Kancha Ilaiah is an activist, writer and also the Chairman of the Political Science department at Osmania University. Recently the Deccan Chronicle published an article written by Kancha Ilaiah titled “Islam and the Concept of Equality in India”. In this article the author makes several claims about the “social role of Islam in the subcontinent” [...]
“The statement of Christ is simple. ‘He who sent me among you will come again!’, and he pointed to a Lamb. The Lamb is merely a symbol, a sign. It stands for the Voice – Ba-Ba; the announcement was the Advent of Baba. ‘His name will be Truth,’ Christ declared. Sathya means Truth. ‘He will [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Some of my friends have told me that Indians are like “coconuts”. They are “brown” on the outside but “white” on the inside. I do not believe that all Indians behave this way but at the same time I think that there is some truth to these statements. Indians in the United States for example [...]
The Commonwealth (full name is Commonwealth of Nations) is an organization of fifty four member states. Fifty two of these nations were part of the British Empire. The Commonwealth Games is one of the showcase events for this organization. Except a few countries like Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada almost all other countries are [...]
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, Tho’ they come from the ends of the earth! – [...]
History is complicated and also interrelated. A good example is Spain. It is a fairly large country by Western European standards and has a tremendous culture and history. What took me by surprise during my visit to Spain was the impact Islam has on Spanish culture, architecture and people. The Moors (collective term used to [...]
The Brahmin was his mouth, Of both his arms was the (Kshatriya) made. His thighs became the Vaishya, From his feet the Sudhra was produced. (Rig Veda X.90.1-3) Today Indians have some explaining to do when it comes to the caste system. Millions of Indians are considered as untouchables and denied basic rights simply because [...]
The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh gave a very interesting answer to reporters when he was asked about the soaring inflation in India. He said “Let us hope, it (inflation) will come down in the coming months. I am not an astrologer.“ Manmohan Singh is definitely not an astrologer but he is an economics [...]
