Rakhigarhi: Indian town could unlock mystery of Indus civilisation | World news | The Guardian

Rakhigarhi: Indian town could unlock mystery of Indus civilisation | World news | The Guardian:



'via Blog this'

Critical Review

Critical Review:



'via Blog this'

India International Centre - the Den of Parasitic Liberal Snobs

Read this first person account to know the snobbery and hypocrisy of slavish intellectuals.

Sumeet Saxena

13 hrs · 

An Eye opener
B. Jeyamohan is one of the most influential contemporary, Tamil and Malayalam writer and literary critic from Nagercoil

This is the translation of his article:
"Intolerance"

I learnt the meaning of “Power” when I visited Delhi in 1994 to receive my Sanskriti Samman award and stayed for two days in India International Centre. I did have some familiarities with Information and culture ministries. However, IIC is the place where “Power” is served on a gold plate.

IIC is located in a peaceful and luxurious bungalow with lawns, high class food and drinks, quietly moving waiters, the butter English spoken without the upper lip moving, lipsticked women gracefully adjusting their hair, the elegant welcome given to the inner circle members with signs and hugs without making any noise!

I have stayed in many star hotels later. But I have never seen anywhere the luxury and comfort of IIC.

IIC was established and funded by the Indian government as an independent body to promote arts and free thinking. If my memory serves me right, Dr. Karan Singh was also its head. I saw him in that evening.

I saw every intellectual that I had known through my reading of English language magazines. U R Ananthamurthy was staying there for almost four years almost as a permanent fixture. Girish Karnad was staying for a few days. Writers, journalists and thinkers such as Pritish Nandi, Makarant Parajpe, Shobha De were seen everywhere in the Centre.

It was true that I was overwhelmed that day. Arunmozhi (my wife) ran to Girish Karnad on spotting him and was thrilled to introduce herself to him. I was told that Nayantara Sehgal used to come there on daily basis to have a drink. I saw her that day too. I realized that the two other individuals who were given the award along with me, Rajdeep Sardesai and Anamika Haksar were regulars there.

They wear rough Kolkata kurtas and Kolhapuri chappals. Wear small glasses. Women in pure white hair and khadi saris. One of them, they said, was Kapila Vatsyayan. They said, Pupul Jayakar will also come. Wherever you turn, there were literary talks and art discussions.

That pomp kind of unnerved me. The ultra high intellectualism seen there somewhat alienated me. Venkat Swaminathan, who saw me the next day, immediately recognised my sense of discomfort. He said, "Hey, three fourth of this crowd is just a perfect horde of crows (the Tamil equivalent of psychophants). The snobs that make their living are draw their power by licking the boots of power centres. Most of them are mere power brokers. At best you may find one or two artists who you will really respect. And they can't bear this atmosphere for too long and will just run away.

But these are the people who decide what is culture for this country. They can talk about every thing in the world for one hour in colourful English with the right number of jargons. But on the 61st minute, the colour will start fading. Actually they don't know any thing in the real sense. Almost all are like the little boxes we find in attics which held hing a long time back", said Venkat Swaminathan.

Everyone will have four or five trusts in the name of Service Organizations or Cultural Organizations. They will be flying from one conference to the other. Once given accommodation in a government bungalow, they can never be removed from there. In Delhi alone this crowd has illegally occupied about 5,000 bungalows. There is another Power Centre similar to this in Delhi which is called the JNU. It is the same story there too.

Can't the government get rid of them?", I asked. He said, "normally governments do not think in that line. Because this crowd has stuck itself from the time of Nehru. They support each other. Even if some IAS officials try, they will fall at the right feet and escape".

"There is one more thing added to it" said Venkat Swaminathan. "Not only were these people just parasites, they also derive great power by showing themselves as progressive leftists. Did you notice it?". I said "Yes" with an amazement.

They are known throughout the world through the numerous seminars they attend. They are highly networked. Journalists around the world seek their opinion on whatever happens in India. They are the people who gave a leftist mask to the Congress Government. If you look at it that way, the amount spent on them is quite low”, he said. They are the trolls sitting on the head of India and nobody can do anything to them. They decide what is art or culture or thought of India.

I have often been to IIC with my Malayalam journalist friends. For them, this is the place to pick rumours and convert them in to news. They know there are no secrets as the day wears out and the spirits rise higher and higher in the head.

But I can only pity those people who engage in to political debates based on the supposedly rare gems of wisdoms dished out by these “intellectuals” through the middle pages of English newspapers. These intellectuals never actually know the real politics. They just shout on the basis of the superfluous knowledge and stand points, with the prime space enable by the network. That’s all.

Long time back when I wrote about this Circle, I had mentioned that Barkha Dutt is none but a power broker, my own friends fought with me for degrading a “progressive fighter”. Fortunately for me, within a few days, the brokering she did with Tata leaked out through the Nira Radia tapes. (Incidentally, what happened to that case, does any body know?). But even those stark revelations could not bring down Barkha Dutt from her exalted pedestal even for a month. That is the kind of power they have.

But now, for the first time in the history of independent India someone has dared to touch this power circle. Warnings were circulated at the lower level for the last about 6 months. Last week the Culture Ministry decided to send a notice to them. This, perhaps, is the reason for these intellectuals to suddenly flare up against “intolerance”.

For example, painter Jatin Das, father of actress Nandita Das is occupying a large government bungalow at one of the premium locations in Delhi free of cost for many years. Government has sent an eviction notice to him. This is the real reason for Nandita Das strongly speaking about intolerance in television channels and writing in English newspapers (all diligently carried by the network).

Even for a man as strong Modi, I think he has touched a wrong nerve. These elements are too powerful. They can destroy India through the media worldwide. They can create a picture that rivers of blood are flowing in India. They can make businessmen around the world to halt. They can wreck the tourism industry. The truth is there is no other power centre like this in India. Tolerating them is unavoidable for India. And Modi’s intolerance of them is extremely dangerous – not only for him but for the country itself. "

We have Lincoln wrong: Our greatest Lincoln historian explains his real Civil War motivations - Salon.com

We have Lincoln wrong: Our greatest Lincoln historian explains his real Civil War motivations - 



'via Blog this'

National Culture

The claim to a national culture in the past does not only rehabilitate that nation and serve as a justification for the hope of a future national culture. In the sphere of psycho-affective equilibrium it is responsible for an important change in the native. Perhaps we haven't sufficiently demonstrated that colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native's brain of all form and content. By a kind of perverted logic, it turns to the past of the oppressed people, and distorts, disfigures, and destroys it. This work of devaluing pre-colonial history takes on a dialectical significance today. - FRANTZ FANON

Ancient India’s liberated women: In classical times India was more egalitarian than the West – at least in women’s education - TOI Blogs

Ancient India’s liberated women: In classical times India was more egalitarian than the West – at least in women’s education - TOI Blogs:



'via Blog this'

कृष्ण कल्पित / कल्बे कबीर की कल्पना या इतिहास

राजा को सुबह उठते ही यवन कन्या के दर्शन करने चाहिये यह शुभ होता है

सम्राटों को यह सलाह कौटिल्य ने अपनी क़दीमी-कालजयी किताब 'अर्थशास्त्र' में दी है

उस ज़माने में राजदरबारों में दासियाँ और नर्तकियां यूनानी होती थीं जिसके हवाले संस्कृत-नाटकों में प्रचुर मिलते हैं

भारत से यूनान मसाले और दूसरी चीज़ें जाती थीं और बदले में भारतीय बन्दरगाहों पर गाने वाले लड़के और सुंदर यूनानी युवतियां उतरती थीं

चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य की जीवन-शैली पर लिखते हुये मेगस्थनीज लिखता है कि उसका खाना यवनियां पकाती थीं और उसे शराब भी पेश करती थीं और जब चन्द्रगुप्त शिकार खेलने जाता था तो शस्त्रधारी यवन युवतियां उसे घेरे रहती थीं जो उसके शस्त्रों की देखभाल भी करती थीं

एक यूनानी दस्तावेज़ के अनुसार पाटलिपुत्र के राजा बिन्दुसार ने एक-बार एंटीओकस को लिखा :
हमें मीठी सुगन्धित शराब अंजीर और एक यूनानी मिथ्यावादी तर्कशास्त्री ख़रीदकर भेज दो
एंटीओकस ने उत्तर में लिखा :
अंजीर और शराब भेज देंगे लेकिन यूनानी क़ानून में तर्कशास्त्री की बिक्री की अनुमति नहीं है

और जवाहर लाल नेहरू ने 'डिस्कवरी ऑफ़ इंडिया' में इस बात का संकेत किया है कि भारतियों ने समलैंगिक सम्बंधों की भी प्रेरणा यूनानियों से ली यूनानी साहित्य से पता चलता है कि वहां इसे सामाजिक मान्यता थी जबकि भारत में समलैंगिकता को बुरा समझा जाता था फ़ारसी साहित्य का माशूक़ भी युवक ही होता था

यवनिका यूनानी कपड़े से बने पर्दे को कहा जाता था इसके आगे कुछ नहीं लिखकर बस इतना लिखता हूँ

यवनिका-पतन !

‪#‎हिंदनामा_एकमहादेशकामहाकाव्य_25

‘These left thinkers have destroyed the intellectual life’ - Roger Scruton

‘These left thinkers have destroyed the intellectual life’ | spiked: "Scruton has been the bête noire of British left intellectuals for more than 30 years, and gives them another beastly mauling in his new book Fools, Frauds and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left. It is a tour de force that, the introduction concedes, is ‘not a word-mincing book’, but rather ‘a provocation’. In just under 300 pages he Scruton-izes a collection of stars, past and present, of the radical Western intelligentsia – the likes of Eric Hobsbawm and EP Thompson in Britain, JK Galbraith and Ronald Dworkin in the US, Jurgen Habermas, Louis Althusser, Jacques Lacan and Gilles Deleuze in Europe. An expanded and updated version of his controversial Thinkers of the New Left (1985), the book ends with a new chapter entitled ‘The kraken wakes’ dealing with the ‘mad incantations’ of Alan Badiou and the left’s marginally newer academic celebrity, the Slovenian Zizek."



'via Blog this'

In Defence of Gossiping

The Novel’s Evil Tongue - The New York Times: The "garrulous serpent was no liar when he told Eve the secret of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eat of it, he whispered, and “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.” Ever since Genesis, no story has been free of gossip, and how unreasonable it is that gossip has its mischief-making reputation. Had Eve not listened, had she been steadfast in the face of so unverifiable a proposition, what barrenness! Eden would still be what it was, a serene and tedious nullity, a place where nothing happens: two naked beings yawning in their idleness, innocent of what mutual nakedness might bring forth. No Cain and Abel, then no crime novels and Hitchcock thrillers. No Promised Land, then no Young Men From the Provinces setting out on aspiring journeys. No Joseph in Egypt, then no fraught chronicles of travail and redemption. In the absence of secrets revealed — in the absence also of rumor and repute and misunderstanding and misdirection — no Chaucer, no Boccaccio, no Boswell, no Jane Austen, no Maupassant, no Proust, no Henry James! The instant Eve took in that awakening morsel of serpentine gossip, Literature in all its variegated forms was born."



'via Blog this'

Is Saudi Arabia to blame for Islamic State?

Is Saudi Arabia to blame for Islamic State?



'via Blog this'

The Lessons of Successful Democratic Transitions | Foreign Affairs

The Lessons of Successful Democratic Transitions | Foreign Affairs:



'via Blog this'

BJP, Cong rebels meet in hotel to 'vote out' Tuki and 'elect' new CM

BJP, Cong rebels meet in hotel to 'vote out' Tuki and 'elect' new CM:



'via Blog this'

Experiments in Confrontationist Politics

Merriam-Webster declares 'ism' as word of the year for 2015 |

Merriam-Webster declares 'ism' as word of the year for 2015 | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis:



'via Blog this'

Daniel Bell might have announced the death of Ideology many years back, but Merriam-Webster declares 'Ism' as word of 2015.

'Fourth D' lesson

'Fourth D' lesson: The Ds of Parliamentary Democracy



'via Blog this'

Business Standard-Shyam Saran: Nepal treads a perilous path

Business Standard-<b>Shyam Saran:</b> Nepal treads a perilous path:



'via Blog this'

languagehat.com : Mancunianisms.

languagehat.com : Mancunianisms.: Spice up your conversation with such words. :-)







'via Blog this'

महात्मा के 'अंतरात्मा रक्षक' - चक्रवर्ती राजगोपालाचारी: 10 दिसंबर 1878- 25 दिसंबर 1972

चक्रवर्ती राजगोपालाचारी, जिन्हें राजा जी और सी.आर. नाम से भी जाना जाता है, भारतीय राष्ट्रीय आंदोलन के ऐसे नेता थे जिन्हें महात्मा गांधी स्वयं अपनी अंतरात्मा के रक्षक कहते थे। उनका जन्म मद्रास के सलेम ज़िले के थोरापल्ली में एक गरीब ब्राह्मण परिवार में 10 दिसंबर 1878 को हुआ था। वे अत्यंत तीक्ष्ण बुद्धि के थे। मद्रास और बंगलौर में अपनी शिक्षा-दीक्षा पूरी करने के बाद 1900 में उन्होंने वकालत शुरू की और कुछ ही दिनों में उनकी गिनती सफलतम वकीलों में होने लगी। वे लोकमान्य बाल गंगाधर तिलक के समर्थक थे और तिलक के समर्थन में उन्होंने कांग्रेस में भाग लिया। कांग्रेस के कलकत्ता अधिवेशन में भी उन्होंने तिलक का समर्थन किया। तिलक, गोखले, बी एस सुब्रमनिया अय्यर और सुब्रमनयम भारती के संदेशों ने उन्हें राष्ट्रीय आंदोलन में कूद पडने के लिए प्रेरित किया। उन्होंने होमरूल आंदोलन में भाग लिया और 1921-22 में वे कांग्रेस के महासचिव रहे।
राजा जी महात्मा गांधी से बहुत प्रभावित थे, और उन्हें 'मुक्तिदाता' मानते थे। सरदार पटेल से राजा जी की गहरी दोस्ती थी। राजा जी अत्यंत तीक्ष्ण बुद्धि के राष्ट्रवादी थे, परंतु दक्षिण भारत में ब्राह्मण विरोधी मुहिम के चलते कुछ नेता राजा जी का विरोध करते थे। सरदार पटेल का गुस्सा उबल पडा। उन्होंने कहा: " आप ब्राह्मणों से ईर्ष्या क्यों करते हैं? उन्होंने आपका क्या बिगाडा है? क्या आप महा-ब्राह्मणों (अंग्रेज़ों) द्वारा आप दोनों को फुँचाए गए नुकसान से बेखबर हैं? वे 5,000 मील से अधिक दूर से आकर ब्राह्मण बन बैठे हैं। सुबह और शाम आप उनकी खुशामद करते हैं और उनकी पूजा करते हैं। क्यों आप महा-ब्राह्मणों के विरुद्ध संघर्ष नहीं करते?" सरदार का गुस्सा राजा जी जैसे प्रतिभाशाली देशभक्त के रास्ते में पैदा की गई वाधाओं के चलते उबल पडा थ।
1919 में गांधी जी मद्रास में राजा जी के साथ ठहरे थे। इसी समय गांधी जी के मन में असहयोग आंदोलन का विचार आया।
राजा जी ने असहयोग आंदोलन में भाग लिया और वकालत छोड दी। डांडी यात्रा के समय राजा जी 100 स्वयंसेवकों के साथ त्रिचुरापल्ली से वेदारण्यं की यात्रा पर गये। गांधी जी की अनुपस्थिति में राजा जी ने यंग इण्डिया का संपादन किया।
राजा जी के विरोध के चलते सी आर दास और मोतीलाल नेहरू के काउंसिल प्रवेश के विचार को गया कांग्रेस ने अस्वीकार कर दिया। 1937 में जब प्रांतों कांग्रेस की सरकार बनी, तब राजा जी मद्रास के मुख्य मंत्री बने।
गांधी जी के प्रति अपार श्रद्धा होने के बावजूद रा जी अपने लिए स्वयं सोचते थे। उन्होंने यह अनुभव किया कि बिना विभाजन के भारत को स्वतंत्रता मिलने वाली नहीं है। उनके इस विचार के चलते उन्हें कांग्रेस छोडना पडा। परंतु अंततः राजा जी की बात ही ठीक निकली। स्वतंत्रता-प्राप्तिके बाद सांप्रदायिक हिंसा की आग में जल रहे बंगाल की स्थिति सुधारने के लिए उन्हें बंगाल का राज्यपाल बनाया गया। माउंट्बैटेन के बाद राजा जी भारत के गवर्नर-जेनरल बने। गवर्नर-जेनरल बनने वाले वे प्रथम और अंतिम भारतीय थे। बाद में वे भारत सरकार के गृह मंत्री भी बने।
राजा जी ने महाभारत, रामायण, वेदांत, गीता, उपनिषद आदि पर कई पुस्तकों की रचना की। उनके ग्रंथ अप्रतिम हैं। अपनी इन अमर कृतियों को दुनिया के लिए छोड कर 25 दिसंबर 1972 को राजा जी अपनी अंतिम यात्रा पर निकल पडे।
पटेल के शब्दों में राजा जी एक अंतरराष्ट्रीय हस्ती थे। गांधी जी के शब्दों में " राजा जी मेरे सबसे पुराने मित्रों में से हैं और मेरे विचारों और कार्यों के सर्वोत्तम प्रतिपादक के रूप में वे जाने जाते हैं। मैं जानता हूं कि 1942 में वे मुझसे असहमत थे। सार्वजनिक रूप से उन्होंने इस असह्मति की घोषणा की जिसके लिए उनका सम्मान किया जाना चाहिए। वे एक महान समाज सुधारक हैं, जो अपने विश्वास के अनुसार काम करने में कभी डरते नहीं हैं। उनकी बुद्धिमत्ता और ईमानदारी संदेह के परे हैं।"
उनके योगदान को ध्यान में रखते हुए उन्हें भारत का पहला भारतरत्न प्रदान किया गया।
कूई आश्चर्य नहीं कि नेहरू और कांग्रेस की नीतियों से असहमत होने पर 1959 में उन्होंने स्वतंत्र पार्टी की स्थापना कर ली और 'स्वराज्य' नाम की पत्रिका का प्रकाशन आरंभ किया। राजा जी के विचार आज की दुनिया और भारत के शासकीय विचार हैं।
राजा जी की कृतियाँ
राजा जी मूलतः एक बौद्धिक थे। उन्होंने तमिल और अंग्रेज़ी में कई रचनाएं की। 1951 में उन्होंने महाभारत, 1957 में रामायण का संक्षिप्त संस्करण निकाला। 1955 में उन्होंने कंबन रामायण का अंग्रेज़ी अनुवाद किया था। 1965 में उन्होंने थिरुकुराल का अंग्रेजी अनुवाद किया। उन्होंने भगवद गीता, उपनिषद, सुकरात, मार्कस औरेलियस पर अंग्रेजी में पुस्तकें लिखीं। उन्हें उनके तमिल लेखन के लिये1958 में साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार दिया गया। अपने साहित्यिक योगदान को राजा जी सर्वाधिक महत्त्वपूर्ण योग्दान मानते थे। 1958 में भरतीय संस्कृति के प्रचार-प्रसार के लिए उन्होंने 'भारतीय विद्या भवन' की स्थापना की।
राजा जी बहुमुखी प्रतिभा के धनी थे। वे कृष्ण-भक्त थे और भक्ति गान की रचना की। राजा जी द्वारा रचित और एम एस सुब्बलक्ष्मी द्वारा गाया स्तोत्र 1967 में संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ की महासभा में प्रस्तुत किया गया था।

Comparing Social Policies :A Cross-national Approach

Pracheen Bharateeya Rajniti Shastra

Has the Indian parliament lost its relevance? - Baijayant Jay Panda

Has the Indian parliament lost its relevance? - BBC News:



'via Blog this'

Is “Realpolitik a la Disraeli” really unthinkable in America?

All: "“Realpolitik a la Disraeli” (Britain’s famously pragmatic Conservative prime minister of 1874–1880) was unthinkable in America"



'via Blog this'

Across the aisle: How to lose a friend and alienate people - P. Chidambaram

Across the aisle: How to lose a friend and alienate people | The Indian Express:



'via Blog this'The Nepali Congress party was seen as a sister organisation of the Indian National Congress with shared political values. The Communist Party of Nepal had close ties with the Communist Party of India and, later, with both the CPI(M) and the CPI. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/across-the-aisle-how-to-lose-a-friend-and-alienate-people/#sthash.lgqORHnt.dpuf