Thanks to Sh Krishen Kak for sharing this remarkable piece (actually from an anthology) by Air Marshal SG Inamdar, PVSM, VSM on “Kautilya to Chandragupta on the Mauryan Soldier“. As Air Marshal Inamdar notes, “It is truly amazing how those observations continue to be so completely relevant today, even after 2000 years.” I am reproducing it in full below with emphasis added:
The Mauryan soldier does not himself the Royal treasuries enrich nor does he the Royal granaries fill.
He does not himself carry out trade and commerce nor produce scholars, thinkers, …

Courtesy an article by Ronen Bergman, titled “Gilad Shalit and the Rising Price of an Israeli Life“ from the New York Times last week, please read these excerpts that deal with Israel’s stance in hostage situations since the time of Entebbe – which was memorably captured in a book and later a film too (emphasis added):
…During the secret discussions prior to the Entebbe operation, Rabin, who agreed to the mission after much persuasion by intelligence and ministry planners, effectively established the principle that is still followed by all Israeli leaders facing hostage situations: …

…with grateful thanks to Joseph Sobran. Excerpts from “Teach Your Children Well” (emphasis added):
“Because I write about politics, people are forever asking me the best way to teach children how our system of government works. I tell them that they can give their own children a basic civics course right in their own homes.
In my own experience as a father, I have discovered several simple devices that can illustrate to a child’s mind the principles on which the modern state deals with its citizens. You may find them helpful, …

I stumbled on this article by Karti Chidambaram – identified simply as an AICC Member – more widely known as P Chidambaram’s son, earlier today and could not stop myself from responding. In the piece, titled “Elections and the art of giving“, Karti makes some outrageous statements – which – at best reflect an amazing lack of understanding of basic economics and at worst, are a pitiable attempt at justifying cash-for-votes that is now considered “routine“ in Tamil Nadu.
Karti starts off by saying that the..
..word “sop” itself is used crudely. It …

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 …

From George Friedman at Stratfor, comes this thought-provoking excerpt on “Germany and the Failure of Multiculturalism” (emphasis added):
German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared at an Oct. 16 meeting of young members of her party, the Christian Democratic Union, that multiculturalism, or Multikulti, as the Germans put it, “has failed totally.” Horst Seehofer, minister-president of Bavaria and the chairman of a sister party to the Christian Democrats, said at the same meeting that the two parties were “committed to a dominant German culture and opposed to a multicultural one.”
…The statements were …

Several months ago, while idly surfing the web, I stumbled on a somewhat oddly titled monograph*. It read: “Passage to Hindu State: DharmaRajya and RajaDharma” – A Socio-Political Study of the Mahabharata”
It was a serendipitious discovery. I can hardly claim to be an authority on ancient history or the socio-political traditions of the Vedic period but I feel that Dr Nagarajan‘s work deserves serious study – and wider dissemination.  The main focus of his research has been to develop a socio-political constitution for this sub-continent from the point of view …

Reading Paul Karl Lucaks extraordinary story:
“Why were you in China?” asked the passport control officer, a woman with the appearance and disposition of a prison matron.

“None of your business,” I said.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
“I’m not going to be interrogated as a pre-condition of re-entering my own country,” I said.
This did not go over well.
…She picked up the phone and told someone I “was refusing to cooperate at all.” This was incorrect. I had presented her with proof of citizenship (a U.S. passport) and had moved the …

George Friedman explains it well…From Geopolitics, Nationalism and Dual Citizenship (emphasis added)
In looking at the nation-state, the idea of nation is more complex, and perhaps more interesting, than that of state.
The idea of nation is not always clear. At root, a nation is a group of people who share a fate, and with that fate, an identity. Nations can be consciously created, as the United States was. Nations can exist for hundreds or thousands of years, as seen in parts of Europe or Asia. However long a nation exists and …

A powerful and thought-provoking excerpt from “A World Split Apart” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn‘s Commencement Address delivered at Harvard University in 1978 (Hat Tip: Palahalli; emphasis mine):
Pl substitute “India” for “West”
A Decline In Courage
A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage, both as a whole and separately, in each country, in each government, in each political party, and, of course, in the United Nations. Such a decline in courage is particularly noticeable …