A beautiful parable for our times, courtesy Sh Anand Sharma who sent this to me in an email. Extracts follow.
*** The Importance of Small and Power of Insignificant ***
Those Hindus who have studied Ramayan or listened carefully to the particular episode of construction of Setubandh Rameshwaram, may recollect that there is one instance when the big monkeys were carrying in big stones from far away places to the site and then after getting touched by hands of Nal and Neel, arranging them to make the floating bridge.
A monkey saw a …

…of vote-bank politics, breakdown in law and order, land mafias and alienated ghettoes. Please read on…
I received this email about the Jamia Nagar encounter last weekend. It is from Shri Anant Trivedi. Sh Trivedi is an eminent and respected citizen of Delhi working mostly in areas of good governance and improving the lot of the citizens. It is important to mention that Shri Trivedi is NOT affiliated to any political party or organisation.
The email paints a bleak picture of vote-banks, breakdown in law-and-order and a fearful minority that appears helpless against increasing radicalisation. …

Excerpts from a review of Arun Shourie’s “Are we deceiving ourselves again?” by Brahma Chellaney:
…having forsaken the Kautilyan principles, has proven no match to China’s Sun Tzu-style statecraft. From Nehru’s grudging acceptance of Chinese suzerainty to Atal Behari Vajpayee’s blithe acceptance of full Chinese sovereignty, India has incrementally shed its main card — Tibet.
…it wasn’t geography but guns — the sudden occupation of the traditional buffer, Tibet, soon after the communists seized power in Beijing — that made China India’s neighbour.
…Shourie’s well-researched, powerfully written book relies on Nehru’s letters, speeches, …

Some of you may have picked up the news on Friday that US has (once again) included China in its list of  ”Countries of Particular Concern” (CPCs) mentioned in the International Religious Freedom’s annual report*.  The report lists countries and regimes who restrict or suppress religious freedom..The worst violators are mentioned as “Countries of Particular Concern”.
China has been on this list since at least 2005 (possibly earlier) and was first included in 1999.
Against this backdrop, read how China treats its religious minorities in these excerpts from Ramadan Curbs Imposed in China:
…Local governments …