“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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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! – [...]
One of my favorite quotes about India is by the first century Greek Philosopher Apollonius Tyanaeus who said “In India, I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth, but not adhering to it, inhabiting cities, but not being fixed to them, possessing everything, but possessed by nothing”. I am not sure if Appollonius [...]
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 [...]
Indian constitution guarantees freedom of speech just like the American constitution yet places some significant restrictions on it. According to the constitution these restrictions are in place “in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order or morality”. The Indian government has used this loophole on numerous occasions to impose censorship. [...]
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 was talking to a colleague of mine and within a few minutes the subject turned to corruption in general and the corrupt Indian politicians. Corruption is one of the most popular topics of conversation in India today and rightly so. Corruption is rampant in India compared to Western Europe and North America. Indians love [...]
I consider myself to be fortunate enough to be brought up in a family environment where religion was not important. As a family we rarely talked about religion. Although a skeptic myself I am very fascinated by the history of religion, the mythologies that are part of it and the reasons why religion still plays [...]
We I was young my family used to travel a lot. One of the trips that I remember clearly was the one we took to Shravanabelgola. Shravanabelgola is a relatively small town in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is known all over India as one of the most important pilgrimage centers for members [...]
One of the most common responses we hear when a terrorist attack takes place is that the attackers and their organizations are just criminals and that they do not represent any religion or caste or creed. A similar sentiment was echoed by the President of the BJP Nitin Gadkari who spoke with reporters yesterday in [...]
The website for the “Art of Living Foundation” quotes its founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as saying “If everybody in society lives in the present moment, if we are able to accept people as they are, there will be no problems and no strife”. I enjoy reading quotes from the so-called gurus, spiritual and religious [...]
Tamil Nadu is one of my favorite states in India. I lived in the state for over 18 years and have traveled extensively in the state. But it is also a state of contradictions and missed opportunities. Unlike many other states in India Tamil Nadu has had a strong industrial base from the very beginning.
The head of all science departments of Bangalore University voted and unanimously rejected the BJP lead state governments efforts to introduce Astrology (Jyotish Shastra) as a course in both the undergraduate and post graduate levels. The faculty’s approval is required under the Karnataka State Universities Act 2000. The faculty called the governments move “obscurantist and [...]
