Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Hindu Dharma, Islam & Terrorism, LeT, SIMI etc., Politics of Minority Appeasement, Terrorism in India »

[28 Dec 2010 | 15 Comments | 701 views]
Why equating radical Islam with “Hindutva Terror” is dumb, stupid and dangerous

Sadanand Dhume explains it well. A brief excerpt below (emphasis added):
Simply put, the notion that the radical Hindu threat to India is comparable to that posed by radical Islam is ludicrous. First there’s the question of scale. Alleged Hindu terrorists—not one of whom has been convicted—are accused of bomb blasts in 2007 and 2008 in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra that killed 17 people. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the toll in India from about two dozen radical Islamic terrorist attacks since …

Quotes »

[27 Dec 2010 | 18 Comments | 832 views]
Then only will India awake…

From a letter written by Swami Vivekananda to Shrimati Sarala Ghoshal, Editor of “Bharati” (Apr 1897):
It was in India that unselfish and disinterested work of the most exalted type was preached
but in practice we are awfully cruel, awfully heartless — unable to think of anything besides our own mass-of-flesh bodies.

Then only will India awake, when hundreds of large-hearted men and women, giving up all desires of enjoying the luxuries of life,will long and exert themselves to their utmost for the well-being of the millions of their countrymen who are gradually …

Development Related, Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India »

[25 Dec 2010 | 7 Comments | 1,122 views]
Prof Jagdish Bhagwati on Pankaj Mishra & fiction as non-fiction

Thanks to Sanjay for alerting me to this sharp and insightful speech by Prof Jagdish Bhagwati, titled, “This is how economic reforms have transformed India“, from which these excerpts (emphasis added):
…the naysayers, among them the socialists in the currently ruling Congress Party, have rejected the ‘miracle’ produced by the reforms by asserting darkly that the growth ‘lacks a human face’, that it is not ‘inclusive’, that the gains have accrued to the rich while the poor have been immiserized, that inequality has increased, and that India stands condemned before the …

Miscellaneous »

[23 Dec 2010 | 10 Comments | 590 views]
Will you ever see our PM/President like this?

…I mean holding their own umbrella?

Image courtesy: TIME Magazine

Context:
US President Barack Obama tries to speak in a driving rainstorm during Memorial Day observances at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery near Elwood, Illinois, USA, 31 May 2010. Memorial Day is observed in honor of U.S. service men and women who have sacrificed their lives for their country.
Tannen Murray / EPA
Comments, thoughts welcome.
By the way, President Obama is not alone:

Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Terrorism in India »

[21 Dec 2010 | 23 Comments | 534 views]
Being “scarily bonkers” and “flirting with rabid sentiments”

Once again, M J Akbar says it like only he can:
The Urdu paper theory is, in brief, that 26/11 was organised to kill Hemant Karkare, a brave police officer, because he was on the verge of exposing Hindu zealots. This implies that Hindu zealots came to a deal with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose leader Hafiz Saeed was so delighted that, with the help of ISI, he armed and trained 10 young men, and sent them on Jihad to India so that Hindu zealots might be protected!
I …