The Earth is part of the solar system which in turn is part of the Milky Way galaxy. There are billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy (Sun is one of the stars). In addition, there are billions of such galaxies in our Universe alone (the visible universe is about 28 billion light years [...]
Archeologists from Russia are claiming that they have identified about 20 “spiral shaped” settlements, which are believed to be 4000 years old in a remote part of Southern Siberia (bordering Kazakhstan). The Russians knew about these settlements for about 20 years. This information was revealed by historian Bettany Hughes on the BBC program “Tracking the [...]
The External Affairs Minister of India S.M. Krishna has informed parliament yesterday that the Indian government is undertaking efforts to make Hindi as one of the official languages of the United Nations. He said “We are taking active measures to make Hindi an official language at UN. A high level committee is looking into it”. [...]
I am a traveler. I have had the privilege to travel within India and also many other parts of the world. Traveling is very important to us human beings. We inhabit this beautiful planet called Earth that is traveling on its orbit around the Sun at the rate of 108,000 Kilometers/Hour!! Irrespective of whether we [...]
The world famous Lord Venkateswara Temple is located in Tirumala which is very close to the town of Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh). The Thirumala temple is one of the most visited places on earth. It is estimated that somewhere between 50,000 to 75,000 pilgrims and tourists visit this temple every day. Today the presiding deity of [...]
Saint Thomas is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is also known as “doubting Thomas” as he did not initially believe in the resurrection of Jesus. According to Christian mythology he is supposed to have visited India in 52 AD. Catholic tradition also states that he was killed by a Brahmin and buried [...]
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December 27, 2010 | 6 comments | View Post
February 1, 2011 | 4 comments | View Post
January 31, 2011 | 4 comments | View Post
November 22, 2010 | 10 comments | View Post
November 17, 2010 | 9 comments | View Post
On October 18, 2010 Aroon Purie who is the founder and editor-in-chief of India Today wrote an article about Rajinikanth and his latest movie Endhiran. It was a well written article and paid a glowing tribute to superstar Rajinikanth. It was the cover story of the weekly edition of India Today (regional). There was only [...]
December 2, 2010 | 2 comments | View Post
Congress Party member Mani Shankar Aiyar said recently in a meeting that “India is prospering, Indians are not”. He added “GDP growth rate is no index of what is happening in our country”. He criticized the Indian government (which is lead by his own party) and questioned the governments economic policy. There is no debate [...]
December 1, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
Pervez Musharraf is in the middle of a transformation. The former Pakistani military dictator is now portraying himself as the savior of Pakistan and the beacon of democratic values. Musharraf is currently visiting the United States to promote his new political party which is the All Pakistan Muslim League. He has given a few interviews [...]
President Barack Obama’s long awaited trip to India has ended. The president was gracious and said some wonderful things about India during his visit. As expected billions of dollars worth of deals were signed. But nothing got more media attention than the one sentence he uttered in his speech to the Indian parliament. He said [...]
November 10, 2010 | 8 comments | View Post
President Barack Obama addressed the Indian parliament on Monday. In his speech he said that “Throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, I have always found inspiration in the life of Gandhiji and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in [...]
November 8, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
Today is Election Day in the United States. The enthusiasm, exuberance and the “Yes We Can” attitude that swept President Barack Obama into office in 2008 has disappeared. As a comedian recently said the mood now seems to be “We thought we could”. Americans are pessimistic about their future like never before. Many of them [...]
November 2, 2010 | 2 comments | View Post
In December 2008, about 60% of the eligible voters turned out to vote for the state elections in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite calls for boycott and threats of violence and intimidation by the separatists groups, the turnout was 17% more than the previous elections. 1354 candidates from 43 parties participated in [...]
October 25, 2010 | 16 comments | View Post
Hindu “leaders” are dime a dozen. You will find plenty of leaders and their organizations in India and also all over the world. Recently one such organization calling itself the Universal Society of Hinduism (USH) was in the news because of some of the comments made by its President Rajan Zed to a website called [...]
October 22, 2010 | 6 comments | View Post
In a move that is mostly aimed at reviving its sagging fortunes the Shiv Sena has called for a ban on the burqa in Maharashtra (India). The obvious reason is their well known dislike for the Muslim religion. But like many religious fundamentalist groups in the West, they have pointed to other reasons for imposing [...]
October 20, 2010 | 2 comments | View Post
My parents are from Kerala. But I consider myself more of a Tamilian since I lived most of my formative years in Tamil Nadu. Some of the most memorable times were when we lived in Madurai. Madurai is the heartland of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world and [...]
Secularism is one of the most abused words in Indian politics. Secularism in a political and social context is a belief in the separation of the state (government and government agencies) and the religious beliefs of the people. To many Indians a secular state also means a state that guarantees their right to practice the [...]
October 18, 2010 | 3 comments | View Post
