Start your weekend with this great post by Kislay Chandra on Riots and “Firaaq“.
Next, read TVR Shenoy on Why Varun and why not Geelani? but more importantly - think about this question that he raises in the article:
Are the likes of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mullah Sufi Muhammad correct in holding that Islam and electoral democracy stand at two ends of the spectrum? And if they are wrong — as I hope they are — where are the Muslim leaders that are telling them off?
Here is an unusual post on how Twitter can make …

This post was prompted by a question posed by Suresh in an email to me a few weeks ago. Suresh wrote:
I think Arun Gawali is a CONVICTED criminal, albeit he has possibly an appeal in process. Are such criminals permitted to contest elections in  India?
…grateful for explanation.
Suresh’s email had a link to this news-report: Arun Gawli to contest LS polls from North Central Mumbai
Now, as far as I know, the law relating to criminals standing for elections is clear. No “convicted” criminal can contest an election [I believe this is …

For the past several months, I have been thinking of digging up some old articles from this blog on the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi issue.
Then, this not-so-widely-reported news from last week finally forced me into action (Hat Tip: Sanjay)
From The Telepgraph story titled, Azad brother for Ram temple (the bit that caught my attention is in bold):
Srinagar, April 12: Top Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s younger brother today announced his entry into the BJP with support to the Ram temple. Ghulam Ali had joined the BJP some days ago allegedly after …

I first read this post by Rajiv Malhotra many many months ago but somehow never got around to making excerpts and publishing them on this blog…Late today afternoon, something else reminded me of it…I finally dug it out of my archives…and I am glad that I did…
From the very readable The Westernized side of my background by Rajiv Malhotra:
*** Excerpts Begin ***
Since this matter keeps getting raised by some very narrow-minded Hindus in the middle of any and every kind of column, here is what I have to say:
My upbringing in family, …

*** Say NO to “None of the Above” idea by Barun Mitra ***
(Emphasis Added)
In the aftermath of the terrorist strike in Mumbai on 26/11/2008, many people expressed their anger and frustration at the political leadership. An idea that has gained new currency has been the decade-old proposal to introduce a negative option in the ballot – “None of the Above”, or simply the ‘No Vote’, to express our lack of confidence in politicians as such. Even the Supreme Court has called for a larger bench to decide on a recent …

*** UPDATED ***
One article and one post…both pointing to an alarming trend of increasing radicalisation in south India. I would really value opinions and thoughts from those in the region or familiar with it.
If what is mentioned in these two articles/reports is even half-true, we should be seriously worried about these developments.
Unfortunately, this topic is off the national agenda…and besides, as long as we have “peace and tranquility” under the UPA regime, who really cares?
First, some excerpts from “Is talibanised South the Swat Valley of India?” by Sh …