A few weeks ago, my attention was drawn to a discussion on Guardian UK’s website regarding  the new British Govt’s policy towards aid. I was prompted to join the debate due to a particular reference to the “Universities” established by the British in India – ahead of any other Asian country (pl see comments at the bottom of the page). While this was true from a narrow perspective of contemporary history, India – as we know – has had an ancient tradition of institutes and “Gurukuls” of higher learning. Below …

Extracts from a thought-provoking interview of Pavan Varma by Kanchan Gupta: (emphasis added):
…“Those who have never been colonised can never really know what it does to the psyche of a people. Those who have been are often not fully aware of — or are unwilling to accept — the degree to which they have been compromised,” he writes in this book. That, in a sense, is the theme of Becoming Indian.
Pavan K Varma:…I must confess I profess a fair degree of anguish at our low threshold of satisfaction and self-congratulation. …

…the ones who ought to be remembered today.
*** 79 years ago on this date ***
BHAGAT SINGH, RAJGURU AND SUKHDEV EXECUTED
NO “LAST INTERVIEW” WITH RELATIONS
DEAD BODIES SECRETLY DISPOSED OF

Front Page of the Lahore Tribue, March 1931 (Thanks Amitabh).

All photographs courtesy (and copyright) ShahidBhagatSingh.org
Oh, today also happens to be the 70th anniversary of the infamous Lahore Declaration that put paid to any hopes of a united independent India. 16 years after that resolution, Pakistan declared itself the world’s first Islamic Republic. Some of you may know that Lahore traces its name …

Yesterday morning, while reading Jamiat has undone its past good work by Javed Ansari, I got stuck at the very first sentence:
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind is one of countless organisations that claim to represent Muslims in India. However, unlike most others, the Jamiat stands out because of its track record. It was at the forefront of the freedom movement and vehemently opposed the country’s partition
This was not a *new* statement. Hon Sh Chidambaram had said something similar at Deoband last week:
The Home Minister lauded the role played by Jamiat during …

From Chapter 6, “Eclipse of the Hindu Nation” by Radha Rajan:
…The mind-games that Gandhi thought he was playing brilliantly with Jinnah and the British eventually boomeranged on the nation. Jinnah felt betrayed by Gandhi and the Viceroy when the League was not invited to form the interim government on its own as per Clause 8 of the statement of June 16 and the Muslim League rejected the Cabinet Mission proposals in toto making the threat of a violent eruption by the League very real. But contrary to what the …

Here is something to think about during the weekend: A stunning video from Dr HansRosling that looks at how the last 200 years changed the world.
Have a look…(it is about 5 mins long)

[ link ]
The interactive animations and corresponding documentation are freely available at GapMinder.
Two interesting (and important, I think) points:
1] Almost all of India’s growth has happened post independence (post 1940 – as you will notice from this chart – that also offers a fascinating perspective to compare different countries).
2] Although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest …

From a speech by Janab R.M. Sayani on the occasion of his Presidential Address at the 12th Session of the Indian National Congress in 1896. Source: History and Culture of the Indian People, edited by R.C. Majumdar, Volume XI, The Struggle for Freedom, Bombay, 1981, pp. 296-97.) Referenced by Virendra Parekh (emphasis mine):

Before the advent of the British in India, the Musalmans were the rulers of the country. The Musalmans had therefore all the advantages appertaining to it as the ruling class. The sovereigns and the chiefs …

This chapter focuses on Gandhi’s Satyagraha.  In this excerpt, Dr Radha Rajan examines Gandhi’s Satyagraha and its (flawed) philosophical basis.
Excerpt from Eclipse of the Hindu Nation, Chapter 2 – Deconstructing Gandhian Satyagraha
The non-truth of Satyagraha
Gandhi’s Satyagraha has no precedent in Hindu tradition or history as a weapon in any war to re-establish dharma. We have to agree with Gandhi that Satyagraha is not for the weak; but it was a method which only individuals or small, homogenous groups could practice when confronting a more powerful enemy. What is more, this …

…who was hanged on this day at 0900hrs GMT in London in the year 1909 at the tender age of 26.
Dhingra was no ordinary criminal.
He belonged to a distinguished family from Amritsar.
His father, Ditta Mal, retired as a government civil surgeon and had 21 houses in Katra Sher Singh and six bungalows on G.T. Road….He held the title of Rai Saheb, given by the British government.
…He had seven sons and a daughter. Three of his sons were trained medical doctors and three were barristers-bar at law. [ link ]
On July …

How to be on Time courtesy Guy Kawasaki
Secret files on Veer Savarkar and others kept in London
Transcript of the Dec 4 Discussion on Mumbai Attacks over at the CounterTerrorism Panel
Did Jesus really say to Love Your Enemies? courtesy Andrew Sullivan
The discussion on INS Arihant over at Bharat-Rakshak.com forums.
All the past weekend posts here.
Stay Healthy, Stay Safe. Enjoy the weekend.

In this chapter, Dr Radha Rajan refers to Hindu tradition of statecraft and makes the distinction and connection between Hindu rashtra and Hindu rajya – the Hindu nation and the Hindu state.
This chapter deals with the rise of Hindu nationalism, the decimation of the nationalists and – tragically – the rise and retreat of Aurobindo creating the space in the INC for Gandhi.
*** Excerpt from “Eclipse of the Hindu Nation” – Chapter 1 ***
Armed resistance and British response
‘Jugantar’, a revolutionary off-shoot of the Anusilan Samiti and one of the earliest …

Some excerpts from Dr. Subramanian Swamy’s valedictory speech on January 11 at the International Conference on Indian History, Civilisation and Geopolitics 2009 (ICIH-2009) at New Delhi’s India International Centre, titled, “Defalsify India’s history as a first step in national renaissance“. It contains a very interesting account of how some critical dates  – based on which ancient Indian History has been re-constructed – may themselves be inaccurate and wrong. Read on.
*** Excerpts Begin ***
Introduction
…Hindustan represents the continuing history of culture of Hindus. One’s religion may change, but culture does not. Thus, …

A hurried post from the middle of my travels. Pl. use this thread to post your comments and thoughts on the matter of homosexuality, Section 377, the recent judgement of the Delhi High Court, Homosexuality and religion etc.
Thanks to Sanjay for alerting me to this article.
*** CAUTION: Explicit Content ***
Homosexuality and Religion
An Encyclopedia – (ed.) J. Siker, Greenwood Press, 2007.
HINDUISM. Hinduism is the world’s oldest living religion, and Hindus constitute about one-sixth of the world’s population today. Hindu communities foster a wide range of philosophy and practice, and …

I was alerted to this by a reader…quite remarkable:
Sushruta lays down the basic principles of plastic surgery by advocating a proper physiotherapy before the operation and describes various methods or different types of defects, viz., (1) release of the skin for covering small defects, (2) rotation of the flaps to make up for the partial loss and (3) pedicle flaps for covering complete loss of skin from an area. He has mentioned various methods including sliding graft, rotation graft and pedicle graft. Nasal repair or rhinoplasty has been described in …

Dear All: Over the next few weeks, I will be publishing excerpts from a new book by Dr Radha Rajan titled, “Eclipse of the Hindu Nation“.
The first excerpt from the Introduction, below:
*** Excerpt from “Eclipse of the Hindu Nation” – Introduction ***
Historically, the sense of nation and nationhood among Hindus has been cultural and civilisational. The culture and its unique value system, founded in an extraordinary concept of dharma, touched every aspect of individual and collective life. Politics, a means to protect and preserve dharma, was subordinate to dharma. Historically, …

Excerpts from an intensely thought-provoking essay written by Rajiv Malhotra more than 8 years ago but still fresh in its relevance to the present context.

*** Excerpts from “Language Hegemony and the Construction of Identity” ***

The Importance of Marketing:
For most industries, packaging and distribution are more critical than production, and those in control of distribution often end up controlling production as well….A dominant distributor eventually uses its power to also control development and production. This pattern has also been true of Indian ideas and heritage that went into Western civilization via …

Start the weekend with this Tehelka story that tries to explain why the British thought Pakistan would be a more robust democracy than India (the article was written before the results were announced).
Next, a first-hand account of a visit to a part of India where Mao-spouting armed rebels are the law…(Sudip Mazumdar – who wrote this – is also the author of the article mentioned in comment #72 here)
A thought-provoking Op-Ed piece from the New York Times on how your willingness (or not) to slap your father in the …

Many of you must have read a report in The Hindu from a few weeks ago by unnamed “Eminent Historians” titled, “From ‘India Shining’ to ‘India was Shining’“. The report (dt. 3rd May) appeared to be an amateurish attempt at trashing some of the claims made in the BJP’s manifesto regarding India’s past and heritage.
It had excerpts from the BJP’s manifesto and brief counter-points dismissing the claims and assertions. Curiously – in spite of being authored by “Eminent Historians” – it was surprisingly light on references and historical sources.
Dr. …

Or… Part II of On John Howard, LPG Cylinders and Hoax Emails 
Many of you must have come across a chain email* (pl. see below) on the internet on the issue of Jana Gana Mana and whether it was written in praise of George V. While I was discussing this with Dipinder a few weeks ago, he mentioned some reading he had done on this in the past.
I requested him to write a guest post on this topic to clear the air…which he did. Read on. 
*** “Jana Gana Mana” vs. “Vande Mataram” …

Lord Curzon, the late Viceroy of India, in an address delivered at the Delhi Durbar in 1901:
Powerful Empires existed and flourished here [in India] while Englishmen were still wandering painted in the woods, and while the British Colonies were a wilderness and a jungle.
India has left a deeper mark upon the history, the philosophy, and the religion of mankind, than any other terrestrial unit in the universe. [ link ]
Related Posts:
The Myth of a Benevolent “Raj” 
India in the 1820s
Loot – in search of East India Co. (excerpts) 
Clearing the dust off …