On June 28, amidst great fanfare the annual AmarnathYatra in Kashmir was declared open. It will conclude, in accordance withtradition, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, August 21, 2013. Within this period,lakhs of pilgrims will visit the holy shrine. The successful conduct of theYatra with no casualties is something the organisers from the Shrine Board
The ICC Champions Trophyhas concluded and a feature article in a Sunday newspaper titled ‘Recognition of the Authorship of UDRS’by a cricket observer showcases some key facts that we need to take cognizanceof in the realm of sports, particularly in the game of cricket. The old club colonialmentality remains a key feature in big time
Edward Snowden: Inthe course of his professional life in the world of national security EdwardSnowden must have gone through numerous probing interviews, lie detectorexaminations, and exceedingly detailed background checks, as well as fillingout endless forms carefully designed to catch any kind of falsehood orinconsistency. The Washington Post (Ju
“With the Rig Veda in onehand and a spade in the other” is how eminent historian and archaeologistShivaji Singh summarises some of his insights and work on the need to studyarchaeology conjointly with the Rig Veda. - Along the banks of theSarasvati and the adjoining river basins, collectively desi
Ideasdo not flow easily westwards. It is a norm that Western ideas are being spreadin the East, not vice versa. Russia, the heir to Byzantium, is an “East”, amongother great “Easts” of Dar ul-Islam, China, India; of them, Russia is thenearest to the West, and still very different. This is probably the main reasonwhy Dugin, this important contempora
Massive fabrications went into preparing the grounds to militarily invade Iraq. There were no WMDs, Saddam had no links to 9/11 or Al Qaeda and he may have been dubbed a “dictator”, but he did not do any of the damage the US and Allies have done to the Iraqi people. So who really is the villain? Now President Assad is being called all sorts o
Many temples have suffered Agama violations and mindless renovation at the hands of a callous Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments trust. Among the most important are the Kalamangalam temples at Erode taluk on the southern bank of the Cauvery river, 15 km from Erode on the Karur road. This is one of the 32 traditional “kaani” (wetland) villa
There were times in my life when I had to hide my Romani background, because there were many people around who were intolerant and prejudiced. There were times when I felt fear and shame when IT became known to others. There were times when I did not hide IT and faced rejection as a consequence. Slowly, pride in my Romani heritage and a strong desi
The argument is often heard - from President Obama, to certain Congressional Republicans and Democrats - that the National Security Agency (NSA)’s dragnet surveillance, spying on all Americans, “keeps us safe from terrorism.” Obama has been insistent in defending the program of vacuuming up all telecommunications, allegedly to detect and disru
Heavy rains in the past four days have turned the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand into a disaster area. From Pithoragarh to Kumaon-Garhwal region and the religious centres in the upper reaches are all severely affected. Latest reports indicate that over 100,000 pilgrims are trapped. Roads and bridges have been washed away or so badly damaged that no
A study of Pakistan newspapers like The Express Tribune, Dawn, The Nation, Frontier Post et al clearly shows that these newspapers carry exhaustive coverage of all provinces. There is, however, an alarming deviation - Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and more importantly, the newly created province of Gilgit-Baltistan, are neglected by the Pakis
Djenardin Singh Pathania is personality that in the world of romalogia enjoys a unique position. The field to which he has devoted himself for more than five decades would, without his contribution, have left unknown, that is, romalogia in many theoretical and practically relevant aspects (philology-linguistic and ethnographic researches, lexicogra
In an act of inexcusable sacrilege, the beautiful thirteenth century Adinarayana Perumal Temple, Pazhaverkadu (Pulicat), was bulldozed and destroyed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department (HR&CE), on June 13, 2013. The ruination took place in the name of temple renovation, leaving devotees shattered, and reduced to tears. S
Iranians went to the polls Friday to elect outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s successor. Candidates reported few serious problems with the process, and the losers sent congratulations to the eventual winner, Hassan Rouhani. Compared to the political instability that followed Ahmadinejad’s 2009 re-election, this process was relatively boring.
Something is wrong with the way the world is handling gold and lesser mortals like us shall probably never make sense of it. Still, given its eternal significance, some of the activity and thinking around gold merits our attention. For centuries, international trade ran on the basis of the gold standard, which determined a fixed amount (weight) of gold for e...
Beirut: The short answer is Iran and Hezbollah according to Congressional sources. “The Syrian army’s victory at al-Qusayr was more than the administration could accept given that town’s strategic position in the region. Its capture by the Assad forces has essentially added Syria to Iran’s list of victories starting with Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq,
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Hari Om
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16 Jun 2013
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Congress veteran and former Sadar-e-Riyasat of Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Karan Singh, generally speaks on social, cultural and spiritual issues. Only rarely does he speak on political issues, especially those concerning the militant and separatist-infested State. He intervenes only if he feels that situation has gone out of control or is likely to as
“Before Mr LK Advani converted an Indian icon into a Hindu deity as he flexed his nationalist muscles astride a makeshift chariot, he was on his way to the destruction of an unused 16th century mosque in Ayodhya to reclaim the mythical glory of his Mother India.” - Thus wrote Jawed Naqvi, India correspondent of Dawn, Pakistan, in an article on humo
The EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is something that could fundamentally restructure Indian society and impact the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians. It is being negotiated ‘on the behalf of the public’ in secret by politicians and bureaucrats on both sides. Negotiations began in 2007, covering a wide range of areas, including
Beirut: Although al-Qusayr may not be the decisive battle for Syria, it is irrefutably an important turning point in the crisis which has given the regime much sought military momentum. Plenty of adjectives and some clichés are being bandied about from Washington to Beirut to describe the al-Qusayr battle results and significance. Among them
In which prisoner of conscience Bradley Manning eloquently expresses his thoughts about why he heroically and patriotically released to WikiLeaks the “Collateral Murder” video, one of many “War-Porn” videos that he had seen inadvertently documenting US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan (This was the first quasi-public statement that the muzzl
Are Washington, Moscow, and Beijing Using the Global Arms Trade to Create a New Cold War? Did Washington just give Israel the green light for a future attack on Iran via an arms deal? Did Russia just signal its further support for Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime via an arms deal? Are the Russians, the Chinese, and the Americans all heightening regi
The continued incarceration of the young child monk Pema Namgyel (b. November 2004), the tenth Shabdrung Rimpoche and spiritual leader of a Buddhist Lama school in Bhutan, is causing grave anxiety among his followers who are clamouring for his immediate and unconditional release. The Shabdrung Rimpoche was placed under house arrest by the Royal Bhu
The Kashmir valley is going through a dynamic phase at the moment. For the shopkeepers and tourism industry this is a ‘do or die’ time with the tourist season at its peak and pilgrimage to the holy Sri Amarnath shrine due to begin by the end of the month. For students this is the time to seek admissions to higher courses and plan their careers; for
What Will be Discussed Behind Closed Doors? Each year, the Bilderberg venue brings together leading members of the financial and corporate elite, politicians, handpicked scholars, journalists and scientists. It is An Anglo-Western European-North American Venue with participants from 21 Western countries (i.e Western Europe, US and Canada). With the
Hindu temple vandalised in Kishoreganj (The Daily Star, 30 May 2013): Fanatics vandalized nine idols at 150-year-old Kuleswari temple at Hossainpur upazila of Kishoreganj early yesterday. Ranjit, a caretaker of the temple, said “I found the idols broken when I went to the temple around 5:00 am, and saw the fragmented idols strewn all over the place
The issue of illegal transportation of cattle through Andhra Pradesh has assumed disturbing proportions in recent years. We at the People For Cattle In India have been working at grassroots level to document the extent of the traffic, and the action, and non-action, by police and other authorities in tackling the menace. Recently, MVR Sastry,
There is a saying among religious progressives that Christianity should “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” The new Pope, to his credit, is making some effort to preach against self-satisfaction, and while that appeals to the discontented, it remains to be seen whether his words can turn the stone hearts of at least some of the con
I am writing for friends who live outside to Turkey to let you know what is going on in Istanbul for the last five days. I personally have to write this because most of the media sources are shut down by the government and the word of mouth and the internet are the only ways left for us to explain ourselves and call for help and support. Four
Amidst confusing, even contradictory, reports coming out of Syria, it is clear that the world is poised on the brink of a greater conflagration than previously envisioned - a regional war distinct from the US-NATO action in Iraq and Libya, with wider ramifications. Major world capitals have decided their stand vis-à-vis Syria, Lebanon, and Iran. New Delhi is...
Report and Appeal to the International community to support a process of dialogue and reconciliation in Syria between its people and Syrian government and reject outside intervention and war. After a 10 days visit to Lebanon and Syria, leading a 16 person delegation from 8 countries, invited by Mussalaha Reconciliation Movement, I have returne
Here we go again, back to the tedious debate on the status of the armed forces special powers act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir. The ball has been set rolling, this time by Prof. Saifuddin Soz, Congress chief of Jammu and Kashmir. During an interaction with media on May 27, he said the time for deliberations on the revocation of AFSPA is over and no
India and the central and southern part of the Americas are geographically antipodal but historically connected by the European colonial legacy since the Iberic states from the late fifteenth century sought to reach “Las Indias” both through the southern and western routes and long retained the impression that the newly found continent across