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” [...]
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 [...]
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! – [...]
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 [...]
The United States of America is not a popular nation among the Muslim community in the world. This unpopularity is a major problem for America. The future of America, particularly from an economic standpoint is closely tied to Asian economies. Most of these Asian economies including India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia have significant Muslim populations [...]
The Vellore District (Tamil Nadu) pachayat counselor, G.R. Krishnamurthy has decided to build a temple to honor the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. Both the counselor and the Chief Minister belong to the DMK party that is currently ruling the state. Karunanidhi is a legendary figure in Tamil Nadu. He is just not [...]
I am from Kerala but I lived in Tamil Nadu (mostly in Madurai and Coimbatore) for a couple of decades. Due to state government policies then I was forced to learn Tamil during my school days. I did not like being pressured to learn a new language but I am now glad that I did [...]
For the first time in over 70 years the Indian government is very likely to include the question of a person’s caste in the Census. This should not come as a surprise to many Indians. The Congress Party led UPA government has done its best to slice and dice the Indian population in whichever way [...]
I was sitting on the new red steps at Times Square. It was my final stop in a brief afternoon visit to New York City. One of the advantages of living near Philadelphia is that you are very close to cities like New York, Baltimore and Washington D.C. I do not visit these cities as [...]
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 [...]
I am one of those non believers when it comes to religion. I believe that religion as we know it today is a creation of the human mind (and therefore we created god and not the other way around). Science has proven that the theories of creation as described in almost all of the major [...]
Switzerland became the latest country to fall into the trap laid by Osama Bin Laden and the likes since September 11, 2009. More than 57% of the Swiss voters approved a referendum to ban the building of minarets. This decision by the voters was unexpected considering that the Swiss are well known for their openness [...]
One of my favorite bands is the Irish band Cranberries. I like the voice of lead singer Dolores O’Riordan (there is something sexy about a rock band whose lead singer is a woman). Many of their songs are about the troubles in Northern Ireland. The one I like the most is “Zombie” which was actually [...]
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has once again raised the issue of enacting laws to ban cow slaughter. According to the VHP the ban is needed because the farmers are forced to sell the cows to slaughter houses since they cannot afford to maintain these cows. The VHP also demanded that the government should create [...]
For the most part America is not a very religious country. In most polls Americans will indicate that they believe in gods, angels and saints. But in reality most Americas do not practice their religion (or faith as they sometimes call it). But there is a very conservative group of people in the country.
I am sure that most of you have by now heard about the shootings at the American base in Foot Hood, Texas. An American soldier, Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed 13 soldiers before he was shot down himself (he is currently recovering in a nearby hospital).
Did you watch the Champions trophy semi-final between Pakistan and New Zealand? Which team where you rooting for? Even if you did not watch the game which team did you want to win? I have no data to prove my conclusion but I am willing to guess that the
