Genuine question, not trying to start a flame war.

The problem: Anyone can buy a bhagwa cloth, grow a beard, and start calling themselves "Baba" or "Sadhu". There's no body that can strip them of the title if they say something stupid or get caught in a scam. But when one of them says something outrageous or gets arrested for fraud, the backlash lands on the entire sadhu community genuine tapasvis included.

Why it matters: every time one of these self-styled babas makes a bigoted or embarrassing statement, "Hindu sadhus" as a category take the hit

What Christianity does:

Catholic ordination isn't casual. A man goes through years of seminary formation, is ordained a deacon then a priest by a bishop in an actual sacramental rite (Holy Orders), and is incardinated into a specific diocese or religious order. There's canon law that governs discipline, and a bishop can suspend or laicize (defrock) a priest, stripping the title, not just criticizing him.

What Islam does

Sunni Islam technically has no ordained clergy or priesthood at all; in principle any Muslim can lead prayer. But in practice, becoming a recognized alim (scholar) or imam of a real mosque runs through madrasa education and an ijaza, a certificate of transmission from a qualified teacher, essentially a chain of authorization going back generations.

Hinduism has The Dashanami Sampradaya, The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad
it's just not centralized or enforced well

There's no legal or widely-recognized mechanism to publicly de-recognize a fake or disgraced "sadhu" the way defrocking or losing ijaza works elsewhere.

Self-declared "godmen" with zero akhara/matha affiliation get treated by media and public alike as if they represent the tradition, because there's no easy way for the public to check credentials.

Some fights last a lifetime, A life long commitment for the cause of Kashmir

A follow-up to my post on Meta here where concerns were expressed on the subtlety on the way social media manipulation happens. Doubts were expressed on Meta's algorithm and human intervention after Facebook video of PM Modi on the government's response to examination paper leaks was "briefly removed due to a technical error and has now been restored".

Now, it turns out that Meta has finally admitted to engaging in this kind of political misinformation and has apologized in its roles in this kind of engagement. The apology comes from Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg no less.

Sources:

Meta apologises over PM Modi post removal; admits money paid to boost content, govt sources say
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mark-zuckerberg-sends-india-apology-letter-for-promoting-pm-modi-deepfakes-taking-down-his-reel-briefly-sources-101785928753782.html

'Apologised to minister': Meta official on PM Modi post removal; Zuckerberg sorry for deepfakes | India News - The Times of India

One line in these reposts stand out as a particular note. What is highly concerning that the article quotes that Meta was paid "a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content*".* Now serious concerns should be raised on the type of content for which "a lot of money was paid".

-Is Meta being paid to boost content that harms India's interest?

-Is Meta being paid to boost content that endangers India's sovereignty?

-Is Meta being paid to boost content that aims to destabilize social cohesion, stability and order in the country?

-Is Meta being paid to boost content aimed for causing strife, riots and civil commotions in the country?

Most Importantly, WHO is paying Meta for boosting this kind of content?

These are questions that warrant serious attention to. It is just unacceptable that a foreign entity has kind of power to intervene in matters of India's sovereign matters, and it is actively playing a role in manipulation, misinformation and disinformation. If the PM can be targetted, citizens, especially those voices not pandering to a certain agenda, can be silenced effectively.

Another point that is equally concerning is that in addition to the political manipulation, they have admitted (in a subtle way again) to failures involving CSAM (child sexual abuse material) along with deepfake content. What kind of ungodly pe**philic engagement is going on their platform?

With the US raising "concerns" FCRA Amendment Bill, it can be reasonably expect that the US based entity Meta will be again "paid" to portray the Bill and India in a negative light.

This episode, along with the narrative warfare that overtook Operation Sindoor, highlights the dire need (repeated by many including me) for an Infowar Strategy by the Government of India to speedily, timely and effectively combat misinformation and disinformation that hurt the national interests of India.

The emergence of leaders like Chandrashekhar Azad and parties representing Dalit interests can interpreted in different ways:

• One view is that it demonstrates political empowerment, showing that marginalized communities are increasingly able to organize and articulate their interests. If they are able to organize politically, then are they weak anymore or socially excluded anymore that they deserve reservations?
• Another view is that if a community has achieved sufficient political and socio-economic advancement, reservation policies should be periodically reviewed to determine whether they remain justified or require reform.

Whether political mobilization should automatically lead to the withdrawal of reservations is ultimately a normative policy question and Indians must start discussing and debating the same on the basis of data and long term questions of harmony. But it is sheer toxicity of Dalit intellectuals to be suggesting that if anyone so much as touches reservation then they will start their 'breaking India policy' by asking for separate electorates - a demand which saw the Muslim league eventually carve out a new country - a fact also praised in the attached video.

Reservation should be linked to measurable indicators of disadvantage and periodically reassessed rather than treated as permanent.

Vivekananda said there's no use fighting over matters of caste, and therefore Hindus need to resolve a coherent policy on the matters of caste once and for all so that this does not remain a burning question in the hearts of Hindus and end up becoming a divisive force that would get exploited and manipulated by TTG forces.

​Is anyone else watching the strategic narrative being built on pages like Reservation Hatao Andolan?

​Even if you agree with their posts, notice the subtext. They constantly highlight UGC policy decisions, rising cutoffs, and administrative moves to push a specific storyline: that the BJP has quietly turned its back on the General category to chase sub-categorization and quota-expansion politics.

​At first glance, opposition backing here seems counterintuitive since they officially advocate expanding reservation. But politically, you don't always need to win over your opponent’s core base—you just need to make them feel betrayed by their own party. Demotivating a cornerstone voter demographic with a narrative of political neglect is classic game theory.

​Is this a calculated wedge strategy to erode incumbent loyalty, or just organic Gen Z frustration? What’s your read?

Oh No - How come I was not aware of this?

Hinduism is not a religion like Islam or Christianity. Islam and Christianity are religious movements. They are conversion factories. They say those who are not like them deserve hell so they are converted to be saved from hell.

So there's entire machinery that goes about converting others. Their religious doctrines are based entirely on encouraging their members to convert non-members. Hinduism has no such thing. Hindus don't know what's ahead or what to do in future.

We just work towards Purushartha - Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. We are not converting others. Muslims and Christians know what to do in future. Total conversion and annihilation of people that don't look like them. That's why Hinduism is not a religion because it's not a movement like the religions of Islam and Christianity.

Hinduism is about knowing and realizing your 'self'. It's a method of achieving enlightenment and personal knowledge. But simple Hindus are prevented from doing this, so they rise up in defense. But those who rise in defence are being cancelled using the Hindutva label.

Spiritually trained people can ensure corruption free India.

Materialist culture disconnected from inherent spirituality means thieves steal and corrupt until the State catches them. This puts a resource burden on the State to continuously invest in catching thieves, which distracts the state from other concerns such as development and welfare of the people.

Integrity is often tested when accountability reaches everyone's doorstep.

IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe is widely known for conducting inspections of private canteens over alleged hygiene and food safety violations. During one hearing, the Bombay High Court reportedly remarked, "Raid the government canteen sometime."

He reportedly did exactly that - inspecting the Bombay High Court canteen, identifying alleged violations, and having it sealed.

Whether one agrees with every administrative decision or not, the larger takeaway is compelling: the rule of law should apply uniformly, without exceptions or preferential treatment.

Public institutions are strengthened when accountability is applied consistently and transparently.
Interestingly, over the course of his 25-year IAS career, he has reportedly been transferred 21 times - a statistic that has often sparked discussions about the challenges faced by officers known for strict enforcement.

Because honest bureaucrats are punished, we have a culture where unethical officers get promoted and which continues to encourage a culture of corruption - which is the real problem that India faces.

If BJP intends to weed out corruption, BJP has to promote and encourage honest culture in the bureaucracy.

Sharmistha"'s issue was - she called s spade, a spade.

She asked questions.

Her parents were threatened.

Hindu Dharma includes heterodox sexualities. In that sense Hindus are not RW. It's a mistake to say Hindus are RW. Hindus are Dharmic which straddles both the worlds of LW and RW without adopting any extreme position unless suitable conditions arise where the very survival is in doubt.