Dear All: I am reproducing below a brief but very interesting email exchange between Sh Yoginder Sikand and Sh Jay Vachani precipitated by a recent article in Tehelka by Sh Sikand, titled, Converted dalits get no justice. In the article, Sh Sikand has suggested that “Muslim and Christian Dalits should be given reservation just like those who embraced Sikhism and Buddhism“. This argument is not new but Sh Vachani has done a fine job of exposing the core of it – viz. caste being a sociological phenomenon…Pl read on (Thanks …

Today is ”Ganesh Chaturthi” – the auspicious day on which we celebrate the birth of  Shri Ganesh. Shri Ganesh is widely revered as the remover of obstacles (”VidhnhartA”) and is usually invoked when beginning something new (I usually begin my day with the “VakratunDa MahAkAya…” shloka, below).
वक्रतुंड महाकाय सूर्यकोटी समप्रभ:
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव, सर्व कार्येशु सर्वदा ||
vakratuNDa mahAkAya sUryakoTisamaprabha
nirvighnaM kuru me deva sarvakAryeshhu sarvadA ||

Loose Translation: O Ganapati, (the) One with a curved trunk, a large body, and a brilliance equal to millions of Suns! Please make all my …

Start your weekend with these excerpts from a conversation between Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and an IAS probationer, Shri Yuvaraj Karan in 1950, reproduced from the print edition of the monthly magazine “Secularism Combat” (thanks Jiggs).
…Shri Yuvaraj Karan, a former IAS Officer, who is also one of the escapees from Pakistan has written a book “Understanding Partition” published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. When he was at the IAS training institute in Dehradun, in the first batch IAS trainees, Jawaharlal Nehru was invited to address them. At the end of Shri …

Thanks to Sh KSV Subramanian for alerting me to this. In a comment yesterday, he asked:
Kerala government has announced writing off loans upto Rs.25,000 to converted Christians. Is this not discrimination on the basis of religion?”
I decided to dig further. Here is what I unearthed…courtesy the Budget Speech of Dr Thomas Isaac, Minister for Finance, Govt. of Kerala:
8 (iv). The penal interest and loan amounts up to Rs.25000/- in regard to loans drawn by scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and converted Christian communities from government departments, corporations and co-operatives will …

…or The Great Joke that is Indian Media – Part XI
Excerpt from  an OpEd in the Indian Express (emphasis mine)*:
This (Dalits entering a temple) could have made news 60 years ago. And even then, it would have been shocking. For the fact of Dalits entering a temple to make headlines in the 21st century only goes to show that untouchability is far from a bygone evil.
The injustice is so stark, the story makes easy telling.

When a group of Dalits had previously tried to enter the Ekambareshwarar temple in Tamil …

This post is essentially a collection of excerpts from three recent articles/reports on the Saraswati-Sindhu civilisation beginning with a list of five questions that were asked of Prof. Michael Witzel.
Many of you must be aware of the recent controversy around Prof Michael Witzel’s visit to India. I received this email/ list of questions from a google group that I am subscribed to. It is worth reproducing in full (I have taken out email addresses to protect privacy). The questions explore the issue of scholarship with particular reference to Ancient Indian …