NavDharmyug

It occurred to me that we are pulled so far away from our own history and heritage that all we know is interpretations of translations of our primary sources. If we could even go to the translations, we would still gain much insight of our past. Without knowing our past, our minds float like rootless lilies in a muddied pond and thrown hither and tither with each forceful wave spiraling out, every time one stone is thrown.                               This contention that we must not learn our histories simply because it is not tabulated is a myth. Greek history by Herodotus is also not a very factual statement, nor is Roman history by Livy.   That is the way how history was written in ancient times. Times could change suddenly, empires destroyed and survival required one to write history wrapped in mythical stories. Still, if one has ...

There are certain acts which are more important for the intent than for the content. " I had a dream" of Dr. Martin Luther King , might not have a blue-print a plan for liberation of the down-trodden in the American society, but the intent was so strong, so potent that the content was sure to follow.  Yesterday's Townhall by PM Narandra Modi is one such event in the Indian politics. I am not sure if PM himself realizes that. He has set in motion the wheels of democracy in a direction which going forward, has the potential to create something bigger than he is.  In one swift stroke, he has established direct connect with the citizens. When was the last time we saw the PM talking directly to the citizens? Let us look at what this Townhall does to the polity at a broader level, instead of trying to lazily assess Modi's body-language and analyse his dress for the occasion.  One, he allows questions to come from citizens. He chooses to answer. In an era, w...

The long dance-duel of democracy has finally ended. The rulers and wanting-to-be-rulers have now decided to rest after a no-holds-barred battle is over. The unapologetic political parties and apologetic, righteous neutral commentators, jumping in and out of the discourse. In fact, the case for the commentators was the most curious, under the thinly wrapped veneer of neutrality and forward-thinking lurked the opportunity to shoot and scoot.   This was a campaign which made people see through the charade of intellectual bourgeoisie, who pretended to be neutral but treaded the thin line between the public and private. Thankfully, the campaign ended and hopefully we are left with few things still left to believe in.   Narendra Modi has a task cut out for him. Swearing-in happens tomorrow evening. My view he has things to do, new paths to tread.   He has invited the SAARC countries, all of them to attend. That to me is a good be...

We as a country have numbed down. The politicians, out of their own wily designs call it a resilient spirit.  They fool us out of their obvious incompetence, and confuse us with a helpless courage with which they credit us. What we are is a citizenry which has lost all hope, and which is as trivial and useless as the leaders that govern it. A soldier was killed in UK and it created a global furor, with the UK PM condemning the incident and the governments across the world coming in solidarity.   The following week six soldiers were killed and we greeted the news with our usual silence. It is not only about the governance, and how far in their incompetence the leaders will go; It is about how far we as citizens will go. The killing of soldier was not only marked by the PM of the country coming in to condemn it and getting visibly engaged right till the funeral. It was also marked by thousands who came out on streets to grieve the dead soldier. We are a dead society led by ...