I woke up this morning to this statement by David Cameron, Prime Minister of Great Britain. Speaking at a conference in Germany, he said (emphasis added):
Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism

He went on to say:
Let’s properly judge these organisations: Do they believe in universal human rights – including for women and people of other faiths? Do they believe in equality of all before the law? Do they believe in democracy and the right of people to elect their …

Dear All, some of you – particularly those from Kerala and/or familiar with Sabarimala Devasthanam – may have read about the recent controversy surrounding the Makara Jyothi (that surfaced in the aftermath of the tragic stampede a few days back).  Below are some excerpts from an email by Rajesh Pillai in response to a particularly gratuitous article that appeared in the Kerala press a few days back (unfortunately I dont have a translation; the original in Malayalam can be read at this link). Rajesh’s response was triggered by an email …

In the context of recent happenings in the Kashmir valley and the debate in blogosphere on nationalism, identity and history, please read these extracts from “People are the Nation“ by Sh M G Vaidya (emphasis added):
…My question: what was newly created on 15August 1947? A new ‘State’ or a new ‘Nation’?…So, then, what is a ‘nation’?
I quote French thinker Ernest Renan: ‘It is not soil any more than the race which makes a nation…A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things which are really only one go to …