2017 / Articles
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Can I be a Hindu and still an atheist?
Since no one can actually define Hinduism, the simple answer is: yes.
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Romeo squads? Let’s rename them after Kichaka or Dandaka
This worldview that locates the hermit over the householder, and men over women, dominates the Hindu right, though in keeping with contemporary thinking, celibacy is no longer linked to the occult. Instead it is linked to service.
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Dharma in the forest
Both in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, we are left to wonder which space is more cruel: the forest or the human settlement.
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Imagining a nation’s past
Government imaginaries are usually of two types: reforming imaginaries and reclaiming imaginaries.
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Questioning Traditional Hierarchies
Many women don’t like being identified as feminists as they see feminists as man-haters who despise all things feminine. I think the problem is with the nomenclature – feminism. I feel traditional gender roles and power equations have to change…
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Is Hinduism the same as Hindutva?
A crude, but useful way to understand the relationship between Hinduism and Hindutva is to study Hindu history.
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Who made God Perfect?
When Shiva and Vishnu merge into one being Hari-Hara, to show they are the same, not different, not higher or lower.
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The Fragility of the Ego
When I wrote an article pointing to the misogynist rules of Vinaya Pitaka, the discipline for Buddhist monks, many Buddhists got upset. They accused me of being Right Wing fascist and a Hindu fanatic. Some people love Buddha so much…
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The Roadside Shrine
In India, a temple, a mosque or a church can appear just about anywhere and become a pilgrim spot.
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What is the opposite of intellectual?
One can say, it is a rejection of society based on knowledge (Saraswati) and a celebration of society based on power (Durga) and wealth (Lakshmi).
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Is a Hindu prayer different from a Christian or Muslim prayer?
Prayers exist in a mythic worldview, and depending on the worldview, the nature of the prayer is different.
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To Empathise
Why do people think that by calling stupid people stupid they will make them less stupid ? It will only annoy the stupid person who will disagree. They will call the name-caller as the ‘intellectual fake media’ and dig their…
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CNN’s Believer: Reza Aslan’s show on Hindu mendicants is bigoted no matter how you look at it
The author and TV host has been criticised for his feature on India’s Aghoris.
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Classifying Jati
There are over 3,000 jatis in India today, most are regional, not known across India.
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The House of the Superstar
Temples are built for heroes and heroines, by their fans in our country. Are these fans, or devotees?
