the global political and economic architecture, said Mr Anand Sharma. The G-20, instead of G-8, is better suited to represent the economic realties of the present day world. Thus a rule based, fair and equitable global multilateral trading regime which has development as its core objective is what will benefit the entire world economy, expressed the Minister.

Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, India, and President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India, while moderating the session said that India has moved forward in its global engagements. He further added that it's recently announced Trade Policy aptly shows its trade facilitative efforts along with fiscal incentives for the labour intensive sectors that have been adversely hit by the crisis.

In his closing remarks, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, thanked Anand Sharma for sharing his enlightening remarks and expressed hope that Doha round will soon get concluded successfully.

Government to wind-down stimulus, hasten reforms: PM

8 Nov 2009, 1333 hrs IST, AGENCIES

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday that India was better placed than ever before to push reforms in Asia's third largest

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economy and forecast more than 7.0 percent growth next year.

"In the coming months and years, I hope to see a decisive change in the pace of our progress to become a leading economy in the world," Singh said. "(We) will strive to build political concensus needed for these legislative actions to be completed."

"I am happy to say that India has been able to face the global economic downturn better than most other countries in the world," the Prime Minister told the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The prime minister won a resounding election victory in May and recent state polls have bolstered the ruling coalition, raising hopes the government will push forward with reforms, especially in the financial sector. The prime minister said with a normal monsoon next fiscal year growth was expected to be more than 7.0 percent and the government would take steps to wind down the stimulus in 2010.

"Like other countries, we resorted to significant stimulus and we will take appropriate action next year to wind this down. Our medium term objective is to achieve a growth rate of 9 percent per annum. There are clear signs of an upturn in the economy," he said.

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The prime minister added the economy is expected to expand by 6.5 percent in the year to March 2010. India's economic growth slowed to 6.7 percent in the 2008/09 fiscal year through March after three straight years of at least 9 percent, and government officials have said growth in the current year is on track for roughly 6.5 percent.

The prime minister told the high-profile gathering of top business leaders from across the globe that the worst was behind the global economy even as the path to recovery remained long and uncertain.

"Our strategy therefore must aim at sustaining a high rate of growth on the strength of strong domestic demand. We seek to achieve this through a large increase in investment in infrastructure."

Summary

The essay is dedicated to Pascal Pia and is organized in four chapters and one appendix.
[edit] Chapter 1: An Absurd Reasoning

Camus undertakes to answer what he considers to be the only question of philosophy that matters: Does the realization of the meaninglessness and absurdity of life necessarily require suicide?

He begins by describing the absurd condition: much of our life is built on the hope for tomorrow yet tomorrow brings us closer to death and is the ultimate enemy; people live as if they didn't know about the certainty of death; once stripped of its common romanticisms, the world is a foreign, strange and inhuman place; true knowledge is impossible and rationality and science cannot explain the world: their stories ultimately end in meaningless abstractions, in metaphors. "From the moment absurdity is recognized, it becomes a passion, the most harrowing of all."

It is not the world that is absurd, nor human thought: the absurd arises when the human need to understand meets the unreasonableness of the world, when "my appetite for the absolute and for unity" meets "the impossibility of reducing this world to a rational and reasonable principle."

He then characterizes a number of philosophies that describe and attempt to deal with this feeling of the absurd, by Heidegger, Jaspers, Shestov, Kierkegaard and Husserl. All of these, he claims, commit "philosophical suicide" by reaching conclusions that contradict the original absurd position, either by abandoning reason and turning to God, as in the case of Kierkegaard and Shestov, or by elevating reason and ultimately arriving at ubiquitous Platonic forms and an abstract god, as in the case of Husserl.

For Camus, who set out to take the absurd seriously and follow it to its final conclusions, these "leaps" cannot convince. Taking the absurd seriously means acknowledging the contradiction between the desire of human reason and the unreasonable world. Suicide, then, also must be rejected: without man, the absurd cannot exist. The contradiction must be lived; reason and its limits must be acknowledged, without false hope. However, the absurd can never be accepted: it requires constant confrontation, constant revolt.

While the question of human freedom in the metaphysical sense loses interest to the absurd man, he gains freedom in a very concrete sense: no longer bound by hope for a better future or eternity, without a need to pursue life's purpose or to create meaning, "he enjoys a freedom with regard to common rules".

To embrace the absurd implies embracing all that the unreasonable world has to offer. Without a meaning in life, there is no scale of values. "What counts is not the best living but the most living."

Thus, Camus arrives at fourteen consequences from the full acceptance of the absurd: revolt, freedom, passion and many more.
[edit] Chapter 2: The Absurd Man

How should the absurd man live? Clearly, no ethical rules apply, as they are all based on higher powers or on justification. "Integrity has no need of rules." 'Everything is permitted' "is not an outburst of relief or of joy, but rather a bitter acknowledgment of a fact."

Camus then goes on to present examples of the absurd life. He begins with Don Juan, the serial seducer who lives the passionate life to the fullest. "There is no noble love but that which recognizes itself to be both short-lived and exceptional."

The next example is the actor, who depicts ephemeral lives for ephemeral fame. "He demonstrates to what degree appearing creates being." "In those three hours he travels the whole course of the dead-end path that the man in the audience takes a lifetime to cover."

Camus' third example of the absurd man is the conqueror, the warrior who forgoes all promises of eternity to affect and engage fully in human history. He chooses action over contemplation, aware of the fact that nothing can last and no victory is final.
[edit] Chapter 3: Absurd Creation

Here Camus explores the absurd creator or artist. Since explanation is impossible, absurd art is restricted to a description of the myriad experiences in the world. "If the world were clear, art would not exist." Absurd creation, of course, must do whatever it must to keep itself alive.

He then analyzes the work of Dostoyevsky in this light, especially The Diary of a Writer, The Possessed and The Brothers Karamazov. All these works start from the absurd position, and the first two explore the theme of philosophical suicide. But both The Diary and his last novel, The Brothers Karamazov, ultimately find a path to hope and faith and thus fail as truly absurd creations.
[edit] Chapter 4: The Myth of Sisyphus

In the last chapter, Camus outlines the legend of Sisyphus who defied the gods and put Death in chains so that no human needed to die. When Death was eventually liberated and it came time for Sisyphus himself to die, he concocted a deceit which let him escape from the underworld. Finally captured, the gods decided on his punishment: for all eternity, he would have to push a rock up a mountain; on the top, the rock rolls down again and Sisyphus has to start over. Camus sees Sisyphus as the absurd hero who lives life to the fullest, hates death and is condemned to a meaningless task.

Camus presents Sisyphus's ceaseless and pointless toil as a metaphor for modern lives spent working at futile jobs in factories and offices. "The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious."

Camus is interested in Sisyphus' thoughts when marching down the mountain, to start anew. This is the truly tragic moment, when the hero becomes conscious of his wretched condition. He does not have hope, but "[t]here is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn." Acknowledging the truth will conquer it; Sisyphus, just like the absurd man, keeps pushing. Camus claims that when Sisyphus acknowledges the futility of his task and the certainty of his fate, he is freed to realize the absurdity of his situation and to reach a state of contented acceptance. With a nod to the similarly cursed Greek hero Oedipus, Camus concludes that "all is well," indeed, that "One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myth_of_Sisyphus

Maoists kill 4 policemen in West Bengal

Kolkata: Four Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) troopers were killed in an ambush by Maoist rebels in West Bengal's West Midnapore district on Sunday, hours after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee wrapped up his two-day visit to the district by throwing a challenge to the Left-wing ultras.

"Four policemen have been killed. The bodies have been brought to the Jamboni police station from the spot," an officer manning the state police control room here said.

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"We have heard that some policemen have also been injured. But we don't know the numbers," he said.

West Midnapore district magistrate Narayan Swarup Nigam said that the troopers of the EFR, a paramilitary force of the state police, were posted in the Jamboni camp close to the ambush spot in the crowded Gidhni market.

The troopers, out on a patrol from the camp, were attacked when they had stopped to have tea Sunday evening. The heavily armed Left-wing extremists sprayed the victims with bullets before fleeing on foot into a nearby jungle with their automatic rifles.

The spot under Jhargram sub-division is about 8 km from the state's border with Jharkhand and 25 km west of Lalgarh town.

Following the attack, a large contingent of central paramilitary troopers and state armed policemen cordoned off the area and engaged the rebels in a gunfight.

About a couple of hours before the daring attack, the chief minister had thrown a challenge to the extremists by asserting at a public meeting in the district: "We'll defeat Maoist ultras and will chase them out of our state."

Last month, the ultras had attacked the Sankrail police station in the district, killing two police officers and abducting officer-in-charge Atindranath Dutta. Dutta was released unharmed after two days in captivity.

The state government has launched a massive security operation comprising central paramilitary troopers and crack personnel from the state police in and around the Lalgarh belt since June 18 to flush out the Maoists, who had turned the area into a virtual free zone since last November.

World Economic Forum Celebrates 25 Years in India

Marking 25 years of ties with India, the Co-Chairs of the India Economic Summit highlighted India's success as a globally competitive economy and for weathering the current financial crisis.

"The world has come to recognize the potential of India for its ability to innovate and its growing role on the global stage," said William D. Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Accenture, USA, a Co-Chair of the India Economic Summit. He added that India has the opportunity to become a "high performance" nation.

"I am amazed by how resilient the Indian economy has been," remarked Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault, France; President and Chief Executive Officer, Nissan, Japan, and Co-Chair of the India Economic Summit. "The Summit will be an important forum to understand how India managed to weather the global economic meltdown so well."

Summit Co-Chair Baba N. Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge (BHARATFOR.NS : 270.7 +4.35), India, also praised India for emerging from the financial meltdown, noting that the country's growth rate would be as much as 6-7% this year and perhaps double digits in the future. Energy, infrastructure, social issues, health and education will be the pressing issues to follow.

While also praising India as an engine for growth and a country with enormous opportunities, Indra Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, USA, a Co-Chair of the Summit, said that it was in everyone's interest to see the US continue being a centre for growth and that the downturn would be short-lived.

She then praised the World Economic Forum for its ability to bring together multiple constituencies to discuss the current economic situation and other global issues. "My hope [here] is to develop an action plan and hold ourselves accountable on progress."

Co-Chair Shumeet Banerji, Chief Executive Officer, Booz and Company, United Kingdom, added that the India Economic Summit serves as a valuable platform to discuss major issues facing the country. Banerji said he is particularly interested in seeing progress on carbon reduction and demographics.

Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, India; President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India, highlighted the 25th anniversary of the Forum's engagement in India and the important role the Summit has played in integrating India with global markets.

"India has become a positive brand," highlighted Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum. "This not only has to do with its economic growth but also the entrepreneurial spirit of the country." He added that India could be a role model, especially in light of the challenges of the global economic situation. "If we can help people respond to these challenges, we have made a contribution."

The World Economic Forum is celebrating 25 years of active engagement in India at its annual India Economic Summit, taking place in New Delhi from 8 to 10 November. This year's Summit has set a new record for total participation with over 800 leaders from industry, government, civil society and academia from over 40 countries. The theme for this year's Summit is "India's Next Generation of Growth."

Sisyphus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For other uses, see Sisyphus (disambiguation).

Persephone supervising Sisyphus in the Underworld, Attic black-figure amphora, ca. 530 BC, Staatliche Antikensammlungen (Inv. 1494)

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus (pronounced /ˈsɪsəfəs/; Greek: Σίσυφος sísypʰos [ˈsisifos] (help·info)) was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity.

The word sisyphean means, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, "endless and unavailing, as labor or a task."

[hide]

[edit] The myth

Sisyphus was son of the king Aeolus of Thessaly and Enarete, and the founder and first king of Ephyra (Corinth). He was the father of Glaucus by the nymph Merope, and the grandfather of Bellerophon.

Sisyphus promoted navigation and commerce, but was avaricious and deceitful, violating the laws of hospitality by killing travelers and guests. He took pleasure in these killings because they allowed him to maintain his dominant position. From Homer onwards, Sisyphus was famed as the craftiest of men. He seduced his niece, took his brother's throne and betrayed Zeus' secrets. Zeus then ordered Thanatos (Death personified) to chain Sisyphus in Tartarus. Sisyphus slyly asked Thanatos to try the chains to show how they worked. When Thanatos did so, Sisyphus secured them and threatened him. This caused an uproar, and no human could die until Ares (who was annoyed that his battles had lost their fun because his opponents would not die) intervened, freeing Death and sending Sisyphus to Tartarus.

However, before Sisyphus died, he had told his wife to throw his naked body into the middle of the public square in attempt to test his wife's love for him. Annoyed by the obedience and loveless decision by his wife, Sisyphus persuaded Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, to allow him to go back to the upper world and scold his wife for not burying his body as a loving wife would. When Sisyphus returned to Corinth, he refused to retreat back to the underworld and was forcibly dragged back to the underworld by Hermes. In another version of the myth, Persephone was directly persuaded that he had been conducted to Tartarus by mistake and ordered him to be freed.^[1]

Greek underworld
Residents
Aeacus Cerberus Charon Hades	Minos Persephone Rhadamanthus
Geography
Acheron Asphodel Meadows Cocytus Elysion	Erebus Lethe Phlegethon Styx Tartarus
Famous Inmates
Ixion Sisyphus	Tantalus The Titans

[edit] "Sisyphean task" or "Sisyphean challenge"

As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he could reach the top of the hill, the rock would always roll back down again, forcing him to begin again.^[2] The maddening nature of the punishment was reserved for Sisyphus due to his hubristic belief that his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus. Sisyphus took the bold step of reporting one of Zeus' sexual conquests, telling the river god Asopus of the whereabouts of his daughter Aegina. Zeus had taken her away, but regardless of the impropriety of Zeus' frequent conquests, Sisyphus overstepped his bounds by considering himself a peer of the gods who could rightfully report their indiscretions.^[3] As a result, Zeus displayed his own cleverness by binding Sisyphus to an eternity of frustration. Accordingly, pointless or interminable activities are often described as Sisyphean. Sisyphus was a common subject for ancient writers and was depicted by the painter Polygnotus on the walls of the Lesche at Delphi.^[4]

[edit] Interpretations

According to the solar theory, Sisyphus is the disk of the sun that rises every day in the east and then sinks into the west.^[5] Other scholars regard him as a personification of waves rising and falling, or of the treacherous sea.^[5] The 1st-century BC Epicurean philosopher Lucretius interprets the myth of Sisyphus as personifying politicians aspiring for political office who are constantly defeated, with the quest for power, in itself an "empty thing," being likened to rolling the boulder up the hill.^[6] Friedrich Welcker suggested that he symbolises the vain struggle of man in the pursuit of knowledge, and Salomon Reinach^[7] that his punishment is based on a picture in which Sisyphus was represented rolling a huge stone Acrocorinthus, symbolic of the labour and skill involved in the building of the Sisypheum. Albert Camus, in his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus, sees Sisyphus as personifying the absurdity of human life, but concludes "one must imagine Sisyphus happy" as "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."

[edit] Literary interpretations

Ovid, the famous Roman poet, references Sisyphus in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. When Orpheus descends and confronts Hades and Persephone, he sings a song with the result of getting his wish of bringing Eurydice back. After this song is sung, Ovid shows how moving it was by noting that Sisyphus sat on his rock, the Latin wording being "inque tuo sedisti Sisyphe, saxo."^[8]

Albert Camus, the French Absurdist, wrote an essay entitled The Myth of Sisyphus in which he elevates Sisyphus to the status of absurd hero.

Franz Kafka repeatedly referred to Sisyphus as a bachelor; the Kafkaesque for him were those qualities that brought out the Sisyphus-like qualities in himself. According to Frederick Karl: "The man who struggled to reach the heights only to be thrown down to the depths embodied all of Kafka's aspirations; and he remained himself, alone, solitary."^[9]

The philosopher Richard Taylor uses the myth of Sisyphus as a representation of a life made meaningless because it consists of bare repetition.^[10]

A radio play A View From The Mountain written by Don Haworth broadcast in 1987 on BBC Radio 4 starring Michael Williams and Judy Dench revisited the Sisyphus myth.

[edit] "Cheating Death" theme in other folk tales

The way in which Sisyphus cheated Death is not unique to his tale. Thus in a Venetian story the ingenious Beppo ties up Death in a bag and keeps him there for eighteen months; there is general rejoicing; nobody dies, and the doctors are in high feather. In a Sicilian story an innkeeper corks up Death in a bottle; so nobody dies for years, and the long white beards are a sight to see. In another Sicilian story a monk keeps Death in his pouch for forty years. (T. F. Crane, Italian Popular Tales, 1885). The German parallel is Gambling Hansel, who kept Death up a tree for seven years, during which no one died (Grimm, Household Tales). The Norse parallel is the tale of the Master Smith (G. W. Dasent, Popular Tales from the Norse). For a Lithuanian parallel, see A. Schleicher, Litauische Märchen, Sprichworte, Rätsel und Lieder (1857); for Slavonic parallels, F. S. Krauss, Sagen und Märchen der Südslaven, ii. Nos. 125, 126; see also Frazer's Pausanias, iii. p. 33; O. Gruppe, Griechische Mythologie (1906), ii., p. 1021, note 2.^[5]

[edit] References

^ Bernard Evslin's Gods, Demigods & Demons, 209-210
^ Odyssey, xi. 593
^ Edith Hamilton's Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 312-313
^ Pausanias x. 31
^ ^a ^b ^c "Sisyphus". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
^ De Rerum Natura III
^ Revue archéologique, 1904
^ Ovid. Metamorphoses, 10.44.
^ Karl, Frederick. Franz Kafka: Representative Man. New York: From International Publishing Corporation, 1991.
^ Taylor, Richard 'Time and Life's Meaning' Review of Metaphysics 40 (June 1987): 675-686, copyright 1987 by the Review of Metaphysics

[edit] See also

Look up Sisyphean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sisyphus

Wu Gang
1866 Sisyphus, asteroid
Cool Hand Luke, a popular movie starring Paul Newman in which the title character is a defiant prisoner at a work camp. His futile efforts to challenge authority, such as his escape attempts, result in equally pointless punishments, such as digging holes and filling them back in.
Naranath Bhranthan, a similar character in Indian folklore
Stone of Sisyphus, the previously unreleased album by the band Chicago
Sisyphus (dialogue), a dialogue ascribed to Plato
"Sysyphus", an instrumental by Richard Wright of Pink Floyd
Tantalus
The Myth of Sisyphus, a philosophical essay by Albert Camus

[edit] Other figures in Greek mythology punished by the gods include:

[edit] Sources

"Sisyphus". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus"

Categories: Kings in Greek mythology | Aeolides | Corinthian mythology | Condemned souls into Tartarus

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A vibrant civil society is one of the essential preconditions of democracy, but it can fulfil its mandate only when the preconditions for its existence have been met. This demands shared engagement in political struggle and social interaction in shared neighbourhoods. This paper seeks explanations for the failure of civil society in Ahmedabad, which has experienced many riots in the past, to raise a collective voice of protest against deliberate acts of violence by the State, and also in battling undemocratic groups within its own sphere. A historical exploration of the segmentation of residential spaces in the city and its subsequent intensification has led to a weakening of the scope of civil society engagement. However, the translation of prejudice, discrimination and communal sentiments into brutal acts of violence demanded a trigger – provided by the Sangh parivar, which came to command state politics since the mid-1990s, and has rendered the civil society helpless. View Full Article

Examining the Decoupling Hypothesis for India

Shruthi Jayaram , Ila Patnaik , Ajay Shah

This paper examines the decoupling hypothesis for India. It analyses business cycle synchronisation between India and a set of industrial economies, particularly the United States, over the period 1992 to 2008. The evidence suggests that the Indian business cycle exhibits increasing co-movement with business cycles in industrial economies over this period. Indian business cycle synchronisation is stronger with industrial countries as a whole as opposed to the co-movement found with the us. View Full Article

http://epw.in/epw/user/artCategory.jsp

Vol. 28	Nov 1st - 16th 2009	No. 21
Editorial
Why King Cobras, which tormented Sonia Gandhi & denied her PMship twice, now trying to hoist Rahul ?
Reports
China must set up its own international media with world-wide sweep Gulbarga meet to discuss Brahminical conspiracy India slips — but who cares? Secret of zionist Nobel Peace Prize given to the "hated" Obama French stooge manufactures anti-Muslim history Kayasths want caste identity DV challenge to "India shining" walas Power of the Brahmin Burning Ravana is part of Hindu "caste war" Dasaratha not father of Rama
Articles
IRAN POISED TO LEAD THE UMMAH : Muslim nations must reject Western democracy & come under Islamic religious leadershi Israel's Likud is like India's RSS DV creates Dalit-Sikh rift American scholar's tributes to VTR book

http://www.dalitvoice.org/index.htm

Editorial

Why King Cobras, which tormented Sonia Gandhi & denied her PMship twice, now trying to hoist Rahul ?

A subtle and yet determined campaign has begun to build up Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister. The country is ruled by the less than 15% upper castes led by 2% Brahmins who in the last parliamentary election voted against their own Brahmana Jati Party (BJP) fearing that L.K. Advani, a Sindhi Khatri, whom they intensely hate, would become the PM (DV Edit June 1, 2009: "A mere 2% anti-Advani upper caste vote swing from BJP brought spectacular Congress victory"). There is even a move to neck out Advani, who served the Brahminical order so loyally, even as Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha. All these prove that the rulers are in a desperate state of mind.

Anger against Brahminists: What is clear from this power struggle at the top is the rulers are in a terrible confusion because of the emerging strong anti-Brahminical forces. The Bahujans comprising the SC/ST/BCs (65%) and Muslim/Christian/Sikhs (20%) plus a vast section of the shudra castes (10%) — a total of almost 95% — are boiling with anger against the micro-minority alien Brahminical forces ("Jews of India") committing naked aggression on their human rights.

But the problem is this 95% of the massive majority population is not only kept divided but also made to kill each other instigated by the hate-mongering Brahminical media. Still the Brahminical rulers are deeply worried that the angry Bahujan masses despite being kept at starvation level may burst into violence which the rulers despite all their vast military and police powers will not be able to control.

Legislature weakened: It has now become clear that the Brahminical rulers, steeped in their four varieties of corruption (intellectual, caste, moral and money corruption), are not interested in implementing the constitution of India. Because they don't believe in the constitution. They have their own constitution — Manu Dharma Shastra.

Their sole single objective in life is to enjoy at other's cost — always blaming some foreign countries, some imaginary terrorism or the "lazy Indians" for all their commissions and omissions.

During our recent 4-day visit to Delhi we met a number of thinking persons and they all agreed with our assessment that the Brahminical rulers have become desperate not knowing what to do. Political power has already gone into non-Brahmin hands. But their satisfaction is that they have already weakened the power of the legislature and even the executive. The real power has passed into the hands of the so-called intelligentsia (DV Edit Aug.1, 2009: "Who is ruling India & How?").

The Khatri Sick PM, Manmohan Singh, has been very effectively covering up all the lapses of the Brahminical rulers and also feeding them with more fodder to eat. Corruption at the top (all the four varieties of corruption) has crossed all limits that it is no longer possible to control anybody. Even the judiciary has become too weak because it is also corrupt.

So when the country is facing such a serious all-round crisis, both from within and without, will it be possible for such a weak PM to protect the Brahminical rulers who indeed feel threatened?

Why Rahul is fancied: It is this fear that is forcing the "Jews of India" to think of bringing Rahul as the next PM because he has several qualifications which they think nobody in the political field has. No.1 he is young — that means he has no experience of this vast subcontinent with hundreds of castes, communities, tribals, languages, customs, manners etc. Even people like us having travelled round the country many times, read most of the relevant books dealing with its history, politics, socio-cultural contradictions, religious diversity etc. feel that we are still students with lot more to learn.

But the Brahminical media manipulators have already bent the Congress Party and unofficially anointed Rahul as the dictator without his being aware of it.

Fake Mahatma: What is of special interest is that Rahul is already getting the halo of the fake mahatma who did lot of drama with Harijans and ultimately cheated them in the Poona Pact of 1932. (Separate Electorate & Separate Settlement, V.T. Rajshekar, 1996). Rahul's eating, drinking, sleeping with Dalits in their huts is front-paged and hailed as "Rahulgandhism". Birla's Hindustan Times (Oct. 4, 2009) said, "Rahul took UP Congress by storm". The Brahminical intention is to belittle and malign Mayawati and see that the Congress takes over the country's politically most important state.

M.K. Gandhi, the fake mahatma, once did all such stunts to deceive the Dalits but failed. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Father of India, who emerged as the country's sole spokesman for Dalits, denounced the Gujarati Bania as the Enemy No.1 of Dalits.

Poor Rahul does not know that eating, drinking, sleeping with Dalits will not liberate them. Gandhi did all these cheap tricks in the pre-independence days but all his stunts did not minimise the rigors of untouchability (racism) or caste system.

Hinduism dies if caste goes: Rahul has not made any study of Hinduism which is the other name for caste system (varnashrama dharma). He says "I don't believe in the caste system" (Hindu, Oct.8, 2009). He says he believes only in rich and poor. Fine statement. But the caste, untouchability (racism) and caste system are not so simple as he thinks. It is a 3,000 and odd years-old deathless institution. Right from the Budha down to Babasaheb tried to destroy it. None succeeded.

Why? Because the caste system is the other name for Hinduism. If the caste system is destroyed Hinduism is dead. And no Hindu is ready to give up his Hinduism. Does Rahul Gandhi know this simple truth?

No Brahmin is ready to give up his caste. He would rather die but not give up his sacred thread. Does Rahul know this? All those gandhian gimmicks he is made to play are part of the a well-laid-out Brahminical conspiracy to exploit him and then throw him out. How to make him know all these supreme truths? Brahminists have built a fortress round him. Even while they are exploiting his "charisma" they are silently laughing over the puppet show they are conducting.

How cobras treated his mother: But we want to remind him what these very King Cobras did to his mother after his father died. Sonia Gandhi should have automatically become the PM but the King Cobras hated her so intensely that they brought the notorious Brahmin, P.V. Narasimha Rao, who as PM had a nice afternoon nap as the Babri Masjid was demolished by the Cobras. This was the second biggest blow the Muslims suffered after the partition of India.

During the PMship of PVN, the amount of pain Sonia suffered at the hands of the King Cobras is something unimaginable. She was kept almost incommunicado as a prisoner in the 10-Janpath. It was because of PVN and his sins the Congress Party got defeated.

Again when the Congress Party won the election, she as the party president should have automatically become the PM. The King Cobras once again struck and even threatened to kill her if she accepted the PM post. Even her two little children (Priyanka and Rahul) were sought to be killed "if she crossed the limits". She was maligned as an Italian agent. For years she could not even come out of the house. Please read all the Dalit Voice references given at the end of this Editorial. Everything is on record.

How much these King Cobras tormented Sonia by repeatedly raising the Italian businessman Quattrocchi case although she had nothing to do with it. Even after so many years of her husband's death the case is still kept alive to mentally torture her.

Though she is a Catholic Christian she was threatened not to think of her Christian community which had done so much service to India's upper castes who are mostly educated in Christian convents.

Sonia alone knows the mental torture she suffered under these King Cobras.

Even if Rahul was too young then, he would have learnt all these historical facts from others.

DV demanded Sonia as PM: Twice in Dalit Voice we demanded Sonia take-over as PM but the King Cobras pounced on her. The amount of mental torture she underwent for several years was not recorded by any of the Brahminical King Cobras who are today singing and dancing around Rahul.

Why this volteface now? Why this sudden love and the gandhian gimmicks to hoist Rahul as the next PM? Is it out of any genuine love for Rahul?

How these Deshbhaktas are falling for a young man who is not only not Hindu (his father was a Parsee-Zorastrian —and mother Italian Catholic) but the son of a noble woman so much hated by the King Cobras?

House arrest of Sonia: Rahul may get flattered by the fawning of these foxes but he must have his own mind to understand and see through the game of these King Cobras who made the life of his mother so miserable that she spent years and years in virtual house arrest after the death of Rajiv Gandhi. Not even a pedestrian was allowed to walk on the footpath of No.10, Janpath. How could Rahul forget all these?

Rahul must know that the principal contradiction facing India is Brahminism. This is the verdict of all sages, seers, savants and philosophers right from the Budha to Babasaheb Ambedkar. Without eliminating this principal contradiction, India can make no progress. Rahul must bend his time and energy towards this but not play into the very hands of the enemy.

Menaka manufactured to malign Sonia: We are reminding the young man the past history because he must know that we can build our future only on our past. What made the King Cobras, who manufactured a Menaka (Gandhi) to malign Sonia and mentally torture her for so long, to suddenly fall in love with her son and groom him to the country's highest position which his mother rightly deserved but was denied? Will Rahul think a little in his calmer moments?

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

D.V. REFERENCE TO SONIA GANDHI

DV Edit July 16, 2008: "Khatri Sikh PM becomes a liability: Sonia must take someone more acceptable to people".

DV Edit Jan.16, 2008: "If Sonia doesn't take over as PM, India may go BJP way: Will Gujarat repeat in Karnataka?"

DV Nov.16, 2007 p.7: "What was Sonia cooking in China?"

DV Edit April 1, 2005: "If Sonia fails to sack Manmohan & Chidambaram mass discontent will throw Congress out".

DV Edit March 1, 2005: "If Sonia Gandhi doesn't throw out Manmohan Singh angry people will throw Congress Party out".

DV Sept.1, 2006 p.22: "Sonia critizes conversion bill".

DV Edit Dec.16, 2004: "Sonia Gandhi's bold steps to cut BSO to size deserves full Bahujan support".

DV Edit June 16, 2004: "Vaidiks manage victory even as their party (BJP) loses: Sonia must get closer to Laloo & Mayawati".

DV Sept.16, 2002 p.7: "Vaidik conspiracy in anti-Sonia hysteria".

DV June 16, 1999 p.4: "Sonia convulsions prove national parties are dying".

DV April 16, 1999 p.7: "Hindu nazi certificate to Sonia: upper caste Christian collusion with Aryans".

DV Edit Feb.16, 1999: "Stepped up violence against Christians is to pulverise Sonia & ensure her total surrender to vaidiks.

DV Edit Jan.16, 1999: "Upper caste hatred of Sonia will help Vajpayee survive: Bahujans caught between two devils".

DV Edit Feb.16, 1998: "Sonia upsets all calculations: If BJP surge is not checked nazis may sabotage elections".

DV Edit Sept.1, 1997: "Vaidik dilemma over Sonia: Kesri can't fetch votes but without her Congress can't win elections".

DV Edit Oct.16, 1994: "Sonia has every chance despite BSO opposition: Masses fed up with Chanakya's misrule".

June 16, 1992 p.11: "Making maja over Rajiv murder".

Reports

China must set up its own international media with world-wide sweep

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: How much the Jews and the "Jews of India" hate China is evident from the way their media reported its Oct.1, 2009 historic diamond jubilee celebrations at Beijing. Except India's premier Brahminical English daily, the Hindu, which was represented by its Brahmin editor, N.Ram, who made a factual reporting, the rest of India's "national" toilet papers simply spit fire, maligned China and refused to acknowledge its greatness though it has already become the No.2 world power replacing Japan.

Ram, calling himself a socialist, recently recalled his Brahmin woman correspondent who openly exhibited her Brahminical bias in reporting and posted a Brahmin man at Beijing. The Times of India, the country's chief Brahminical daily, displayed its vitriolic prejudice in reporting the Beijing event that stunned the whole world.

Dalai Lama: The Jews and the "Jews of India" always hated China despite its history-making development.

Both brought in the hated Dalai Lama, who received a snub by President Obama, and China's friendship with Iran.

The way the Jewish-controlled Western media and the Brahmin-controlled Indian media reported the Oct.1 event must make China think of launching its own powerful media with an international sweep. It must be much bigger and more competent than all of them put together. Now that China is going to assume international role, the oppressed peoples of the world will look to China for a fair and just media.

Gulbarga meet to discuss Brahminical conspiracy

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: The Karnataka state conference of the BAMCEF at Gulbarga on Nov.22 (Sunday) to be inaugurated by Editor V.T. Rajshekar of Dalit Voice will have two momentous sessions: (1) India's "freedom struggle" was a fake movement led by Eurasian Brahmins to establish their supremacy to enslave the Bahujan Samaj. The above statement made by Babasaheb has been forgotten by Dalit leaders.

(2) The second session is devoted to Muslims who have been stabbed in the back by the Brahminical rulers. Dalits and their organisations have virtually forgotten Muslims though they are our blood brothers. BAMCEF has taken up the cause of Muslims, neglected even by the Muslim leadership.

Venue: Institution of Engineers, Court Road, Thimapur Circle, Gulbarga.

V.T. Rajshekar will speak at both the sessions. Waman Meshram, president BAMCEF, will preside.

Please call: 098806 72955, 0968677 8700, 095358 20778, 094210 09762.

India slips — but who cares?

New Delhi: India ranked 134 out of 182 countries, the same as in 2006, in the 2009 Human Development Report, released on Oct.5. China registered the largest gain in rank, moving seven places to finish at 92. (Hindu, Oct.6, 2009).

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

The Indian upper caste (15%) rulers are well "developed", feeding on the flesh and blood of the Bahujan Samaj. The "India shining" slogan-mongers are not bothered about "human development" because for them we are not humans — EDITOR.

Secret of zionist Nobel Peace Prize given to the "hated" Obama

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: Our DV family members may not know that the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden, is a Jewish institution meant solely to promote their interests. All those given Nobel Prizes served their cause.

ZIONIST ARTHASHASTRA

The White Western Christians, the ruling class in all those countries, are under the thumb of Jews who form not even 2% of the population of each country and yet they are not only the richest but control the very brain of all the goyim (the non-Jew).

Those interested more in the study of the mental crucifixion being suffered by the White race may read our book, The Zionist Arthashastra (Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, pp.130, photocopy charges Rs. 100).

"JEWS OF INDIA" ALSO HATE OBAMA

The surprise Nobel Peace Prize to Obama announced on Oct.9, 2009 came as a shock to the whole world. Because the zionists not only in America but the world over hate Obama.

The "Jews of India" also did not hide their resentment. They were fuming because not only he reversed all the politics followed by their blue-eyed skunk, George W. Bush, but openly favoured their two blood enemies — Pakistan and India. He did not allow the Bhoodevatas to manufacture bomb to fight China and Pakistan.

They intensely hate Obama because he is not only Black but also a Muslim. And after becoming President he favoured all their enemies one by one.

BIG SECRET

They are furious because for the first time he made it look that US is out to cut zionist Israel to size by encouraging Iran to manufacture bomb to frighten Israel into submission.

Israel is the closest ally of the "Jews of India" who gave shelter to the hated Dalai Lama. They are furious that Obama refused to meet the Tibetan renegade during his latest visit to Washington.

When the Jews and the "Jews of India" hate Obama so intensely why did the Nobel Foundation awarded peace prize to their Enemy No.1?

The answer lies in a big secret about the Jews and their cousins.

The secret is both are good servants but bad masters. If you allow them to boss over you, they will suck your blood and drop you dead. But if you overpower and sit on their head they will lick your bum.

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

Presently, the Jews are facing all-round defeat. The current financial downturn, which is their own making, has broken their back. But the threat posed by Iran on one side and Hizbollah on the other has brought sleepless nights to all the Jews not only in zionist Israel but the Jews all over the world.

The peace prize is to coax and cajole Obama.

Obama must not relent. Now that he has found the weakness of the Jew, he must redouble his efforts to complete the job.

French stooge manufactures anti-Muslim history

A fund-raiser in New Jersey on Aug.16, raised $50,000 for a "Hindu holocaust" museum to be built at Pune. The museum is the brainchild of a Frenchman, Francois Gautier, and is under the auspices of the Viraat Hindu Sabha (VHS).

They claim that over the past thousand years, millions of Hindus were killed, with the intention to wipe Hindus off the map. The numbers are vague, as one might expect but the culprit is precisely defined: Islam. The VHS uses the phrase "Islamic genocide of Hindus" to make its case. The idea of the Hindu holocaust casts the Hindu as history's victim. (Milli Gazete, Oct.1, 2009).

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

The Brahminical rulers have been manufacturing new history, the latest one is done by a notorious Frenchman who is on the payroll of the "Jews of India" — EDITOR.

Kayasths want caste identity

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: Rahul Gandhi like M.K. Gandhi and all Brahminical upper castes may say they don't believe in caste. Beware. they are saying this to deceive us.

Read the following matrimonial announcement dated Sept.26, 2009 by their own upper caste jatwalas: - (mathurchand@yahoo.com)

Reached up to your life partner through this links: www.kayasthashaadi.com

Kahastya community matrimonial: Shrivastava, Saxena, Mathur, Bhatnagar Nigam, Verma, Kulshreshta etc. Marriageable bio-data of well educated and well settled, also homely bride, NRI bride/groom, divorced/widowed, Mangalik/non-Mangalik are shown separately.

Kayasths are a powerful upper caste in the cowbelt. Rajendra Prasad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jayaprakash Narayan, Jyoti Basu, Amitabh Bachchan etc. are all leading Kayasths.

DV challenge to "India shining" walas

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: In every sphere, India is being pushed backward except in one — Brahminical boasting. Dalit Voice will be glad to publish report of any sector which is on the way up.

No Indian university among top 100

None of the Indian universities figure among the top 100 varsities of the world, with America and UK dominating the scene. America's Harvard University has retained its top position in 2009 while UK's Cambridge University has moved up from third to second position.

(Times of India, Oct.9, 2009).

We published the "India Shining" column regularly in DV for three years (Dec.1, 2006 to April 1, 2009) and then got fed up on seeing the country slipping in every sector, even as the Brahminical rulers are shamelessly dancing unmindful of the country going to dogs.

Power of the Brahmin

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: The Times of India, the country's premier Brahminical English daily owned by the Marwari Jains, has on Oct.12, 2009 came out with a list of ruling UPA's "ten most powerful" persons. Of the 10, two are bureaucrats: (1) Pranab Mukherji, (2) P. Chidambaram, (3) Mamata Banarjee, (4) Jairam Ramesh, (5) Anand Sharma, (6) Ahmed Patel, (7) A.K. Antony, (8) Digvijay Singh, (9) M.K. Narayanan, (10). T.K.A. Nair.

Of the 10, five are Brahmins (50% - mentioned in the bold letters) though their population strength is just 2%.

The list deliberately excluded the top troika: Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi.

Burning Ravana is part of Hindu "caste war"

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: Brahminical toilet papers published pictures of Sonia Gandhi and the Khatri Sick PM trying to kill our hero Ravana at the recent annual Ram Lila Ground Brahmin show. They used the state power to express their anger against our great Dravidian hero.

But Delhi Dalits expressed no anger despite our yearly exhortations,.

Dravidians and Adi-Dravidas are "brain dead". But the Kanpur Dalits protested, according to a report:

Kanpur (PTI): Thousands of Dalits on Sept.28 took out a procession and held Ravana Mela here to protest against the burning of Ravana's effigies on Dussehra. Ravana, a mythological character described as demon king in the Hindu epic Ramayana, is revered by the Dalits who worship him as the symbol of bravery and sacrifice. The event has been organised at Pukhraya by the Dalit Panthers opposed to the burning of Ravana's effigy on Dussehra celebrated by the Hindus as the victory of good over evil. "Making deformed effigies of Ravana and setting them on fire on Dussehra every year hurts the feelings of Dalits and the practice should be banned in the country," President of Dalit Panther Dhaniram Bauddh said. The Dalits in the area have been organising Ravana Mela for the past ten years.

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

We congratulate the Dalit Panthers of Kanpur. But merely protesting the Brahminical violence against our hero and then burning the anti-Dalit hero of the Hindus is no use. They must threaten the upper castes against their anti-human festival and if they don't heed the warning must block it with full physical force.

Dalits must know that the enemy has declared a war against us. And it is our duty to join the "caste war" — EDITOR.

THUS SPAKE PERIYAR

Dasaratha not father of Rama

But we see them change nowadays. They are craving for redeeming their self-respect and honour. You will be glad to know that Malayalees have written letters to me expressing their willingness to participate in our struggle. As our bone of contention is primarily everybody's honour and respect, our agitation would be a success in the long run.

Similarly the people of Andhra, Karnataka and other states would certainly come forward to uphold our cause. They are today ignorant. Our movement will awaken them. They will read the news and hear many things about the struggle here. There will be a change definitely. But it will not come all of a sudden. They would respond to our call gradually.

Advance of science: If Tamilnadu becomes free and independent, the longevity of our people would increase to one hundred years in a short span of 10 years. We will be able to progress in all fields.

We will be able to fly in the air. Today an airship carries 300 to 400 passengers. The average life of a man now is 52 years. This will be increased by 20 years. By 2000 AD it may go upto 75 years. People in the West are able to live up to 100 years. To that extent the medical sciences have improved. We are now in a well developed world. Medical cure is available for almost all diseases. You find the semen bank now. Even as chicken is produced for eggs, human babies could be produced from test tubes. I am not joking. You can find news with real photographs. Man is able to fly at a speed of even 10,000 miles an hour. Man is able to land on the moon and come back. No one would refute all these as blatant lies.

We are now fighting to redeem our self-respect. This spirit must pervade all. We must be prepared to face arrest. What is prison life? Prisoners are not allowed to starve. We will look after them till they are arrested. Generous people have already donated rice bags to feed the volunteers. They are piled up in large numbers. Many have contributed cash as donation. Soon we will have Rs. 50,000 as donation to meet the expenses. Many have given assurance to donate more and more. Our cause is unimpeachable. So donations pour in. We hope to send nearly a lakh of people to prison. We have already made arrangements for this.

Role of women: We are sure of setting an example to the world, we will carve out a new world. We will have the strength and energy to lead the whole of shudras. It is true there are many other evils in our society. We will attend to them later on. Everything depends upon the amount of zeal with which the public play their role with us. Even our womenfolk would play their part if they are enlightened. You must explain to them, "Madam, this agitaiton is meant for you. The Brahmins blaspheme you all as prostitutes. You are all considered as their concubines. The present agitation is to eradicate this disgrace. As such you should all realise the importance of this agitation and come forward to do your best in all possible ways". If you approach them with facts and explain things in earnest they will readily come forward.

This struggle is inevitable. There is nothing for us in religion. The very concept of god is erratic. The shastras are a heap of trash to be thrown in to the gutters. They are mere conjectures of the Brahmins.

Our gods were created when people were innocent and barbarians. Nowadays all speak about the epic Ramayana. Rama is referred to as god. But look into the parentage of Rama. To whom was Rama born? You may say to Dasaratha. But the story says that the king had no children. Hence he offered his wives to the Brahmins. Before that in order to stimulate the queen's sexual instincts horses were permitted to copulate with them. Then the Brahmins joined the queens in unison. This is clearly stated in the Bala Kandam of the epic Ramayana. Look at Rama. How did he treat his wife? She returned from Ravana as a pregnant lady. Neither Rama nor Sita considered it a horrible immoral act. This matter was ignored and taken into account as nothing serious. You take any god and think over deeply. You don't have any god that is acceptable to us these days.

We have no selfish motive in unfolding all absurdities about gods. We gain nothing by cheating you. We are not concocting anything. We speak facts and figures. (To be continued)

Periyar's Declaration of War on Brahminism, (pp.13 to 14) revised (1st edn. 1993)
Dravidar Kazhagam Publication, 50 - EVK Sampath Road, Madras - 600 007.

What all we have said in DV on zionists
was predicted 40 years ago by
the Bhim Sena leader

ZIONIST PLOT TO DOMINATE WORLD

B. Shyam Sunder

Speech made by the veteran Dalit leader
and intellectual giant, who is ranked
next only to Babasaheb Ambedkar, at Allahabad on Sept.27-28, 1969.

Published in DV on Oct.16, 2001, reprinted
as booklet and sold out long back.

pp. 12 photocopy charges Rs. 15

Write to Dalit Voice office

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Articles

IRAN POISED TO LEAD THE UMMAH

Muslim nations must reject Western democracy & come under Islamic religious leadership

V.T. RAJSHEKAR

We have visited some Muslim countries (Libya, Pakistan, Iran) read lot of books by Islamic and non-Islamic scholars, and met lot of religious leaders in and out of India. Dalit Voice has a fairly good circulation among Muslims in and out of India. Our articles are reproduced in many Muslim journals. We have written about ten books dealing with Muslim problems and also made a deep study of Islam and Muslims.

The late Moulana Ali Miyan, India's most famous Islamic scholar, came all the way from Lucknow to release the first issue of Dalit Voice in Bangalore in 1980.

SIMPLEST RELIGION

Though a Budhist since over 20 years and a rationalist, we have been great admirers of Islam — the simplest of all religions, free from priestcraft or elaborate doctrinal trappings. Some deeply religious Muslims observing us closely have said we are better Muslims than many Muslims. Many Islamic writers have also said that they are deeply impressed by our knowledge of Islam and Muslims.

We have addressed some of the biggest Muslim gatherings in India and outside. At the Lahore University, the largest in Pakistan, we were asked to speak on one of the important concepts propounded by the Prophet in the Quran — namely Mustadfeen. We were hesitating to speak on such an important Islamic concept to a Muslim audience and that too attended by Muslim professors and students in the heart of an Islamic country. (DV May 16, 2009 p.5: "Muslims punished for forgetting duty towards Mustadafeen (Dalits)", & V.T. Rajshekar, Muslims & Mustadafeen, DSA-2003).

The vice-chancellor thanked us for reminding the Muslims of this neglected concept of Mustadafeen and said that they were ashamed that this was done by a non-Muslim.

ZIONISTS FACING DEFEAT

Similarly, our discussions in Teheran with many Shia religious scholars and Ayotollahs on the Iranian Revolution and its future impressed them so much. DV writings on Muslims are reproduced in many journals in and out of India.

An Islamic scholar collected all the important "Muslim writings" in DV and published an article in the prestigious Economic & Political Weekly (Sept.4, 2002: "Muslim Writings in Dalit Voice").

Having said this much as introduction we want to go into certain profound issues confronting the world at a time when mighty changes are coming over the Muslim world which is getting ready to meet the zionist-led aggression on Islam. Having finished Christianity, the zionists are out for the Muslim blood.

But as this is written it looks the zionist-led West is facing defeat.

Mossad-led 9/11 attack

The most important development is the world's sole super power, USA, admitting defeat in Iraq and now trying to pack up. Not only that. It is defeated in Afghanistan as well— though it has not admitted this in so many words, President Obama is keen to withdraw troops from that country and call off the American war against Islam.

No country has so far been able to over-power Afghanistan. Even the mighty Soviet Union, when it was a super power, met with defeat when it invaded it.

The blood-thirsty Bush obeying the dictates of his zionist masters declared war on Islam for private reasons after staging the hoax of the 21st century called 9/11 with the help of the Mossad. We were the fist in India if not the world to say this. And we have proved right.

"JEWS OF INDIA" EMBRACE BUSH

George W. Bush could neither find the "weapons of mass destruction" which he offered as the main reason to invade Iraq and finish Saddam Hussein. But the tyrant Bush — who is likely to be charged for mass murder of his own American soldiers and the innocent Iraqis and then sent to International Criminal Court — is solely responsible for demonising Muslims and declaring a war on Islam.

OBAMA ASSURANCE TO MUSLIMS

India's Brahminical rulers (Jews of India), who hate Muslims, embraced Bush and created havoc on Muslim Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kashmir.

The Americans themselves have given their verdict on George W. Bush who was repeatedly booted by a courageous Iraqi journalist and became a hero for the whole world. This is the fate of all tyrants.

Entire peace-loving world including China, Russia, South America, Africa and even the United Nations stood by the Muslims. The newly elected American President, Barack Obama, went to Cairo and declared before a world assembly of Islamic scholars that America has nothing against Muslims and Islam. (DV Edit July 1, 2009: "Barack Obama's mesmerism of Muslims signifies defeat of West in its reckless war on Islam").

HATE-MONGERS DAYS ARE COUNTED

The "Jews of India" and their cousins in Israel are the world's only two hate-mongers who are after the Muslim blood. They comprise a minuscule minority who suffer from a genetic mental convulsion which needs intensive treatment in a mental hospital.

With China fast emerging as the No.1 world power, the nuclear-powered Iran gradually taking over the leadership of the Islamic world, Japan turning East and the entire developing countries of S. America, Africa and Asia regrouping under a new bloc, the tiny but powerful hate-mongers days are counted.

So this is the right time to make a fresh assessment of the role Islam — the fastest growing religion in the world — can play in the light of the fast-moving international developments.

BUSH POODLE BLAIR

But the Christian leadership in Europe and America, still under the grip of zionist forces, are yet to understand the need for Islamo-Christian reconciliation. They are yet to understand how George W. Bush's poodle, Tony Blair, was the first to be necked out by his own people.

Those flirting with zionists and India's cursed Brahminists may get some temporary fame, name and bagful of money but finally all these boot-lickers will have an ignominious fall like Blair and Bush.

ZIONIST MONEY POWER

Those Western Christian leaders not learning any lesson from history after the booting out of Blair and Bush must at least now wake up.

British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, now under zionist fire for not obeying their orders, may be ousted. For defying their dictates the zionists might have subjected US and the Western world in particular to a deep financial crisis. All these are the price the Western Christian leaders have to pay for allowing themselves to be purchased by the zionist money power. Japan, the world's second most powerful economic power, has turned against the West. See the miracles of history.

SHIA-SUNNI DIFFERENCES CREATED BY ZIONISTS

Our assessment is the zionists are on their last legs. Iran on one side, Hizbollah on the other with Barack Obama and Putin in the background are tightening the noose round the neck of Israel.

The enraged zionists engineered the global financial collapse but it did not hurt the Muslim countries. Nor China and Russia.

What is worrying us is the lack of leadership in the Sunni part of the world.

Saudi Arabia is willing to wound Israel but afraid to hurt. Egypt headed by a corrupt ruler, Hosni Mubarak is unreliable. Saddam Hussein was killed because zionists rightly suspected he was a danger.

The Sunni part of the Muslim world, comprising the single largest Islamic bloc, should have stood by the Sunni Palestinians in distress. But they all failed. It is the Shia Iran and its ally Hizbollah that is behind the beleaguered Palestine.

The Sunni leadership might have failed but Islam did not fail. Historical forces brought to the fore Iran, the leader of the tiny Shia, to support the poor beleaguered Palestinians — along with the Shia Hizbollah.

Is this not a miracle? Is this not a unique development of universal significance proving that the Sunni-Shia differences is the creation of the zionists and the Western Christian media?

KASHMIR LIBERATION

The masses of Muslims — whether Sunni or Shia — are all united and fully behind the efforts to liberate Palestine because they all know that the liberation of Palestine from zionist clutches will bring not only peace to Muslims but also to the world as a whole.

Nay, the moment Palestine is liberated Kashmir — the second longest festering wound — will automatically get cured.

Why the "brainy writers" in the West and their intellectuals who all know the truth are silent on this most significant development in world history? How did the leadership of the entire Muslim world, which is over 95% Sunni, go to the micro-minority Shia Iran?

ISLAM OFFERS HIGHEST PLACE TO ULEMA

We discussed this during our recent visit to Pakistan and England with many Muslim scholars and read many books by Western scholars particularly Richard W. Bulliet, the brilliant American White (Christian), History Professor at Columbia University, New York, and came to certain conclusions.

What we read and also found in all Muslim countries is that the masses of Muslims give the highest place to their Islamic religious leaders — the ulema. Even the political leadership bows before the ulema. This is because the Muslims, unlike other religionists, are guided not by their political leaders but the ulema. This can be understood if only we observe the traditions set by the Prophet, who was essentially a religious person. People with political power and money power bowed before the religious power throughout Islamic history. This is so under all sects of Muslins under the Sunni and also Shias.

SUNNI ULEMA FAILURE

We had accompanied Moulana Ali Miyan to many meetings in India. Even top Muslim politicians sit under his feet. It is the religious leadership that gets the highest place in all Muslim countries.

Presently, the Sunni ulema — compared to the Shia — have failed to meet the challenges of the time.

IRAN AS THE ONLY EXCEPTION

But that is not the case under other religions. Politicians take the precedence. The Pope may be an exception but the respect given to him does not come from the heart of the Christians. In England, Germany etc. the churches have closed down years back. The Christians themselves killed their religion. How can Christian religious leadership get any respect?

Hinduism is not a world religion. And it is not even a religion in the strict sense. Besides, India's non-Brahmin massive majority has no respect for the Brahmins who control the religion.

ZIONISTS CREATING TROUBLE IN IRAN

That the Muslims give the top- most place to the ulema is a universal principle. But the only Islamic country that is governed by the ulema and not by the politicians is Iran.

Saudi Arabia may be housing the Muslim world's holiest places, Mecca and Madina, but it is a monarchy which is anathema under Islam.

Iran too was under a monarchy (Shah of Iran) but the world's first Islamic religious revolution (1979) overthrew the monarchy and brought for the first time in the history of Islam the rule of the ulema strictly as per the tenets of Islam as laid down by the Prophet. For the first time in the history of the Muslim world the revolutionary religious leaders of Iran re-arranged their society and politics around Islamic values and against dictators.

The Iranian revolution brought to the centre stage the rule of the ulema.

Iran is the world's only Muslim country where a Grand Ayatollah, chosen by the top ulema of the country, is the supreme ruler strictly according to Quranic values.

CONSPIRACY AGAINST IRAN

The President of Iran, Ahmedinejad, and his govt. are subordinate to the Grand Ayotollah. The President of Iran may be elected by the people but he works under the religious leadership.

The zionists might have recently engineered some serious trouble within the Iranian religious leadership and also the country by purchasing a couple of its people. But the masses of Iranians listen to the collective voice of the religious leadership led by Grand Ayotollah Ali Khemeni and not some renegade zionist stooges.

The Jews and the "Jews of India" despite being a micro-minority community could control the wealth and power of the world and also by making a deep study of Islam, Christianity and China's communist setup. They know that they could destroy Iran only if they succeed in destroying its religious leadership.

IRAN BECOMES NUCLEAR POWER

That is why both the Jews and the "Jews of India" are after Iran. They know that Islam will suffer a death-blow only when the Iranian revolution is reversed by pulling down its religious leadership.

In this also the enemy has failed though it invested billions and billions of dollars on shaking the very seat of Iran's Supreme Leader. They purchased Iran's top two religious leaders by tempting them with the offer of Supreme Leader's position.

IRAN AS LEADER OF WORLD MUSLIMS

But it did not work. Zionist Israel is afraid of none except Iran which has secretly become a nuclear-powered state. It is getting full support from China and Russia. And also secret encouragement from the White House so that the fear of Iranian attack will force the zionist state to surrender.

WORLD-SHAKING DEVELOPMENT

When the news that Iran has set up a new atomic plant in addition to the one under UN scrutiny broke out just at the UN summit of world leaders in the third week of Sept. 2009, the Jews and the "Jews of India" were almost half dead. Ahmedinejad returned triumphant from New York UN summit demonstrating to the world in general and Islamic world in particular that Iran has assumed the leadership of the entire Muslims of the world and other oppressed peoples.

Muslims of the world have only one enemy: zionism. All other lesser enemies are creations of zionism. When the zionist enemy represented by Israel acknowledges Iran as its deadliest enemy, the religious Muslim heart will go all-out to acknowledge Iran's leadership.

BRITISH BLESSED ZIONIST STATE

This is a world-shaking development caused by what we very often describe as the "forces of history" which are on the side of the oppressed. If the zionist Israel wants its Jews to live in peace, it must now surrender to the "forces of history" and the many UN resolutions. On the other hand if it wants to defy the world opinion, the Iranian Revolution will take care of it.

Muslims are not against Jews. Many Jews are even today living in Iran, Iraq, Egypt and other Arab countries. No one has complained of persecution. It is the zionists who committed aggression on Palestine and persecuted Arabs with the blessings of Britain, the villain.

The zionists have created enough trouble in world history, beginning with the killing of their own Jewish ruler Jesus (Christ) and later manufacturing Bolshevism (communism) for world domination and then causing two world wars. The "Jews of India" have been the active collaborators in this crime.

The time has now come to peacefully resolve all these issues or else the "Forces of history" will operate and compel Iran to punish the zionist state.

SUNNI RULERS FOLLOWED WESTERN MODEL

Meanwhile, the Sunni world has suffered the worst wars and violence for disobeying the quranic directive and imitating the Western model called democracy which goes against the tenets of Quran. Democracy is neither suitable for Muslims nor even to India torn into hundreds of castes, communities and tribes.

But the Shia Iran alone followed the strict Islamic model and formed the world's first Islamic republic giving prime of place to the ulema. But the Sunni countries mostly under dictators, monarches, sham democracy offered full scope to the zionists to manipulate their countries. So much so the entire economy of the Arab world came to be managed by the zionists.

CHINA DID NOT FOLLOW WEST

China is a much better democracy without following the Western model. India failed because it followed the Western model under the Brahminical "Jews of India". That is how over 85% of its non-Aryan population stands enslaved under the "democracy".

Religious leadership in different Sunni countries realise this fact but are helpless. They must now meet and strive to get rid of the Western model not suitable to non-Western countries with the help of the masses of Muslims.

To repeat, Shia-Sunni "differences" are a zionist creation. Masses of Muslims, whether Shia or Sunni, find hardly any differences. Muslim masses all over the world are overjoyed over the rise of Iran.

As the world is heading towards big historical changes with Iran poised to take over the Muslim leadership and then punish the monstrous zionist Israel, the majority Sunni Muslim masses must force their religious leadership to forge a joint religious front so that Islam becomes a world force and recover its lost glory.

With China poised to take over the world leadership, the Muslim world must hurry up and respond to the call of history.

We are neither Muslim nor Chinese but mere students of history responding to its prophetic call.

We are ready to correct ourselves and also apologise to any section of Muslim which finds us historically wrong.

COMMUNICATION

Israel's Likud is like India's RSS

MLECCHA, SAN FRANCISCO, USA

The list below accurately describes Hinduism with Zionism. Not every Jew is a bad zionist, but he is an infected zionist. Yemenite Jews, for instance, were quite friendly with their Muslim Arab neighbors, but they believed the Jewish Messiah was coming; a lie Likud promoted to get them to Israel offset the growing Muslim votes. This is why I say 95% of Jews are infected without knowing it. The Likud tells all the Jews what a threat the world is to them, and they usually believe it to some degree, even if they are pro-Palestinian.

In America, probably over a third of Jews are only part Jewish, so they can see through the racist Likudnik lies. Not even all Misnagdi Jews are bad in Israel, but supportive of freeing the Palestinian occupied territories (West Bank and Gaza).

Muslim-majority Israel: However, virtually none of them agree that there should be a one-state solution with a Palestinian majority, which is what I believe Israel should become; a Muslim majority state.

Israeli Hinduism = Zionism

Israeli RSS = Likud (Zionist Misnagdi Political Party)

Israeli Brahmin = Misnagdi (Aryan Jew, non-Haredi Ashkenazi Jew)

Israeli Kshatriya = Sefardi (Spanish Jew)

Israeli Vaishya = Mizrahi (Arab Jew)

Israeli Shudra = Dark Jew (African Jew, Yemenite Jew, Indian Jew, etc.)

Israeli Dalit = Palestinian, Half-Jew, Haredi (Torah-observant Ashkenazi Jew)

"Aryan Jews & Aryan Brahmins": Many American Jews hate the Israeli govt. They are very embarrassed by it. Here, both Jews and Palestinians are often friends.

This is why I suggested you the title "Aryan Jews and Aryan Brahmins" rather than "Jews and Jews of India."

Additionally, there are Marathi Jews, Cochin Jews, Telugu Jews and Mizo Jews in India, all probably identifying more with the Adivasi and Dalits. In fact, the Dalit Voice Wikipedia Page actually thinks you are referring to this group because they are in fact the "Jews of India."

The Brahmins are merely cousins of the Jews and not actual Jews. The first few times I read "Jews of India" I too thought you were referring the minority dark Jews of India as part of the conspiracy. If I saw this title and didn't know you, I would put the book down because I'd be interested in the Indian Jews and realize it had nothing to do with them.

Use the term zionist not Jew: People who are searching for a book on Indian Jews wouldn't buy the book once they realized what it was about and people interested in the Zionist conspiracy may see your book on a search, but not even read the preface, because they'd automatically think it was about the Indian Jews and find it of little interest unless they lived in India.

The most accurate term is Zionist (a Jew who thinks Jews should move to Israel before the Messiah returns), Misnagdi (Aryan Jew who opposes the peaceful pro-Palestinian Haredi Judaism), or Likudnik (member of the very anti-Palestinian Zionist party Likud).

I am certainly not too comfortable with the frequent usage of the term Jew when it is only the Jews who are Zionists. Jew is more vague, because in Israel, the counterpart to the Brahmin is the Misnagdi (Aryan Jew who is not Haredi), keeping the other Jews, including Black Jews, in a caste system. Most Jews in Israel are like the lowest upper caste (Vaishya) or like shudra. Some Misnagdi are alright, but the Likudniks are the Zionist Misnagdis. The Likudniks are Enemy Number 1.

DV creates Dalit-Sikh rift

BALWANT SINGH BAHORU, B-257, RANJIT AVENUE, AMRITSAR - 143 001

I am a regular reader of Dalit Voice for over 20 years. I always appreciated your writings. But now I have observed that you too had been caught in the Brahminical conspiracy of misguiding the Dalits by creating a rift between the Dalits and Sikhs. Sant Niranjan Dass and Sant Rama Nand showed disrespect to the Guru Granth at Vienna. This was the principal cause of the conflict between the followers of Ravidas and the Sikhs in which the Sikh saint was murdered. Those Dalits who have no faith in the Guru Granth should not keep it in their Deras. Sikhism is a universal religion but not confined to Ravidasis alone.

COMMUNICATION

American scholar's tributes to VTR book

MLECCHA, SAN FRANCISCO, USA

I absolutely love this book, VTR — Friend, Philosopher & Guide by Advocate Iqbal Ahmed Shariff (DSA-2009, Rs. 100). It is brilliant. It also shows an obvious truth. Many views have been generated, but yours truly are the clearest, not just in India, but the whole world.

In Dalit Voice, you always publish the views of your readers, even if they disagree with you and then politely demonstrate the power of your position. You never stoop to personal attacks on your readers, but calmly show what your readers may not have noticed. Iqbal Ahmed Shariff very aptly showed no man can do it all.

"Caste identity": You are the intellectual and leave politics to the politicians. You leave religion to the religious leaders. Your work is grander and more universal in nature. Politics only deals with "here and now" whereas your outlook goes beyond India and beyond our generation.

I, of course, am now anxious to take your message beyond India and to the world. Your concept of "caste identity" is perfect to the situation in Palestine. By Palestine, I do not mean just the West Bank or Gaza, but also Israel proper, since it is all really Palestine, with the West Bank and Gaza merely cut out so the Palestinians there cannot vote. Otherwise, the Palestinians would be a majority.

Even the Palestinians don't yet realize they should do what the Dalits and Muslims in India did. When the Brahmins wanted Pakistan back, the Dalits and Muslims agreed, because the Brahmins would lose political control. The Brahmins then gave up the notion of ever getting Pakistan back. I don't think the Jews will do the same. I think the Jews would agree readily to bringing the West Bank and Gaza back into Israel, then find themselves in the minority, and frankly the Muslims will not put up with Jewish contrivances.

http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/nov2009/articles.htm

Indian economy decoupled from US? Bah!

Kunal Kumar Kundu

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September 17, 2008

As early as even last year, economists and analysts argued that the engine of global growth has shifted. The world has, according to them, decoupled from the American economy.

China, India (which warmed the cockles of our heart) and other emerging market economies were starting to provide a consumer base for the world that can stave off any problems emanating from the economic slowdown in the United States.

Added to these were Europe's new and growing markets and things looked pretty hunky dory.

Not any more.

With the Indian economy exhibiting distinctive signs of slowdown (a real growth rate of even 7.5 per cent for the current financial year seems well nigh impossible), the Chinese growth slated to slip to a single-digit level -- possibly for the first time in six years -- and the European majors flirting with their old nemesis (exhibiting occasional spurt of good growth but only flattering to deceive) of anemic growth, the much avowed decoupling theory is at mortal risk of failing to run its course.

But, first things first.

How credible was the theory in the first place? A look at the data reveals that the proponents of the theory might be missed something obvious.

America, the largest economy in the world, has grown faster than the G-7 economies in the last five years and accounts for about 25% of the global output.

Note: CAGR calculated from the Real GDP (in USD terms) data (SA, @ 2000 prices and exchange rates)
Source: National sources and my calculation

Source: World Bank

Also, with the countries being highly integrated both through the real economy as well as the financial economy (maybe more so financially), the necessary pre-condition to decoupling could have been the following: Milder US slowdown; Relatively stronger Europe; and Slower transmission of global problems

As things stand as of now, none of these conditions are satisfied.

The US economic slowdown is likely to be anything but mild, especially in the light of sub-prime crisis. With the pain of the sub-prime crisis seemingly only half way through (a write-off so far to the tune of about $500 billion as compared to an estimate of $1,000 billion), its spillover impact on the real economy seems to have just begun and is no where near to have been played out.

About 100 US banks might fold up

First, the likely impact of the sub-prime crisis. According to Institutional Risk Analytics, about 100 banks are likely to fail between now and July of 2009. Most of them will be small, but there will be a few large banks.

The total assets of those banks are estimated to be $850 billion. Those are the assets the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) is going to have to cover when they take over the banks.

Take Washington Mutual as an example. Their debt now trades at 20 per cent, which is worse than junk. There is no way they could issue preferred stock to recapitalize their business. And they are going to need more capital, as they have write downs in their future due to the slowing of the economy.

Any common issue would have to seriously dilute existing shareholders almost to the point of nothing.

The FDIC has about $50 billion. These reserves have been built up over the years from deposit insurance paid by banks that are part of the programme. They are going to need an estimated $20 billion just to cover the failure of Indy Mac.

The FDIC will have to cover only a small percentage of the $850 billion, as some of those assets will surely be good. But if they have to cover 10 per cent, then the FDIC would need another $50 billion. Not a very encouraging scenario.

And then there's Freddie Mac and Fannie May. Companies that were leveraged more than 60 times the owners fund and covered half of the $12-trillion mortgage market.

Their effective nationalization, while addressing the short-term concern (especially the likely catastrophic effect of these institutions going bust), however, will not be a solution to the basic problem and will also come at a great economic cost. Insurer American International Group too has received a $85-billion bailout from US Fed. The Fed will extend a 24-month bridge loan of $85 billion to the insurer, in return for an unprecedented acquisition of a 79.9 per cent stake in the firm by the central bank.

How many more write downs and credit losses are expected, both in the US and abroad?

The Federal Reserve Board published a paper recently with the title: Foreign Exposure to Asset-Backed Securities of U.S. Origin (by Beltran/Pounder/Thomas). According to Dr Nouriel Roubini, the Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds data reveals that foreigners hold about 39 per cent of outstanding ABS (asset-backed securities) backed by US assets. Therefore, foreigners will bear 39 per cent of any mark-to-market markdowns associated with those securities.

US economy faltering

In this backdrop, how is the US economy going to fare?

The perennially consumption-driven US economy is facing a strong headwind of faltering demand and even more likely anemic demand going forward. The traditionally low-saving US consumers went on a consumption binge as positive wealth effect kicked-in following the abnormal rise in home prices. Click here for Part II.