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Truth and reconciliation must go beyond Ayodhya
Fellow CRI commentator Palahalli makes the point that pursuance of “truth and reconciliation” between Hindus and Muslims by liberal Hindus, in the context of the Ayodhya dispute, has not met with success in getting Muslims to recognize truth. In this post I build on Palahalli’s argument. Earnestness about truth and...
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The Games and Brand India
Hosting an international sports tournament is a good idea. It creates infrastructure, employment, new sporting facilities and improves the international standing of the hosting city and country. If everything goes well, that is. Far from symbolizing India’s ‘arrival’ on the world stage, the Commonwealth Games is turning into an embarrassment....
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The true nature of the Kashmir "freedom struggle"
Praveen Swami of The Hindu has an article today on how Islamists are systematically and violently eliminating all moderate and secular “resistance” (or what remains of it) to the Islamist agenda in Kashmir. The article points to a shocking video in possession of The Hindu of three middle aged Kashmiri...
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Kashmir – where liberalism fails
Tired of lack of success from men armed with AK-47s and grenades sent out to fight a professional army and create terror among civilians, Kashmiri separatists and their friends in Pakistan are now resorting to a strange way of carrying on the Kashmir “freedom struggle” – stone pelting. Stone pelting...
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Dear NAC
It has come to the notice of the citizenry that your body, the National Advisory Council, has been “favouring” and “recommending” certain amendments to a bill intended to deal with communal violence, including the setting up of a national authority intended to as much as “oversee” actions taken by states...
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A National Shame
The term “national shame” is repeatedly used by our media even though the occasion does not warrant it. But this is one story that fits the term “national shame” very well. 11 year old Devika Rotawan has been denied admission to the New England School in East Bandra, Mumbai. Her...
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Manipur Blockade is the result of security failure
It is said that true character is revealed in times of crisis. Indians, especially Manipuris, were faced with several revelations in the past 65 days of the Manipur Blockade. The apathy of the Congress-led Central Government towards the plight of the people of Manipur was on naked display. Suffering severe...
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Avatar, the Right and the indigenous tribes
Though the recent science fiction drama Avatar received much critical acclaim for its revolutionary visual effects and James Cameron’s ‘creation’ of an entirely new world, it is often in the news for other reasons, particularly the political interpretations that are made from the film’s storyline. Avatar depicts the struggle between...
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Reservations for women and gender disparity
As the political drama over reservations for women continues in the Parliament, with mikes being uprooted, papers being torn and angry words being exchanged, one feels that the real objective of reservation for women, fighting gender disparity, has been overlooked. Gender disparity is one of the pressing problems confronting India....
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Indians and invasions
It is common to see some Indians state proudly that their country has never invaded another country in the past <insert multiple of 1000> years. It is one thing to abhor invasions after having experienced centuries of foreign invasion and rule, it is entirely another to take pride in the...
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The hand that blocks can also strike
One of the most popular Chinese martial arts is Wing Chun. Practised by 20th century icon Bruce Lee, it is a form of aggressive self-defense in which a defensive move is almost immediately turned into an attack. If a combatant does not pay enough attention to attack the opponent while...