Posted on 12/29/2006 6:44:06 AM PST by Mrs. Don-o
An Adolf Hitler-themed restaurant opened in a suburb of cosmopolitan Mumbai...(and) it is not the only example of how favourably some Indians view Hitler and his legacy.
[snip] Some experts say it is because of a belief Indians were the original Aryan race. Others say it is because Hitler used the traditional Hindu good luck symbol, the swastika.... And those who support India's rigid caste system may like Hitler's eugenics and race beliefs.
But any praise for Hitler is not reflected in national policy. India has strong ties with Israel and views it as an ally in the war on terror.
[snip]
Interviews with many young Indians indicated they had little idea of what Hitler actually did. They described the Nazi dictator as "cool" or "trendy", and did not know what happened in the Holocaust.
A poll of 400 students from the country's most prestigious universities by a leading Indian newspaper in 2002 found Hitler was their third most “ideal” leader, behind Mahatma Gandhi and Atal Behari Vajpayee.
[snip] Bal Thackeray, founder of Shiv Sena, a Hindu fundamentalist party, has openly praised Hitler....and Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf, still flies off the shelves of many bookstores.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
It's an anti-British thing.
Off the cuff doubt the veracity of this tale.
Ping to an interesting article.
"Some indians" = "Muslims".
"It's an anti-British thing."
That is a likely explaination.
""Some indians" = "Muslims""
That is the other likely explanation.
Yeah, Muslims are thick on the ground in Mumbai (Bombay).
It's an anti-British thing... Ghandi was pro-Hitler because he too was anti-British.... its one of those odd historical facts that tends to be overlooked.
It is curious why he would be admired, even though there is no doubt that Hitler was one of the greatest figures in human history. There will be more like him.
It reminds me of a "Best of" Military Science fiction story I read a few years ago --- what happens to India if Germany won WWII --- written by an Indian.
Basically, the theme was that Ghandi's passive resistence worked against the British because they were basically decent people --- the British public was horrified to learn of the British military slaughters, etc and so they stopped.
In the story --- written largely from the point of view of a Nazi general --- the passive resistence was really convenient way of getting everyone together and killing them --- and there was no one to be horrified because those that knew, approved.
It was a back-handed compliment to the British, really, and makes a good point that "peace" efforts only work with decent people.
Nazis, muslims, or the like with no regard for human life cannot be dealt with Ghandi's methods.
Very appropriate lesson in the war we fight today.
"Basically, the theme was that Ghandi's passive resistence worked against the British because they were basically decent people"
Thats BS. Many in India dont consider Hitler to be half as bad as whats the Brits were.
Kinda like the Che Guevara trend here.
From the article:
"This is the state where Hindu-led riots led to the deaths of more than 1000 Muslims in 2002. Several investigations blamed the state government, led by a right-wing Hindu political party, for allowing the riots.
Bal Thackeray, founder of Shiv Sena, a Hindu fundamentalist party, has openly praised Hitler and said he was willing to wipe out the troublemaking Muslims. "
It seems that G Khan's logic education is lacking.
LOL! ...good (American) Indian humor. The Cherokee disliked Hitler enough to send many sons to kill his soldiers. Quite a few of them went to Vietnam, Iraq, and other places, too. But that's other conservative American Indian humor. Almost every time any of us goes out, we see children of the Cherokee and don't realize it.
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