Rounded Analysis On Contested Issues; Spotlighting Blind Spots; Politics, Religion, Travel, Books
The inauguration of India's new parliament with Hindu symbolism has triggered murmurs of disapproval citing secular traditions although there is nothing new in the association of occupants of constitutional posts with such ceremonies since the republic was founded
If Farooq Abdullah, who understands the inner workings of the powers that be in Delhi, is able to provide leadership to help the Kashmiri political class avoid the pitfalls, it will be a swansong he will be positively remembered for; his chequered past notwithstanding
Arthashastra, a two-millennia-old treatise on statecraft and the art of government, is believed to have been unread for almost a thousand years until its discovery in the early 20th century
Bharatiya Janata Party's projection as the only bulwark against the belligerent neighbour Pakistan and its alleged allies within has paid rich political dividends to India's ruling party, making any breakthrough in hostile ties between the two countries increasingly difficult
Many Nepalese conceded the constitution may be imperfect but is federal, republican, and secular and can be amended to accommodate the concerns of disgruntled ethnic groups but there was more to India’s disapproval
Urdu-Speaking Muhajirs accounted for 3.5 percent of united Pakistan’s population in the 1960s but they occupied 21 percent of the positions in the civil services that helped them shape the country in its infancy including through the adoption of their mother tongue as the national language
Yadav was catapulted to the highest echelons of power when he forged a formidable alliance of Muslims and the communities (around 85 percent of the population) historically disadvantaged under the Hindu caste system in the 1980s and 1990s. Congress’s failure in protecting Muslims when they faced increasing violence as the Hindu nationalists vied for power worked in helping Yadav cement the alliance.
The secular Muslim-majority nations include Indonesia, which embodies pluralism in every sense and refutes the wilful inaccuracies perpetuated to fuel Islamophobia
Arabs began acquiring Sanskrit texts before they sourced nearly all of the Graeco-Roman philosophical and scientific works to usher in the Islamic Golden Age from the eighth-century onwards
Nanak's relevance has grown more than ever before as he preached against religious prejudices and founded Sikhism as a monotheistic religion and a synthesis between Islam and Hinduism
