2020 / Articles
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Sita Is Not Helen
Published on 1st November, 2020, in Mid-day. Many people are of the opinion that Greek and Hindu mythologies have much in common. This idea was first proposed by Europeans who believed that all pre-Christian cultures were pagan and so, had…
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Ithasa As Propaganda
Published on 31st October, 2020, in Economic Times. If one travels to ancient Egypt, one sees gigantic monuments of Rameses II. These celebrate his victory against the Hittites, in Syria, in 1300 BCE, in the first real use of horse-driven…
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Donkey’s Curse and Cross
Published on 25th October, 2020, in Mid-day. In many parts of India, especially in Maharashtra and Goa, one finds stone tablets showing a strange image of a donkey having sex with a woman. Known as “gadhe-gal” or “donkey-curse”, archaeologists believe…
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Does Gujarat Inspire the Ram Janmabhoomi Architecture?
Published on 25th October, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. The Ram Mandir will finally be built in Ayodhya. It is meant to establish a common political Hindutva identity to unite Hindus, who are divided by many castes, languages, gods and rituals.…
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Nine Forms Of Durgas
Published on 18th October, 2020, in Mid-day. The concept of Nava-durga is extremely popular during Navratri. Navratri refers to the nine nights that lead to the celebration of Vijayadashmi. The Goddess is worshipped in nine forms. The nine forms are…
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Breaking Out Of the Indra-Jaal
Published on 17th October, 2020, in Economic Times. The concept of Indra’s net, or Indrajaal, comes to us from the Atharva Veda. It speaks of Indra capturing his enemies with a net, pinning them to the ground, and smiting them…
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The Treacherous Truth
Who Is a Hindu? The Treacherous Truth Published on 11th October, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Popular politics chooses to ignore the many strands of mythology in favour of convenient figureheads. Not long ago, a man on a television channel yelled,…
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Axe Of Parasurama
Published on 11th October, 2020, in Mid-day. Parasurama is the sixth avatar of Vishnu, also one of the most controversial ones. This is why we do not see many temples dedicated to him. If we do, we find them along…
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The Imposter In My Bed
Published on 4th October, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. A common theme in mythology around the world is where a man enters his bed and makes love to a woman who he thinks is his wife. However, it turns out to…
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View: Is the Corporate Pantheon Truly Diverse?
Published on 2nd October, 2020, in Economic Times. The corporate world is assumed to be masculine, one that needs to be forced to acknowledge the feminine and the queer through policies. But while the corporate world struggles to be inclusive,…
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Can Gay Marriage Be Part of Hindu Culture?
Published on 27th September, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Hindu culture forbids divorce. Yet Hindu personal laws permit divorce. Hindu culture allows gods, and men, to have many wives. Yet Hindu personal laws forbid polygamy. Does it mean Hindu personal laws…
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Did Karuppu Swami Live 12,000 Years Ago?
Published on 27th September, 2020, in Mid-day. So, the government has appointed a committee to delve into the “true” history of India, starting from 12,000 years ago, since the Ice Age, which Hindutva historians assume is the “pralaya” of the…
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What Does Haraam-Khor Actually Mean?
Published on 20th September, 2020, in Mid-day. ‘Haraam’ is an Islamic concept, which means sin, a breaking of rules, God’s rules specifically. It is the opposite of ‘halal’—following God’s rule. But then, what does ‘khor’ mean ‘Khor’ comes to eat,…
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Tax collection: Old View to New
Published on 18th September, 2020, in Economic Times. Ancient Greeks, like ancient Hindus, valued the idea of city-states and decentralised power. But exposure to Middle East introduced monotheism, the idea of empire, with central control, allegedly for deficient governance. This…
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Dark secrets of the sewers of Harappa
Who is a Hindu? Dark secrets of the sewers of Harappa. Published on 13th September, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Indians have an uncomfortable relationship with the sanitary system. We have permitted and even justified manual scavenging. A place where the…
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Was The Buddha Nepalese?
Published on 13th September, 2020, in Mid-day. Sundar Pichai is the CEO of Alphabet and its subsidiary Google, and has achieved great global success. We, Indians, want to identify him as Indian, although his entire achievement has been in America.…