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Tag: "India"

Islam and the False Concept of Equality in Indian Society

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” [...]

Binayak Sen: Civil Rights Activist to Convicted Criminal

The Indian judicial system is imperfect.  Most Indians know that when charged with a crime an individual’s position in society, financial background and political clout will play a major role on whether or not that person will be convicted of the crime and on the nature of the punishment if convicted.  Surprisingly India is not [...]

Sonia Gandhi Destroying Indian Religion, Culture and Traditions

“She (Sonia Gandhi) wants to destroy Indian religion, culture and traditions. We are opposing this, since we will not let this happen. She realizes that our strength is growing, and she is scared of our power. That is why she is opposing us. We are not in any way connected to extremism. Neither the VHP, [...]

Eradicating Corruption in India: Sonia Gandhi’s Ill-Advised 4 Step Process

The 83rd Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress ended a few days ago.  The Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi delivered the inaugural address.   In this address she laid out a four step process for “intensifying the battle against corruption”.  There is no doubt that Sonia Gandhi is the most powerful political figure in India [...]

Are Aroon Purie, Vir Sanghvi & Barkha Dutt Journalists?

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 [...]

Myth or Reality: India is prospering but not Indians?

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 [...]

Manmohan Singh Gets Blessings from Sai Baba!

“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 [...]

Should India Become a Permanent Member of the Security Council?

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 [...]

Rahul Gandhi and His Two Hindustan Myth

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 [...]

Is Rajan Zed Promoting Hinduism or Damaging Hinduism?

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 [...]

Ban the Burqa or Ban the Sena

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 [...]

Multiculturalism: Germany Should Learn From India

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 [...]

Indian Politics: Secularism and Pseudo-Secularism

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 [...]

United States in an Education Arms Race with India

We Indians love to talk and engage in intellectual conversations.  We like individuals who are like us.  Former President George Bush did not fit this bill.  He was a very direct and he was not a big fan of the grey areas of life (Indians opinion of President Bush started changing dramatically after the initial [...]

Will India be Thrilled if GOP Wins the Midterms?

In an article published in the online magazine Slate, former Governor of New York State and a CNN talk show host Eliot Spitzer indicated that countries like Brazil, India and China will be thrilled if the Republicans win the upcoming midterm elections.  He wrote “We have three weeks to make this choice. Because if we [...]

Nobel Prize for Liu Xiaobo and Lessons For India

Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese citizen has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  He is serving an eleven year term in a Chinese prison for “subversion” (Liu Xiaobo was active in the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests).  Recently Liu Xiaobo authored a document called Chapter 08 which demanded greater freedom for Chinese citizens.  This is by [...]

Hinduism in India: Originated From Steppes

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 [...]

Ayodhya Verdict: India is the Winner

September 30, 2010 is perhaps the most monumental day in Indian history since we gained our independence from Briton on August 15, 1947.  Let it be known that on this day India finally exercised one of its major demons.  The Allahabad High Court delivered the verdict on the highly controversial Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute.  [...]

Racism in India: Honest Discussion Needed

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 [...]

Corruption in India Masking Real Problems

What are the reasons behind India’s inability to organize an event like the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi?  The reason is corruption.  Why is India not competitive in most sports except cricket?  It is corruption.  What are the reasons behind the crumbling infrastructure in our major cities?  The reason is corruption.  How come after 60 [...]