Start your weekend with this fascinating mea-culpa: “We are biased, admit the stars of BBC News“. Brief Excerpt:
…It was the day that a host of BBC executives and star presenters admitted what critics have been telling them for years: the BBC is dominated by trendy, Left-leaning liberals who are biased against Christianity and in favour of multiculturalism.
A leaked account of an ‘impartiality summit’ called by BBC chairman Michael Grade, is certain to lead to a new row about the BBC and its reporting on key issues, especially concerning Muslims and …

This post has been a long time coming. It was triggered by an article on Sanjeev’s blog lambasting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Being familiar with Sanjeev’s writing and his capacity for research and analysis, I was looking for something thought-provoking.
I was not disappointed.
In his long critique of the Sangh, Sanjeev makes the case against RSS through a series of points. Last week, I finally managed to read the 20-pg document. This post is an attempt at responding to some of the criticisms levelled by Sanjeev against the Rashtriya …

Thanks to Krishen-ji for alerting me to this article by Dr Arvind Sharma. The essay examines (in Krishen-ji’s words)
How authoritative really was Manu, and was his a contested text? Was the Manusmriti prescriptive of what he believed should be or descriptive of how society really was, or both?
In any case, what the article conclusively demonstrates is that “caste” as it is used in sociopolitical discourse today does not go back 3000 years as conventionally claimed, but is relatively recent.”  (emphasis mine)
Excerpts from “What Was Manu Up To?“
I should begin by clarifying that …

….and a deja-vu moment.
Courtesy Sridhar, this news-item from earlier today: Karuna does it again, flays Hindus for sporting tilaks
Flaying the Hindu practice of smearing ash or saffron or sporting a ’tilak’ on the forehead for yet another time, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi questioned the need for ‘such things in a country which preached equality of all religions’. 
which reminded me of Don’t wear a “tilak” to work ! …
…and of Mark Tully’s memorable quote:
Secular fundamentalism is alive and kicking in India too. 
Next target, Sanskrit? 
P.S. I doubt that Thiru Karunanidhi needs …

I received this email yesterday and could not stop before reading it right through to the end…It is a long read…quite a long read, in fact.  And it is seriously thought-provoking.  Below, excerpts from a speech delivered by Sh. Gurumurthy at IIT Chennai in 2003 which – although five years old – still retains its and relevance and punch.  This is a *must read*.
*** Excerpts from “The Intellectual Scene in Post-Independence India“ by Sh Gurumurthy ***
A critical review of strengths and weaknesses
… Defeat and anger go together. Abuse and defeat go together. So, it is in this …

Great article by Tarun Vijay in today’s TOI: Reclaiming India.
*** Excerpts below (emphasis mine) ***
“None should say Omar is not allowed in Jammu. Let him come, listen and speak. Like any other Indian should feel free to visit Kashmir or any other part of the nation. He is welcome to visit my home even if he denies me a piece of land in Kashmir. Why should a few words uttered by him make me change my Indian-ness? If he spoke in Parliament as a Muslim, asserting his Islamic identity, let …

Amidst the outpouring of years of pent-up anger in Jammu, I came across this vivid, very sad and intensely poignant first-hand account of living in the shadow of terror and the forced migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley… Please read and circulate widely…
*** Cry of the Valley ***
A cold winter night has fallen outside and the power cut makes it all the more gloomy inside. Huddled together in the warmth of blankets and a kerosene lamp we just sit silently watching each others expressions. I am too young a kid to …

…or has he relied on some half-baked research presented to him as a backgrounder?
I was alerted today to this excellent analysis of ”Rama Setu in Padma PurANa” by Sh Sarvesh Tiwari.  I sincerely hope that Sh Nariman reads this…although I am not very hopeful.
Regardless, the lie about BhagwAn Shri RAm “destroying” the Rama Setu needs to be nailed…(remember, a lie told often enough will become the truth etc…?)
But do you think any of the mainstream media (or the TV anchors) are going to take notice of this? I bet not.
*** Excerpts Begin …

This is�how an otherwise straightforward news-story gets distorted in reporting:
From rediff, “Do TV serials promote the Hindu way of life?“��
“…The Afghanistan government has banned Indian television serials because they feel it wrongly influences their culture and traditions.
In their words: ‘Indian serials are un-Islamic.’
Most Indian serials are about traditional North Indian families, and tend to celebrate Hindu festivals with more gusto than any other festival.
Do you think Indian telly soaps promote the Hindu way of life? Was the Afghan government right in banning them?”
As a commentator has noted on the rediff …

Some of you probably read�20,000 Christians threaten to revert to Hinduism�but today I came across 12 Lakh Vanniya Christians �contemplating� reverting to Hinduism�(by A.V. Ragunathan):���
VILLUPURAM: Over 12 lakh Vanniya Christians in Tamil Nadu will revert to Hinduism if they do not get a fair deal from the church.
The church, that has not taken any worthwhile measures to abolish caste discrimination, should not put the blame on the Vanniya Christians for creating divisions within the flock, C. Arokkiadas, founder of the Vanniya Christhava Sangham, told The?Hindu.
The Christians were verily divided …

Fellow blogger Pastorius posted this great piece over at the Infidel Blogger’s Alliance. It touches on euphemisms and “media labels” regarding Asians, something�on which I have commented before.
Excerpt:
“…There is a group of people in Britain who have distinguished themselves by setting off bombs in subways, preaching hatred of Infidels in Mosques, and carrying placards in the streets calling for a “real Holocaust” against Jews.
The media calls these people “Asians”.
In other words, the media uses a racial classification to name a group of people who are
1) driven by ideology, not race
and
2) …

I have never been an�avid�reader of Panchjanya but started admiring Shri Tarun Vijay�after reading some of his articles in the last few months (e.g. see here).
As some of you may know, he has recently resigned as editor of the weekly to head up BJP’s think tank…Here are excerpts on how he felt making the transition…It makes some important points about dialogue, ideology and the need to separate personalities from “issues” (Anirban: Thanks for alerting me to this)
Excerpts from “The blessed path” by Tarun Vijay
…Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not only my …

Extracts from a BBC news story:
“…Dr Nazir Ali, the bishop of Rochester…in a separate interview with the BBC…said
“Britishness” had to be recovered if it was to “have the identity to face another highly organised ideology, perhaps for the first time since the disappearance of Marxism”.
He said the government’s approach to multiculturalism was wrong, adding: ” I think an affirmation of the Christian roots of British society would actually provide a better way of affirming other people than the sort of secular all-faiths-are-the-same kind of route.
“Because the secular approach …

Extracts from Shri B Raman’a article in the recent edition of Outlook (Dec 24 ‘07), “The Secular Hypocrisy“:
***
…The pathological dislike–even hatred–that some of our journalists–particularly in the electronic media–have for Modi could� be seen or sensed as one watched the TV coverage of the counting of votes on December 23, 2007. Initially, as it appeared that the BJP� might� not do well in the final tally, there was excitement among many of the TV anchors. They thought they had tasted� blood. After an hour, the BJP candidates started racing ahead …

Came across this gratuitous reference in a�recent ANI story about an Indian American in Britain who has filed 40 cases of racial discrimination with employment tribunals in Britain.
The news-item had this “nugget” towards the end of the report:
Deman, who is married and from a Hindu background, is a U.S. citizen and describes himself as Indian-American. �
Notice the “H-word”?
What has his being “a Hindu” got to do with this report and his lawsuits? As far as I could understand, none of his lawsuits were based on religious grounds;�I wonder what was …

A few days ago I came across this piece by Kishore Asthana which makes a number of important points that form the backdrop to Godhra.
I am reproducing some excerpts below but I would encourage you to read the article in full: Tehelka�s Gujarat Expose and the Deeper Truth
Excerpts (emphasis mine):
“……Look at the progression. Arguments with tea vendors and rumours of kidnapping lead a Muslim mob to burn 60 people alive. The burning of 60 Hindu pilgrims results in carnage all over the state. It is a case of a petty …

First from Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, “150-year dream for 150-year old ships”
Excerpts:
“…Dreams are costless, but canals are not. Project documents claim that the canal will save ships 36 hours of time and 570 nautical miles of distance.
But a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly exposes these claims as highly exaggerated. Up to 70% of the traffic through the canal is projected to come from Europe and Africa. And John estimates that the time saving from Europe to Kolkata will be only eight hours, and the distance …

An alert (and loyal) reader pointed this story to me: Zara withdraws swastika handbags.
From the BBC website:
The fashion chain Zara has withdrawn a handbag from its stores after a customer pointed out that the design featured swastikas…
A customer who returned the bag to the shop when she noticed the symbol said staff had been “shocked” to see it.
As well as being the Nazi symbol, the swastika is also a religious symbol for Hindus and Buddhists.
…Rachel Hatton, said, “I was quite shocked – I took it back to the shop.” …

Most of you must have read about the “tilak” controversy in Bihar�from a few days ago.
Yesterday, an alert reader sent me this snippet from�thelondonpaper*:
A Heathrow worker was today fighting to win back her job after being sacked for wearing a nose stud.
Amrit Lalji, 40, worked at the airport for more than a year – wearing the tiny stud – and said she wore it as part of her Hindu religion.
Lalji, a customer relations worker in Terminal 1, refused to remove it after being told this summer that jewellery was not …

Most of you must have already read about the clumsy handling of the SethuSamudram affidavit by UPA last week.
But this�particular post on the issue caught my eye. In “The Ramayana, the Sethusamudram and Indian Archeology“, Cynical Nerd examines�the real intent and motives behind the moves by UPA and ASI.�Some excerpts from this superb critique:
EXCERPTS� (emphasis mine):
“…The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), under instruction from the political leadership in New Delhi, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court yesterday claiming that there was no historical evidence that Rama or other individuals …