*** CAUTION: Not Suitable for Children and May Not be Suitable for Workplace Viewing ***
About 10 hours ago, late afternoon yesterday, Times of India published an article headlined, “Incest: Haryana’s shameful social heritage” by Sukhbir Siwach.

Most of you probably missed it…I did too…until I was alerted to it by centerofright. The article talked about disturbing incidents and reports of incest in Haryana and appeared to suggest that this practice was widespread in rural Haryana:
These are not isolated incidents: incest is reportedly a real part of life in rural Haryana
It …

Continued from Part-I. Dear All: I am opening this thread to avoid overload of comments on the previous thread. The last few comments have been reproduced here.
Please continue the discussion on this new thread. Thank you.
***
Comment by Sid:

Just to add some discussion here:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100730/jsp/frontpage/story_12749135.jsp Note the last para:
“Attacking Hindu terror works fine for us. But taking on Muslim extremism is a very sensitive issue and so we should be careful. Achuthanandan is sounding like the Bajrang Dal and the central party is backing him,” said a senior …

Dear All, it is my pleasure to publish this brilliant satire by Pankaj Saksena on William Dalrymple’s foray into international politics and foreign affairs (first published on his blog, “The Literary Falcon“). Read and share widely. ..
*** …and Dalrymple gives Kashmir to India! by Pankaj Saksena ***

It has been proved once again that violence is not the key to any solution. Guided by secular wisdom, peaceful negotiations will solve any problem.
In a brilliant intellectual coup, William Dalrymple, the brave defender of downtrodden Indian Muslims, the upholder …

There is a new kid on the block. (S)he is called “Hindutva Terror” (aka “Hindu Terror”).  Chances are you have heard the word before; Chances are you have got annoyed, perhaps just a little bit angry and moved on. Chances are you have never paused to think who – and what – is this “Hindutva Terror”? Until a few days ago, I was in the group of people who – when they heard the word – would get a little annoyed, perhaps a little angry and then move on.
हिंदी अनुवाद …

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 …

This is what I am reading this weekend.
How Bengal towns are becoming transit points for fake notes
West Bengal’s intelligence agencies have expressed concern that Pakistan-and Bangladesh-based racketeers are using the state’s Murshidabad and Malda districts as transit points to smuggle in fake notes to India.
Statistics reveal fake notes of nearly Rs 2.5 crore was seized from more than 300 people arrested over the past five years…
The arrested people revealed Murshidabad and Malda as transit points for the fake money racket.
…Chapai Nawabgunj is one of many centres in Bangladesh where …

Snapped in Bengaluru, 930pm on 13th Feb 2010. Pl. click on the image to see in full size.

The banner reads:
Sri Brahmatantra Swatantra Parakala Swamy Mutt
Homam for Students Success in Examinations
On Feb 28-2010 @ 8.00am
…
As most of you would know, a “Homam” (also referred to as Havan, Yagya, Yagna, Homa) is a ritual involving offerings into a consecrated fire.
Behind the ritual is the spirit of sacrifice and the thought of well-being of the entire society and all forms of life. “Homam” constitutes an important part of most Sanskaras in Hindu belief …

The final part of  “What is Dharma” by Harapriya. Today, can one fight a dharma yudh against adharma?
*** What is “Dharma”? – Concluding Part by K Harapriya ***

Can one fight a dharma yudh against adharma?
The Mahabharata gives a pretty clear answer —-yes, we can fight a dharmic war mostly although some acts of adharma will be committed.
This will seem like equivocation to most people because we tend to believe two prevailing myths:   one, that dharmic people should be held to much higher standards than the totally adharmic;   and two,  that …

Continuing from Part-I that appeared earlier this week. Today, lessons from the MahaBharata.
*** What is “Dharma”? – Part II by K Harapriya ***

Lessons of the Mahabharata
One epic which still holds profound lessons for us,  is the Mahabharata.  Here is an epic where a central character, Duryodhana, is an ambitious king who seeks wealth and power.  These desires, in themselves,   are the hallmark of a kshatriya and therefore befitting a king.  He, as the first born son of the first born Dhritarashtra ,  considers himself the rightful heir to Hastinapura.  Leaving …

Dear All: It is my pleasure to publish this guest post on “Dharma” by K Harapriya. I will be posting this in three parts. At the outset, I am grateful to her for a very well articulated exposition of a difficult concept. Please read and share widely. Today, a definition of “Dharma” and the role of Itihaasa in the Hindu value system (formatting and emphasis is mine).
*** What is “Dharma”? by K Harapriya ***

In the last great battle of the Kurukshetra war, Bhima is engaged in a fight to death …

This post was triggered by Vir Sanghvi’s misleading article “Ayodhya for dummies” that he wrote in response to his “younger readers…(who are) mystified by the fuss and annoyed by the refusal of journos to tell them what it (Liberhan Report) was all about”
RC has already done a masterful dissection of Vir Sanghvi’s seemingly clever play with words. So I will limit myself to a specific flippant remark made by Vir Sanghvi viz. “…Hindu kings destroyed Buddhist monasteries, more or less throwing Buddhism out of India”
Before I begin, I must stress …

Courtesy, Sridhar Pai:
The MP High Court orders government *not* to make Surya Namaskar and Pranayam mandatory for students…
…even as yoga for kids is now being taught in studios from Minnetonka, USA to Moscow in Russia.
Sigh.
.
Related Posts:
Super Brain Yoga – I want to trademark this!
High-Tech Pranayama
No more “Christian Yoga”
After Christian Yoga, Islamic Yoga*…

Just finished reading Oh, But You Do Get It Wrong! by Aditi Banerjee …a commendable analysis of Wendy Donger’s prejudices and liberties with truth. I’m reproducing excerpts below. The full article is also available for download from my Docs and Slides widget on the Links page.
*** Excerpts from “Oh, But You Do Get It Wrong!” ***
…Defamation of Critics
The introduction to the interview begins with a misleading quote:
“[Doniger] has continued to infuriate the Hindutva brigade with her unorthodox views on Hinduism and its sacred texts, earning for herself the epithet: “crude, …

Dear All: I’m opening a new thread on “Why are Christian Missionaries Targeting India” – Part V (Part IV is overloaded with 100+ comments).
Pl. discuss all aspects related to conversions, missionary activity, distortions and mis-interpretations of scriptures and sacred stories by Christian media on this thread.
To kick off the discussion, here is an observation that I posted on twitter just now:
Here’s how you include Jesus & avoid ShriRam in a news-story on Diwali.
I wonder if this inspired the image & shloka (note the words “Sanskrit” instead of “Vedic”?
Is this another …

To all my readers I owe a big apology. I have long been promising a definition of the word “Dharma” – a word that crops up every now and then in many discussions on this blog – and is also the part of my blog’s sub-title. But as I started to write this post, I realised that this should actually have been one of my first posts, if not the first. Anyways, better late than never.
As I began to do some background reading on this subject, I realised that it …

Start this weekend with a light-hearted take on how to get rid of weekend blues, written by a good friend and an ex-colleague.
Next, read Rana Dasgupta’s brilliant take on “Delhi culture” (Hat Tip: Sanjay)
Move on to R Vaidyanathan – writing about the secular assault on the sacred in the context of Kanchi Shankaracharya’s arrest a few years ago..
And finally, read a fascinating study into why we tend to believe everything we read.
Excerpts from all the links below, as always.

Thanks to Sh Ashok Chowgule-ji for alerting me to this excerpt from an interview of Prof Amartya Sen in a recent issue of Outlook (emphasis added):
Question: In your new book, The Idea of Justice, you speak a lot about the difference between niti (institutional justice) and nyaya (realised justice). Do you think we have too much niti in India and too little nyaya?
Prof Amrtya Sen: The short answer is yes. Niti has huge appeal and this applies to the great as well as to the non-great. In the Bhagavad …

I am not a big fan of Ashis Nandy but I found this article thought-provoking. Excerpts from “Unclaimed Baggage Part I and Part II” (emphasis mine):
*** “Unclaimed Baggage” Excerpts Begin ***
…Today, we seem to be back to square one. There are some remarkable similarities between the Partition massacres of 1946-48 and the Gujarat riots. This is a wrong context in which to examine the vicissitudes of the Indian experiment with secularism.
…First of all, I must nervously proclaim that I have nothing to do with the decline of Indian secularism. I …

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 …