Ram, the crown prince of Ayodhya, was born in Chaitra, the first month in the lunar Hindu new year. Ever since, chaiti songs have Ram’s name woven into them. His mother’s lament still resounds all over the Indo-Gangetic plains in popular chaitis: “Kin more Awadh ujaari ho, bilkhain Kaushalya/ Ram bina mori sooni Ayodhya, /… Read More Mrinal Pande: A land where no one speaks truth to power
Five former chiefs of the armed forces and a number of other prominent citizens including bureaucrats have written a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the recent incidents of hate speeches and urged them to take appropriate measures. In a letter, the group of over 100 people also referred to the communal comments made at… Read More Citizens, armed forces veterans write to President, PM Modi on hate speech / Aditi Mittal: Deafening silence in a year of hate speech
The modern world has been animated by two important impulses. The first is a drive to a mastery over nature, where we can remake and engineer the natural world, this planet and even our bodies, to serve human desire and imagination. Nature, in this view, is not a binding constraint but an obstacle to be… Read More P. B. Mehta: Can 2022 be a year of cooperation?
काशी विश्वनाथ मंदिर के महंत ने मोदी, योगी पर लगाया बड़ा आरोप, सुनकर रह जाएंगे हैरान! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29cV_cz7RIk पंकज श्रीवास्तव से टकराई रिपोर्टर, फिर जो हुआ वो खुद देख लीजिए हमसे ऐसे जुड़ें – FORUM4: http://forum4.co.in/ यूट्यूब लिंक: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN5y… इंस्टाग्राम: https://www.instagram.com/forum4_news/ ट्विटर: https://twitter.com/Forum413?s=09 और फेसबुक: https://www.facebook.com/forum4.news/ (लगातार खबरों के अपडेट पाने व मनोरंजन के लिए और… Read More काशी विश्वनाथ मंदिर के महंत ने मोदी, योगी पर लगाया बड़ा आरोप, सुनकर रह जाएंगे हैरान!
Festive celebrations were disrupted, Jesus statues were smashed and effigies of Santa Claus were burned in a spate of attacks on India’s Christian community over Christmas.Amid growing intolerance and violence against India’s Christian minority, who make up about 2% of India’s population, several Christmas events were targeted by Hindu right wing groups, who alleged Christians… Read More Hannah Ellis-Petersen: Statue smashed in spate of attacks on India’s Christian community / Sunita Viswanath: How do we break the cycle of religious violence in South Asia? / Mukul Kesavan – Magic and mayhem: The death cult at Haridwar
A suggestion by the Allahabad High Court that elections in Uttar Pradesh should be postponed has given life to rumours that this may be a real possibility. No less than the BJP’s maverick Rajya Sabha MP, Subramanian Swamy, considered close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has tweeted, “Don’t be surprised by a Lockdown for Omicron and… Read More Bharat Bhushan: A madcap bail order and rumours of UP poll deferral
Modi’s repeated citing of the IAF’s strike on Balakot Pakistan and asking for votes in the name of the Indian soldier did not invite any rebuke from the ECI. Nor did it reprimand him for announcing India’s first anti-Satellite weapon test during the campaign period. It also permitted NAMO TV to launch without a licence… Read More Bharat Bhushan – Save the Election Commission: Common electoral roll can wait
Some links to select recent articles, discussions and interviews: Article explaining Cryptos and why they are not like cash. In the Wire on Dec 17 at: https://thewire.in/tech/shedding-a-bit-of-light-on-cryptos-what-are-they Article explaining that Crypto Promoters are the Very Rich and the Libertarian argument for Cryptos is not correct. H W News on Dec 14 https://hwnews.in/business-finance/crypto-promoters-are-the-very-rich/176991 “Shadows of the Pandemic: What… Read More Arun Kumar: Articles and discussions on Cryptos, Farmers, GDP and the unorganized, Omicron, Toxic Development and Demonetization 5 years later
NB: This is a thoughtful article. The author reminds us that good and evil, better and worse, cruelty and kindness, decency and barbarity co-exist in all cultures, and all communities, religious or otherwise. In brief, these qualities are part of what it means to be human; and they cut across the boundaries of time, place… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The limits of the Hindu vs Hindutvavadi debate
The UP election, political pundits tell us, will impact the re-election chances of Prime Minister Modi in 2024. Is this why the prime minister finds himself in the state almost every week? Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the Rs. 700 crore Kashi-Vishwanath Temple Corridor Project by carrying a container of “Ganga-jal” from Lalita… Read More Bharat Bhushan: BJP up to old tricks in UP as assembly elections approach / Arvind Kala: Nobody's converting Hindus to Islam & Christianity
After the truth-shower 