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 …

I first became aware of Mata Gujri after reading a poem by my friend Gurmeet which she shared on Facebook. The poem was a tribute to Mata Gujri-ji on the occassion of Mothers’ Day. It was enough to spark my curiousity. I decided to find out more…and was not disappointed. Here – in excerpts – is the extraordinary story of Mata Gujri Ji, from the almost forgotten pages of Indian History.
In a talk Gurmeet delivered in 2004, she called Mata Gujri a  perfect woman,a “Puran Istree“.
The word “Stree” originates …

OR how the politics of subsidies kills the spirit of entrepreneurship…
From NextBillion, comes this story by Rishabh Kaul of an extra-ordinary innovation that is being threatened by the politics of subsidies.
…Last month, the Indian Newspapers were all ablaze with stories of Indian Government rolling out a massive national scheme under which they will provide the women in rural areas with sanitary napkins. While the exact details are unclear, women below the poverty line will be provided with the napkins free of charge where as the rest of the rural women …

Sh Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party, quoted below in DNA):

I don’t like to say this, but they* would be the women at whom youths would whistle…

*women belonging to families of industrialists and bureaucrats who might benefit from the WRB.
The problem Mulayam Singh-ji is, it does not stop at a whistle.
It sometimes ends up like this: “We saw the girl and the boy…and we forced ourselves in”
Sad, but true.
Can you do something about that please?
A good start might be to ask all your followers and party-workers to not …

Based upon the euphoric outpourings of the Indian media, all Indian women are supposedly thrilled about the Women’s Reservation Bill. It provides a historic opportunity to the women of India etc etc.
I am truly puzzled as to where the Delhi media has drawn these conclusions from. My female friends circle does not reflect these views and neither do the rural/poor women we have interacted with.
By way of background, I am of the female gender. I went to some of the elite educational institutions in India “not on quota” and have …

Some of you may have already read the story of a recent, extraordinary judgement by the Kolkata High Court that involved the religious conversion of a minor:
Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (16th Dec) granted the anticipatory bail plea of a 26-year-old youth from Murshidabad who had been accused of kidnapping and marrying a 15-year-old girl.
Sairul Sheikh, a resident of Bakultala in Behrampore, had been accused of kidnapping and forcibly marrying Anita Roy.
A division bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Justice S P Talukdar allowed Sheikh’s plea after his lawyers …

Thanks to Sh Krishen Kak for alerting me to this extraordinary report of how Muslim women are being denied their freedoms…and the right to development by their own. Excerpts from Swaminathan S Aiyar’s  Anjumans deprive Muslim women of microcredit:
The government seeks inclusive growth and access to credit. The Sachar Committee is dismayed by the relatively low access of Muslims to bank credit. Yet, neither the government, Sachar Committee members nor intellectuals are raising an outcry against a massive drive to deny millions of Muslim women access to microcredit. This is …

Following on from Part-I last week. First in this part, excerpts from Out of the fields, behind closed doors by Tasneem Nashrulla (emphasis mine). This gives some hope.
*** Excerpts Begin ***
Like most women who prefer to visit the ladies’ room together, the women of Sakhara village in Vidarbha’s Yavatmal district also answered their nightly nature’s call in groups. Except it wasn’t for midnight banter, but for their safety.
Because right till early 2005, the ladies’ latrine in this tiny hamlet, located about 753 km north-east of Mumbai, was an open …

Here is something to jolt you out of your mid-week complacency. In a two-part series on “hygiene & sanitation in India”, I will carry excerpts from various, recent articles on this subject to highlight this commonly seen but rarely discussed challenge.
In Part I, excerpts from Jason Gale’s article that remind us on the need to grapple with some very fundamental problems first before we can aspire to be a “super-power” or say “India Shining” with some conviction.
From India Failing to Control Open Defecation Blunts Nation’s Growth” by Jason Gale, …

This post is dedicated to Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar – perhaps the greatest of any warrior queens we had in history.

Many of you must have heard about her….but unfortunately her story is largely unknown and has not got the attention it deserves.  Although her 30-year reign is widely regarded as the model for a benevolent and effective government and administration, her rule is usually a  footnote in medieval history – which is a shame considering her astounding achievements and philosohpy of governance.
Devi Ahilya was born into a Patil …

*** CAUTION: Explicit Content & Strong Words ***
This post (and poll) was prompted by an exchange of thoughts between Rohit and Incognito on the Hinduism and Homosexuality post. The comments were triggered by Mahesh’s observation viz.
The main reason sited by NAZ foundation for asking the high court to strike down the sec 377 was
1)so that gay can come out and get open access to HIV & AIDS.
2)As its a concsensual act between two adults in private place
ITS ABOUT TIME THAT ON THE BASES OF ABOVE TWO POINTS WHICH ARE VERY …

Courtesy DNA (emphasis mine)
…Four girls’ colleges affiliated to the Kanpur University — Juhari Devi Girls’ Degree College, SN Sen Degree College, DG Girls’ College and AN Degree College — have prohibited jeans, danglers, sleeveless blouses and heels on the campus…
…Girls would not be allowed to wear “objectionable” outfits like jeans, skirts and tight tops on the campus. “Such dresses attract comments… there are over 8,000 students in the college and we cannot overlook their safety. A dress code will check eve-teasing,” Jamal (Principal, DG Girls’ College) said.
Related Posts:
Please cover …

From a CNN report (May 10 ‘09):
Husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi judge said recently during a seminar on domestic violence. Arab News…reported that Judge Hamad Al-Razine said:
…if a person gives SR 1,200 [$320] to his wife and she spends 900 riyals [$240] to purchase an abaya [the black cover that women in Saudi Arabia must wear] from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment.
Saudi women’s rights activist …

*** GUEST POST by Sh RAJU MALIGER ***
In my previous article (pl. see A rebuttal to Abul Kasem – “Women in Hinduism” by R Maliger), I had refuted Abul Kasem’s derogatory views on women in Vedic culture. In this article, I would like to emphasize on how Vedas glorify Mother Goddess and women.
When we enter Hindu temples, it is a blissful scene to observe a female deity worshipped alongside a male deity. Common examples of such deities are Vishnu-Lakshmi, Radha-Krishna, and Shiva-Parvati. Vedas consider male and female of all …

Dear All: Thank you for a very engaging and educative discussion on the earlier post on Marayada Purushottam, Sita Mata, Agni Pariksha and Vaali Vadh. I have been unusually busy for the past few days and have barely had a chance to read all the comments properly. I will try and respond to them in due course.
This post was prompted specifically by Patriot’s question at comment #8 to the earlier post. In that comment, Patriot wrote:
I have not said Ram is all good or all bad – in fact, it …

Dear All: This post is a “lazy post”…i.e. a collection of comments on another post which branched off on the topic of Bhagwaan Shri Ram, Sita Mata, Agni Parikshaa, Vaali Vadh etc.
I have excerpted the comments and opened this new thread since they offer (I feel) a very good basis for a thought-provoking discussion on a highly controversial but sensitive topic …and is an issue I believe must have engaged the minds of many Hindus and Indians.
Without further ado, here is the collection of comments starting with this one by Nanda, …

Start the weekend with this write-up on Hon. Rly Minister Sh. Lalu Prasad Yadav in The American (Hat Tip: Ajay)
…move on to a thought-provoking article on Pubs and Women Empowerment by Anil Chawla
and finally, read General Vijay Oberoi’s thoughts on Death, Valour and Awards (email excerpts below)
Excerpts from all these article are below, as always.

Some of you may have come across an article on Islam-watch recently that contained several derogatory references – supposedly from vedic texts – towards women and their position in ancient Hindu society. I was first alerted to it a few weeks ago by Jagmohan.
While I was still trying to compile references and source material to refute the claims made in the article, Parama Karuna-ji introduced me to Raju Maliger who forwarded me his rebuttal to Abul Kasem.
I would put this essay by Sh Maliger in the category of *Must read*. …

Many many years ago when my hair was still mostly black, I remember reading somewhere that parallel lines are those that never meet but are identical in terms of direction (slope) etc.
As I read about incidents of the past few days, I was reminded of this definition. But first a flashback…
Clad in all-enveloping burqas, the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, or Daughters of the Nation, have sought to impose their version of Islam on the city of Srinagar. They have closed restaurants where they found unmarried couples together, smashed alcohol bottles and ordered Internet cafes …

Start this weekend by reading Kanchan Gupta on pink chaddis, double standards and pub culture.  
Then read why Ram Kumar believes offence is the best form of defense.
…and end the day with some politically correct terms to stay out of trouble, courtesy GreatBong.
Bonus: Dear Mr Muthalik by RealityCheck
Excerpts from all the articles below, as always