Regarding Caste, the RSS is in an Awkward Quandary http://dhunt.in/Wqou5 Reading the above Op-Ed piece , I got the overwhelming feeling that Rahul Gandhi is probably right about the Caste Census. It’s an idea whose time has finally arrived in this country … and as Victor Hugo told us long ago, No power on Earth canContinue reading “Caste Census will usher in a great Indian “Perestroika” and “Glasnost””
Tag Archives: History
Dushyant Sridhar sets the cat amongst the pigeons and laughs his way to the bank? – (Part 2 of 2)
Dushyant Sridhar is a young ‘upannyaasaka‘ of rare ability. He is a professional raconteur of purana, itihaasa and other Vedic scriptures. His scholarship, intelligence, eloquence and stage-presence appeal to young audiences and make him an ambassador even abroad for our Indian religious culture, especially of the Sri Vaishnava strain. None therefore should deny him hisContinue reading “Dushyant Sridhar sets the cat amongst the pigeons and laughs his way to the bank? – (Part 2 of 2)”
“In the Hindu nation-states of Nepal and Mauritius, is Caste consciousness prevalent?”: An informal chat with noted Tamil writer and scholar, Sri Indira Parthasarathy
The above video clip when I shared it with Sri Indira Parthasarathy this morning, it triggered off a very interesting and freewheeling conversation between us on the eternally controversial subject of Caste in Hindu society. Below is reproduced the Q&A verbatim : Me: Sir, watching the video-clip made me feel that NRI Indians are likeContinue reading ““In the Hindu nation-states of Nepal and Mauritius, is Caste consciousness prevalent?”: An informal chat with noted Tamil writer and scholar, Sri Indira Parthasarathy”
What makes Chinese people different from us Indians is what distinguishes “atma nirbhar” from “pate bharo”.
To me the most interesting passage in the above Foreign Policy article is this: “In its first phase, Wang writes, industrialization “took off in situ.” Rather than moving to cities, farmers began to work as industrial laborers in their villages. “By the mid-1990s, 40 percent of China’s rural labor force was producing industrial goods inContinue reading “What makes Chinese people different from us Indians is what distinguishes “atma nirbhar” from “pate bharo”.”
“The People Vs Democracy”: In the court of the Hon’ble Sir Winston Churchill
The latest Pew Research Survey, summarised in columns of The Hindu today dt. 4 March 2024, reports that more than a third of the world in terms of number of nations — and much more than half in terms of population size— has already lost faith in Democracy as a system of governance. Zoom inContinue reading ““The People Vs Democracy”: In the court of the Hon’ble Sir Winston Churchill”
Constitutional conundrum: Is “Sathyam” greater than “Dharmam”?
Here’s a press report dt.28 Feb 2024 which makes for interesting reading https://lawbeat.in/columns/dharma-not-truth-constitution-former-sc-judge-bats-removal-hindu-shloka A former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Kurian Joseph, has recently stated that the Supreme Court’s motto “यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः” (Where there is Dharma, there is victory) should be removed. He pointed out that Dharma, as stipulated in the Hindu fold,Continue reading “Constitutional conundrum: Is “Sathyam” greater than “Dharmam”?”
A Theatre of the Absurd in the world of Western Diplomacy
Two years into the War that has set Ukraine aflame and is nearly destroying the country, America and the EU — so-called NATO allies — now seem to be dancing around each other in a macabre embrace of death. Last week President Macron embarrassed President Biden by dropping a diplomatic grenade at a EU summitContinue reading “A Theatre of the Absurd in the world of Western Diplomacy”
Sri Vaishnava Tenkalai-Vadakalai: Sectarian Fault-lines
SYNOPSIS Of the book, “A Tale of Two Cities: The Decline and Fall of the “ubhaya-Vedantins” – An Outline of the History of Sri Vaishnavas of Tamil Nadu that was never written” M.K.Sudarshan(2023) WESTWOOD BOOK PUBLISHING ATLANTA, Ga, USA) ___________________________________________________________________________ PREAMBLE: Thus, it can be said that Ramanuja’s Sri Vaishnavism was a religious system ofContinue reading “Sri Vaishnava Tenkalai-Vadakalai: Sectarian Fault-lines”
“India’s Feet of Clay” in “Foreign Affairs”: Ramachandra Guha is Sir Bedivere to Nehruvian King Arthur
If any self-respecting Indian were to read this article written by Ramachandra Guha in latest issue of “FOREIGN AFFAIRS” , he or she would wonder if it is not exactly what Mahatma Gandhi had in mind when he wrote that Katherine Mayo’s book on “Mother India” was not really history but “a drain inspector’s report”.Continue reading ““India’s Feet of Clay” in “Foreign Affairs”: Ramachandra Guha is Sir Bedivere to Nehruvian King Arthur”
Preamble to the Indian Constitution: “The writing on the wall”
Keshvananda Bharti v. State of Kerala: In this case, the Supreme Court held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and can be amended under Article 368 of the Constitution. The two words “secular” and “socialist” were never reflective of the “basic structure” of the constitution and they today are indeed so veryContinue reading “Preamble to the Indian Constitution: “The writing on the wall””