Today is Makara Sankranti, celebrated across India to both herald the beginning of longer days, and reap the harvest of months of backbreaking work in the fields. But the greater significance of Makara Sankranti like most Hindu festivals, is to highlight another living instance of the amazing cultural unity of India. People in Karnataka exchange [...]
It is 25 years and three days after Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Expectedly, most prominent newspapers carried a “heritage” piece on arguably the most important political figure in post-Independence history. Of all pieces I read, two articles stand out as interesting for two different reasons.
The first, by Subramanian Swamy. This piece is interesting only because [...]
What happens when a Westerner decides to write a book or make a movie on somebody belonging to the Dynasty? The outcome depends on what truth the said book or movie purports to reveal. If the truth even as much as hinges on the door of discomfort to the Dynasty, rest assured the book is [...]
The steady extermination, and/or conversion of Hindus in Pakistan has been a steady feature since 1947. On this side, we have exhibited characteristic apathy, in the same period. This news report is a continuation of the same status quo.
In the past four years, some 5,000 Hindus may have crossed over from Pakistan, never to return. [...]
Introduction
A pattern seems to have emerged over the past decade or so in the US. Each time any U.S-based Hindu organization(s) hosts a fairly well-attended event, alarm bells sound off from the expected quarters. These expected quarters wake up and emit a major stink about the–yawn–dreaded Hindu communalism/fascism/quest for revenge… The yarn is the same, [...]
A few weeks ago, I made a hurried list that broadly categorized contemporary Hindus based on certain general parameters. Gurcharan Das of India Unbound fame adds to this list by slotting himself into a new category: Liberal Hindu. Much of what he says in that post is along familiar, “safe Hindu” lines but he does [...]
When I landed in Delhi sometime in the January of 1967, Indira Gandhi was already ensconced in power…almost every other day witnessed hordes of “associations”–the Footpath Vendors Association, the Autorickshaw Drivers’ Association, the Slum Dwellers’ Association, the Onion Sellers’ Association and so on– parading on the streets of Delhi, petitioning her with a list of [...]
Driving on National Highway 4 towards Tumkur shows several milestones of history erected so high and steep that you are compelled to listen to their story. Nijagal is such a milestone. It is an imposing, rocky hill that stares at your back miles after you’ve driven past it. I stopped and it made a substantial [...]
It is Vijayadashami here in Karnataka, a hallowed tradition that celebrates both the victory and renewal of the spirit of Sanatana Dharma in South India. A tradition handed down to us from the time Harihara established the Vijaynagar empire after defeating the marauding Islamic armies that threatened to sweep the entire South India. It won’t [...]
I know Nehru’s legacy as a person, patriot, freedom fighter, and Prime Minister has been examined to death. By both his admirers and arch-critics. In the Indian landscape of the history-political books, the Nehru-as-God books severely outnumber those that critically examine him. The “critical editions” are mostly not subject to review. For example, a book [...]
