The BJP has done well to slam the US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report 2003, which dubs the party as a Hindu nationalist party and links it with militant organizations that indulge in violence against religious minorities. Pointing out that the BJP membership embraces all minority groups, spokesman VK … Read More
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee deserves hearty congratulations for his foreign policy coup in convincing Bhutan to crack down on anti-India militants operating on its soil, while simultaneously ensuring that Nepal and Myanmar prove equally inhospitable to the fleeing rebels. The swiftness with which the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) unleashed … Read More
Assam, which is still reeling under the impact of continuing illegal immigration from Bangladesh, is suffering equally from acute cultural violence in the form of a rising graph of rape and abduction of minor girls and young women by suspected ‘guests’ from this worrisome neighbour. This is an affront that … Read More
If asked to discern a common symbolism behind George Bush’s flamboyant visit to London, his furtive presence in Baghdad, and Jamaican poet Zephaniah’s spurning the Order of the British Empire (OBE), I would say they represent the death throes of the imperialistic thrust behind the White Man’s Burden. Benjamin Zephaniah’s … Read More
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage hit the nail on the head when he declared to the Al Arabiya television network that the real target of the 9 November suicide attack on the Muhaya compound in Riyadh was the Saudi royal family and monarchical system of government. Both Washington … Read More
Iraqi guerrilla strikes against American forces have escalated sharply in recent weeks, especially since the rocket attack on the Rashid Hotel where Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying, increasing both the body-bags and the political costs of war for President George Bush Jr. That there will be little respite … Read More
Concerted and continuing changes in the demography of the north-eastern states, which have already overwhelmed the indigenous population in several districts, are causing dismay and alarm among dispassionate intellectuals, ordinary citizens, and even concerned administrators. Political parties, however, have mostly turned the Nelson’s eye to the crisis brewing in several … Read More
From the time Dr. J.S. Rajput, Director, National Council for Research and Education Training (NCERT) declared, over a year ago, that all primers in all subjects would be revised and modernized, a concerted campaign of hysterical and apoplectic criticism has been mounted against the decision to update the history textbooks. … Read More
There is a growing sense of disquiet in the Hindu community in several parts of the country on the issue of state management of temples, particularly the attitude of certain regimes towards temples well endowed with lands and funds. While sharing the Hindu apprehension that this could cause closure of … Read More
According to a popular Puranic story, Shiva once emerged from deep samadhi and uttered the single word: ‘Rama.’ Surprised, Parvati asked what this meant, as she had never heard the word before. Shiva replied that this was hardly surprising, as the time had not come to bring it to the … Read More
