America’s decision to deny Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi a diplomatic visa and revoke his tourist/business visa on the pretext of the demands of its International Religious Freedom Act, 1998, raises critical questions about what constitutes religious freedom. The statement that the Act authorizes the President to deny entry to … Read More
In a virtual indictment of the BJP for indifference towards the growing anxieties and legitimate aspirations of the Hindu community, the RSS has officially advised its political offspring to set up its own organizational base. While it is too early to say if this marks a genuine parting of ways … Read More
Two successive assaults on Indian democracy by Governors hailing from minority communities exemplify how this country is hostage to a secular-minority determination to inflict political subordination on the Hindu community. While moves for a hat-trick in Patna were thwarted after Rashtrapati Bhavan rang a warning bell, the possibility of tinkering … Read More
Some months before he died in February 1980, R.C. Majumdar recalled how the veteran freedom fighter K.M. Munshi “believed that a government sponsored institution can never document history in an honest manner. I realized this truth in the later years. The federal government built an editorial board to document India’s … Read More
This very month, three years ago, Hindu pilgrims returning to Gujarat from Ayodhya were burnt alive in a bogey of the Sabarmati Express, in what was widely perceived as an act of communal aggression. Secular apologists of Islamic fundamentalism were quick to explain to a shocked nation that there were … Read More
Tsunami victims of Samanthapettai near the temple town of Madurai saw the dark side of Christian charity as missionaries stomped out of their village without distributing relief after residents refused their faith-for-food deal (ANI, 16 January 2005). The 200-odd homeless villagers, coping with hunger, trauma and disease, felt blessed when … Read More
As 2004 bowed out, snarling with apocalyptic fury, citizens living or holidaying along the Indian coastline found unexpected islands of hope and refuge as unseen powers stepped in to save lives apparently destined for burial at sea. The picaresque Vivekananda Rock in the middle of the sea off Kanyakumari, hit … Read More
The gutter inspectors are out, revelling in the discomfort of devout Hindus, telling us exactly what’s wrong with us. To begin with, it’s the Brahmins and the caste system, an euphemism for the fact that we’re still a predominantly Hindu society. Then it’s those few Hindu mathams that still enjoy … Read More
As Swami Jayendra Saraswati stoically braves the onslaught of secular oppression unleashed by an unholy alliance of Government and media, it is clear that his tormentors have no case, have failed hopelessly in their nation-wide fishing expedition, but are nonetheless determined to keep him incarcerated. Nothing the judiciary has done … Read More
Even at the risk of contempt of court, I must say that the manner in which the Tamil Nadu courts have conducted proceedings against the Kanchi Shankaracharya has left millions of citizens with the feeling that justice has not been seen to be done. As this is the litmus test … Read More
