27 December, 2022 In this context, I make the plea that at least Chapters 10 and 11 of the Gita be taught as works of literature. India is indeed a strange country. The country’s elite are opposed to students learning about the Bhagavad Gita. I wonder where the Gita should be taught, if not in India! Should it be taught in Japan […]
25 January, 2023 Identity groups need to make sure that they are able to bargain and leverage their support with multiple parties. Years ago, I met an American Professor of Political Science who had an interest in Indian politics. He argued with me that in affluent, educated western societies, people voted based on their interests […]
02 February, 2023 My Leftist friends want to believe that Modi is a bad guy. The BBC, of course, has listened to them and is convinced that Modi is a bad guy too. Most of my friends know me as an anglophile and frankly, even as a Raj-lover. That is why I write this column with […]
22 February, 2023 When I last spoke to Tony, we said we were in the departure lounge. In the internet age, instant reaction seems to be mandatory. Unfortunately, I found out about Tony Jesudasan’s death after a day. Too late for a proper obituary which had already been written by better pens. In my case, […]
25 February, 2023 Among Soros’ Indian friends, clearly there are as many astrology buffs as there are weak-minded Leftists. Some thirty-odd years ago, I attended an intimate breakfast meeting with George Soros, American businessman. He won’t remember. But I do. My one takeaway from the meeting was that Soros was very upset about the squalor […]
28 February, 2023 Tipu Sultan is remembered as the Indian ruler who died fighting the British and did not take a pension. But that does not automatically make him a patriot. If only the Marxist editors of NCERT textbooks had admitted that Tipo Sultan was a flawed human being, perhaps some of us would not have many […]
03 March, 2023 The much-maligned Khan Market in Delhi is named for Dr. Khan Sahib, who saved the lives of Hindus and Sikhs in Peshawar. We are a strange people. We file mandamus writ petitions in our august Supreme Court to get our government to change names of cities, towns, and streets. And the court […]
12 April, 2023 The NCERT was set up in the heyday of our Gosplan-inspired socialist Permit Raj. It chose to suppress the rich histories of the Cholas, Ellora, Elephanta, Kalachuris. There has been a lot of criticism against NCERT making changes in history textbooks, including in ThePrint. Most of it has focused on the organization trying to reduce […]
22 March, 2023 More and more evidence is mounting in favor of a non-zoonotic laboratory origin for the killer virus. The COVID pandemic devastated the world in a profound manner. Each one of us can count our losses. For me it has been one uncle, one cousin, one beloved colleague, one good friend, one mentor […]
21 April, 2023 Hundreds of thousands of MSMEs across the country are suddenly going to see their payments coming in faster and at least before 31 March. Nirmala in Sanskrit means “clear”, “limpid”, “crystalline”. Vedanta Desika refers to a “Nirmala Spatika” — a “pure crystal”. There is clearly a hint of purity. Given the performance […]