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 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 [...]
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 [...]
My interest in science and space in particular grew exponentially as I started watching the television show Cosmos presented by renowned astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan in the mid eighties. I am not sure whether programs such as these are shown on Indian television anymore. But people of my generation will be forever grateful for [...]
“You can build a Mosque at ground zero when we can build a Synagogue in Mecca” read the sign carried by one of the protesters. They protesters were trying to pressurize the city of New York and prevent the city from granting permission to build a 13 story Islamic community center a few blocks from [...]
A few days ago I saw a documentary on Public Television (PBS) called “The Buddha”. This documentary was narrated by actor Richard Gere and also included comments and thoughts by well known Buddhists including the Dalai Lama and Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin. The program was very well done and very informative particularly for [...]
It is my nature to be very skeptical of human beings who make extraordinary claims without backing it up with data. History is full of stories of people who spent most of their lives, time and wealth following the so-called leaders only to be disappointed in the end. As Buddha said pain and suffering is [...]
Most of us know by now that Ramkishan Alipur Yadav (known as Swami Ramdev) has started a political party. The party named Bharat Swabhiman will contest all 545 Lok Sabha seats in the next national elections. The Swami himself will not stand for elections (this stance reminds me of Sonia Gandhi and her relationship with [...]
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 [...]
Saturday was the spring equinox and the official start of spring in the United States. Spring equinox is when the day and night are equal in the northern hemisphere. It was a beautiful day. There was no cloud in the sky and the temperature reached as high as 73 degree Fahrenheit. I am glad the [...]
We live in an age where one of the ways to grab attention for your cause is to make outrageous and shocking statements. Whether these statements are consistent with reality or history and whether they are plausible is another matter. There is also an increase in nationalism all over the world.
The website for Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam quotes the founder Paramahamsa Nithyananda as saying that “I am not here to say I am God. I am here to say you are God”. I know who I am. The last thing I consider myself as is god. I have dreamed of myself as a cricketer, a rock star [...]
If you watch evangelical Christian television channels as I do one of the themes you will notice is their strong support for the state of Israel and their policies. On the surface they also are very supportive of the Jewish people. I find it interesting how a particular religious group can be so supportive of [...]
India is a very diverse country and nowhere is it more apparent than in the wide variety of religions and religious beliefs practiced throughout the country. There is Hinduism (which in itself is a group that includes hundreds of religions), Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and many other smaller belief systems. Of course there [...]
It is the Christmas season and it is one of my favorite times of the year. It is extremely cold and snowy in the Northeast United States at this time of the year and you will find Christmas trees and holiday decorations everywhere.
One of the rules that I believe in is that the more religious you are the less you know about your own religion. Individuals who know and read a lot about a religion or different religious typically tend to be skeptical. Many fundamentalist Christians in the United States not only go to Church a few [...]
