IndianHistory

I remember reading a story by Leo Tolstoy called Ivan Illych’s death. A perfectly normal and healthy individual, get’s injured while doing some house hold chore. His health worsens and eventually Ivan Illych dies. At his funeral, the people believe it is something that happened to Ivan Illych only. People think such a thing can never happen to any of them.  The condition of people in Bharat is more or less similar. During partition when countless people died in communal riots, many people were smug in their homes that it is happening elsewhere in some remote corner of the country and they are safe. One Duratma in particular brainwashed people into thinking that if someone is killing people, the victims should peacefully die. Rest should not worry and just sit and fast and meekly die. This attitude has largely influenced people in Bharat. When Kashmiri Pandits were killed by the thousands and had to flee their homeland in the 1990s most of the country was blissfully oblivious to the...

The period following 2014 is touted as the age of Hindutva reniassance and rightly so!  Now what appears to be all pervasive, the undercurrents were visible long back, if one chose to look for it.  I of course, did not look for it back in 2008 when I had joined Facebook. I did not even look for it back when Shri Vajpayee was at the helm and I felt proud of my Prime Minister. However, I know long back that HIndu society was in seige. There were many enemies waiting to devour people who went about saying  they were “Spiritual but not religious!”. I could see that people were always speaking about how Hindus were treated like second class citizens in their own country where they were a majority. I certainly was one of the first who believed in this. I would discuss this with relatives and friends. Before 2014, I was actively campaigning for the BJP on social media, especially Shri Narendra Modi as I felt another term under a “secular” regime would affect our very survival....

 With the onset of Kaliyuga evil loomed large and seemed to be all pervasive, no matter where one looked! People had lost hope. Women and children were at the mercy of those who did not know it's meaning. Death seemed to be the only resort.       An ancient sage's heart bled at the way his brethren were cringing under the onslaught of Evil. He climbed the peak of what is now known as mount Abu, and sincierely prayed to the almighty Lord of the Universe. "Does your heart remain unmoved, oh protector of the innocent, that you do not come down and end their suffering. Kindly help the creatures who are suffering endlessly. Please offer some sort of help oh Giridhar Murari!". So saying he dug a Agni-Kunda (fire pit), and offered in it as oblation, his ego and stood like another mountain firm in faith. Then he heard the terrifying growls and the rakshasas were bearing down upon him. Even as he felt their hot breath, he stood unmoving, praying earnestly for a miracle. ...

As I look at the ongoing CAA and NRC turbulence, I am reminded of a beautiful story that my father narrated. It shows that there can be people who transcend the narrow confines of religion and could grow spiritually to great heights. This was the time when my father and mother struggled hard to demolish a 150 year old house and construct a new one. My father was teaching passionately in his college. He would come home, get me from school and then give me some snacks to eat. Once done, he would then drive down to the tuition place to teach students.  My father would notice an old man, with the most peaceful countenance greet him daily. The old man was a devout Muslim. He was clean shaven, and his wrinkled face would give indication of a once handsome man. The old man would accost my father and say "Good evening Sir! How do you do? You are doing a great job by teaching children here. I too used to teach in a primary school once. It is the job of teachers to mould young minds ...

Today I was very dejected. I felt very sad indeed! Where is the world heading to? When people openly practice bigotry! When people are hell bent on destroying other people who do not share their beliefs. When people turn a deaf ear to the cries of women who are raped and forcefully converted to a different belief system. Recently the BJP led central government announced the CAB (Citizenship Amendment Bill) which passed both houses of the parliament and has now become a law. According to this act people who were once part of pre Independence India (Or people who share a common cultural bond with India) from Pakistan,Afghanistan and Bangladesh and who are facing religious persecution and who have stayed in India for more than 4 years, will be given Citizenship. Since this bill speaks about religiously persecuted minorities, it naturally mentions Hindus,Christians,Parsis, Jains etc. It does not mention the religious majority of these countries. However there has been a heavy influx o...

I woke up to the noise of laughter in the next cubicle. Groggily I took out my phone and looked at the time. It was 10 AM! Oh my god! I had drifted off to sleep yet again! Ever since the office location had shifted, I had to reach the office early to beat the traffic and leave early. Sleep had now become a precious commodity and I wasn't getting enough of it. Involuntarily I unlocked the phone and checked my whatsapp messages. And there were a couple of messages in my High School group. After swiping the screen a little I noticed a message requesting people not to buy goods from a certain popular sports goods store. I clicked on the images associated with the message. There was a close up shot of a hockey bat. On the bat was written in bold letters "Made in Pakistan". The message added further that we as responsible citizens should stop terror funding by not buying from the said sports goods store. Almost immediately, I saw a friend who is living in Sydney had replied ...