S. B. Zaki: Arab women before and after Islam. Opening the door of pre-Islamic Arabian history

First posted June 19, 2016 “Islamic civilization developed a construct of history that labeled the pre-Islamic period the Age of Ignorance and projected Islam as the sole source of all that was civilized – and used that construct so effectively in its rewriting of history that the peoples of Middle East lost all knowledge of… Read More S. B. Zaki: Arab women before and after Islam. Opening the door of pre-Islamic Arabian history

Prophecy, not politics, may also shape America’s clash with Iran

NB: America’s religious fanatics have converted the Old Testament into a title deed; Jesus into a bloodthirsty warrior; Christianity into an instrument of the arms industry; and compassion for humanity into obscurantist nationalism and narcissism. To assist them in this endeavour, the US Supreme Court is functioning as a Catholic theocracy. In a word, religion… Read More Prophecy, not politics, may also shape America’s clash with Iran

The Derozio Affair – An Annal of Early Calcutta. By Rudrangshu Mukherjee

Hindu College was set up in Calcutta in 1817 as a pioneering institution to impart Western learning to its students. In 1831, its most outstanding teacher, Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, then only 22 years old, was compelled to resign. A look at the circumstances that forced his resignation attempts to reconstruct Derozio’s ideas and his… Read More The Derozio Affair – An Annal of Early Calcutta. By Rudrangshu Mukherjee

Jewish organizers are increasingly confronting Trump

As the administration continues to exploit antisemitism to arrest protesters and curb academic freedoms, more American Jews are saying ‘not in my name’… “As a Jewish person, I’m really appalled at the idea that they are trying to make it sound as if opposing genocide is somehow antisemitic,” said Josh Dubnau, a professor who received… Read More Jewish organizers are increasingly confronting Trump

The Forgotten Buddha: Manichaeism and Buddhist Elements in Imperial China

Siut Wai Hung Clarence Manicheanism: An Overview A map of the spread of Manichaeism (300–500). World History Atlas, Dorling Kindersly. At first glance, the sculpture residing in the Cao’an temple in Jinjiang of the Fujian province seems to be just another statue of Buddha. The stone inscription outside the shrine calls the figure Moniguangfo, or Mani, the… Read More The Forgotten Buddha: Manichaeism and Buddhist Elements in Imperial China

A wake-up call

Our democratic and secular fabric has frayed, our economic progress has stalled. The gap between China and India is now so large that the phrase, ‘Chindia’, has dropped out of circulation Ramachandra Guha India and Pakistan were born at the same time, cut from the cloth of the same Empire. They inherited a common political,… Read More A wake-up call

Brahmachari Sudhanand ji and Karan Rawat honoured with 6th Ankit Junaid social harmony award

The Ankit Junaid social harmony award for youth was started in September 2018, by Khudai Khidmatgar in memory of Hafiz Junaid and Ankit Saxena. Junaid was Killed brutally in a train two days before Eid  while Ankit, killed in Delhi for loving a girl from different faith. The fellowship and award includes a Memento, a… Read More Brahmachari Sudhanand ji and Karan Rawat honoured with 6th Ankit Junaid social harmony award