#Thread.
Here is a crash course in how NOT to argue, demonstrated by @brijeshkalappa, who claims to be a SC lawyer. Yesterday, I asked him a very simple question, does he, as a Kodava, support Tipu Sultan’s tyranny and genocide of the Kodavas and think of him as a hero?
Instead of answering a direct question, first Brijesh tried deflection, not answering d question asked, but saying something related, That he advised @siddaramaiah to not hold the Tipu event in Kodagu as it would ‘anger locals’. Note, Brijesh has not said the event angered HIM!
Next, he moved on to the biggest tool in the Congress #toolkit. Whataboutery, or Tu quoque ("you too"! Instead of answering my direct question, he dragged in BJP leaders and asked me, ‘but but but, why did THEY not do something’? Again, I asked the question, again he ignored it.
Next tool from #CongressToolKit, Red herring. This means exactly what you think it means: inventing irrelevant facts to distract from the question at hand. When the BJP whataboutery didn’t work @brijeshkalappa moved to alleged historical ‘goodness’ of Tyrant Tipu.
When even that didn’t work, @brijeshkalappa did what he specialises in, Argumentum ad hominem (argument directed at the person). This is the fallacy of attacking the person who has asked an question, rather than answering the question itself.
When that failed, @brijeshkalappa moved to yet another logical fallacy, shifting goalposts. Instead of answering what HE thinks of tyrant Tipu, Brijesh moved on to Melkote, of course no mention of the wholesale massacre of the Madyam Iyengars of Melkote by Brijesh’s hero, Tipu!
And finally, every congressman’s favourite fallacy, straw man! This fallacy involves putting words into the opponent’s mouth by saying they've made arguments they haven't actually made. This is how @brijeshkalappa did it!
Oh, and after that he kept on tweeting to empty space for a while :) pretending that he had ‘won’ the argument. If this is how all SC lawyers argue, I can totally understand some of the judgements we get. Now @brijeshkalappa pls answer the question, do you think Tipu was a hero?
This is how @brijeshkalappa ended :) Argumentum ad nauseam (argument by repitition). The fallacy of trying to prove something by saying the same thing again and again. And yeah, he still has NOT answered my one simple, direct question! Does he think mass murderer Tipu was a hero?
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#thread Heard a real life story that made me speechless. 85 year old @RSSorg swayamsevak for life, Narayan Dabhadkar from Nagpur caught covid. His daughter tried for days to get him a hospital bed, finally got one at Indira Gandhi hospital. By this time, his O2 levels had dropped
When he reached the hospital with his grandson-in-law in an ambulance, Dabhadkar kaka was out of breath. While he was waiting for the admission formalities to be completed, he saw a woman crying and begging for a bed for her husband who was in his 40s. His kids were crying
Dabhadkar kaka made a spot decision and told the medical team attending to him calmly, ‘I am 85 now, have lived my life, you should offer the bed to this man instead, his children need him’. He then made his grandson-in-law call his daughter and informed her of his decision.
If only I could erase the hammer marks of the Islamic marauders and replace the amputated arms, the broken noses and hacked breasts of all the Murtis that they destroyed.
If only I could see our temples minus the modern day encroachments and misguided attempts to ‘redevelop’ - the RCC roofs, the ugly steel railings, the naked bulbs and cobwebbed wires hanging everywhere, random nails and tube lights stuck on centuries old stone.
गलती हमारी है. हम बहुत जल्दी भूल जाते है! #किसेयादहै प्रशांत पूजारी? जिसको उसके पिता की आँखोंके सामने मुडबिद्री में शांतिप्रिय लोगोंने चक्कु-तलवार से मारा था? किसे याद है रामलिंगम जिसके हाथ काटे गए थे तामिलनाडु में क्यूँकि उसने मुस्लिम धर्मप्रसार का विरोध किया था. #RinkuSharma
#किसेयादहै चंदन गुप्ता जिसे कासगंज में इसलिए बेरहमीसे काटा गया था क्योंकि उसने वंदे मातरम कहने की हिम्मत की थी। किसे याद है लोटन निषाद? जिसे प्रयागराज में गोली मारकर ढेर किया गया था! किसे याद है अंकित सक्सेना, दिलबर नेगी, IB ऑफिसर अंकित शर्मा? देहली के डेंटिस्ट पंकज नारंग?
#किसेयादहै भरत यादव, मथुरा के लस्सी विक्रेता, जिनको इसलिए मारा गया था क्योंकि उन्होंने शांतिप्रिय लोगोंसे लस्सी के पैसे माँगे थे। किसे याद है मोरादाबाद के गंगाराम चौहान, जिन्हें मारा गया था क्योंकि उन्होंने पुलिस में अपनी लड़की को छेडनेवाले मुजलिम लड़कोंकी शिकायत दर्ज की थी।
#Thread My heart and mind are lost in the thoughts of the great temple of #Chidambaram. For Shiva devotees of TN, this is THE kovil, just like for devotees of Shri Vishnu, Srirangam is THE kovil. This is also one of the few temples in India that is managed by hereditary priests.
The temple has 4 Rajgopurams in 4 cardinal directions, built at different times and yet, all 4 Gopurams are uniform in size, structure and form. All are 7-storeyed and 135 feet tall. All have 13 Copper Kalashas on them.
Belief is that temple of Chidambaram IS Lord Shiva. The gold-roofed garbhgriha has d Lord manifested in 3 forms:
- Murti of Lord Natarajar, as the Sakala form
- semi-form Crystal lingam, as the Sakala nishkala form
- formless - the empty Space known as Chidambara Rahasyam.
#Thread I had asked people to share 3 good things that they did/happened to them in #2020 on @Facebook@Twitter and @instagram. Totally more than a 1000 people replied, of different ages, different professions, different regions. The comments were full of insights for me.
Lesson 1. The responses were very diverse, but some common things stood out. Most people mentioned ‘spending time with the family’ as one of the top positives of this year. And indeed, #WFH as well as the forced lockdown has made us all look at family togetherness in a new light.
Lesson 2. Most respondents also mentioned focus on wellness and health as a key area saw improvement. Many people shared inspiring stories of weight loss, of starting an exercise regimen, yoga, meditation, practices that helped improve both physical as well as mental health.
A thread on #krishnapuram temple, near Thirunelveli, TN. Even in a land full of ancient temples full of sculptural treasures, the Arulmigu Venkatachalapathy temple at Krishnapuram stands out for its unique sculptures. #TamizhTales
Located barely 8 kms from Thirunelveli, the #krishnapuram temple is a storehouse of exquisite sculptures carved during the Madurai Nayaka period. Inscriptions say the temple was built by Krishnappa Nayak, after whom the place is named. #TamizhTales
The temple is spread over an area of 1.8 acres. Originally, the temple had three praharams, built from granite. But the outermost praharam was demolished by an Izlamic general Chanda Sahib at the orders of Nawab of Arcot. The stones were used to build the fort of Palayamkottai!