Society & Culture
Dear Mr. Ramachandra Guha…Cont’d
Via the Acorn, who in this excellent short-shrift to cricket-commentator-turned-pseudo Historian, Ramachandra Guha, adequately delivers the treatment the piece deserves. From the paragraph Nitin quotes,
We need to repair, one by one, the institutions that have safeguarded our unity amidst diversity…
I challenge Mr. Guha to name exactly one institution that has done all these.
Political Incorrectness at its Best
In a superb article, Jakod De Roover rips apart the European Parliament’s presumptuous self-righteousness, which has compelled them to “come out with a policy statement” on how caste still rules India.
Recently, the European Parliament hosted a meeting on “caste discrimination in South Asia”. At the meeting, participants stated that “India is being ruled by castes […]
Go Well Sir
Another of the last of the giants from another era is no more.
Go well sir. May your death teach why patriotism is not an ugly word, and what war really means.
Dissecting Contextual Morality: Part 2
I had concluded the previous post with a note on AKR’s understanding of Hindu ethics and traditional expositions on Dharma. He notes that
Each addition is really a subtraction from any universal law. There is not much left of an absolute or common (sadharana) dharma which the texts speak of, if at all, as a last […]
Dissecting Contextual Morality : Part 1
Preface
In an interesting article on Narendra Modi, TCA Srinivasa-Raghavan (link courtesy Nitin) concludes that contextual morality is the one magic explanation for all ills that have plagued India for more than 100 years. He says
…Narendra Modi is our own creation, of liberals, conservatives, fascists, communists and every other man jack of us. He is not […]
Will this be Banned in India?
The Indian Express reports
A play inspired by a short story written in the 1960s, which prophesised the rise of religious extremists and bombing of mosques in Pakistan, was staged before packed audiences in the federal capital.
When Dhanak, the short story by noted Urdu writer Ghulam Abbas, was read out to a select audience in Lahore […]
Pragati: June 2008
The June 2008 issue of Pragati is out. Download your copy now.
This issue carries a modified version of my article on the perils of lending intellectual defense to terrorism.
For the original article, see below.
Defending Attacks on National Interest
In a public-life career stretched over more than three decades, D.V.Gundappa wrote tomes on every conceivable aspect of […]
Demand for Backwardness
Let me make this a little dramatic.
Historically, the Gurjaras were one of the most prominent dynasties (yes, I hate the word “tribe” or “clan” because it reminds me of all the obnoxious colonial connotations that accompany it) that sacrificed thousands of warriors to ward off Islamic invasions. That is also because Rajasthan was one state […]
What Does this Mean?
The BJP’s election victory is expectedly the hot subject of discussion on the streets, restaurants, darshinis, paan shops, and bus stops of Bangalore. Yesterday, I was an uninvited party to one such discussion. A BJP worker was extolling his stellar campaigning work. In the middle of explaining how the leader of his constituency made money, […]
The Buyer’s Rights and All
I hate cricket. And this post isn’t about the game. And I didn’t read Amit Varma’s dull piece on accountability in the IPL in full. Except,
Rohit Mahajan of Outlook quoted a Delhi Daredevils players as saying: “[T]hese corporate people attend meetings, and fools among them even try to tell players and coaches how to play.” […]