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! – [...]
I remember watching Doordarshan the day the Babri Masjid was destroyed by Hindu fundamentalists. The Central and Uttar Pradesh governments knew that this was coming but was totally ill prepared to prevent the 500 year old Mosque from being attacked. But what state controlled media like Doordarshan and All India Radio did was even more [...]
Every time there is a terrorist attack on Indian soil the Indian and Pakistani governments and the people of India go through a very familiar set of rituals. The Indian side will blame the Pakistani government for aiding these terrorist attacks and for not arresting the leaders of these militant groups who live in Pakistan. [...]
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 [...]
Like a lot of middle class Indians I attended many different schools before I passed the 12th grade. The longest duration I was in the same school was three years. Moving from school to school also exposed me to different systems of education that India follows including State Board, CBSE and ICSE. There were a [...]
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said today that the chances of a slum-free India within the next five years is “not unachievable”. This was the goal of a program called “Rajiv Awas Yojana” (why doesn’t the government of India have names for these programs that the rest of India can understand!!). The [...]
During my school days in India one of the routine rituals that we did as students was to stand up as the teacher entered the class room, say the appropriate salutations in unison and then sit down and get ready for the lecture. This is a small way to show our respect for the teacher. [...]
Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes (446 BCE) once said “A man’s homeland is wherever he prospers”. Recently I have been thinking about my homeland a lot. I am not alone. Millions of Indians including many of my friends are seriously considering winding up whatever they are doing and heading back to India. This is a tough [...]
I am a little worried about the growing anger aimed at the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi (India). Former Union Sports Minister and a senior member of the ruling Congress Party Manishankar Iyer said “Personally, I will be unhappy if the Commonwealth Games are successful … If the Games do succeed, that [...]
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”. [...]
Mount Kailash according to Hindu mythology is the abode of Lord Shiva. In the Vishnu Purana Kailash is described as the center of the world and also the one of the pillars of the world. Some Buddhists also believe that Kailash is the home of Buddha. The mountain itself is in Tibet (occupied by China [...]
