2020 / Articles
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From ‘Shri’ Ram To ‘Siya’ Ram
Published om 6th September, 2020, in Mid-day. While laying the foundation stone of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple on August 5, 2020, it was clear that no other Hindutva leader, other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was in the photograph that…
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Making Do To Survive
Published on 5th September, 2020, in Reader’s Digest. If you have no resources, a government that pretends to care and a non-existent system in place, you have to make do with what you have and align whatever forces within access,…
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What They Don’t Tell You About Advaita
Who is a Hindu? What they don’t tell you about Advaita Published on 30th August, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Advaita Vedanta is the de facto philosophy followed by Hindutva. The reason for this is not spiritual. It is political. Advaita…
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Was Harappa a Jain Civilisation?
Published on 30th August, 2020, in Mid-day. The Harappan civilisation thrived in the Indus Valley 4,500 years ago, roughly around the time the pyramids were being built in Egypt. It is famous for its grid-like cities. Here, we find a…
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Human Sacrifice to Riots: Political Tools of Control
Published on 22nd August, 2020, in Economic Times. In Meso-America, the Aztecs sacrificed humans to their gods. This was deemed barbaric by Spanish conquistadors who arrived there in the 16th Century. It became the reason to label them savages, justify…
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The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita
The essence of the Bhagavad Gita: Understanding the significance of sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna Published on 22nd August, 2020, in Economic Times. The Bhagavad Gita informs us that the world is made of two intertwined entities: the material (prakriti) and…
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Menstrual Taboos Are Not Unique to Hinduism
Who is a Hindu? Menstrual taboos are not unique to Hinduism Published on 16th August, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. In Kerala, there is the story of a group of boys who found a rock bleeding. Those who touched it died…
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Sarna, the Harappan Tree Goddess
Published on 16th August, 2020, in Mid-day. One of the things in the about-4,000-year-old Harappan seals is the value placed on trees. There is the peepal tree and the babool (acacia) tree that have been identified. The peepal tree is…
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My Father *Cannot* Be Gay
Published on 9th August, 2020, in Mid-day. When I came out to myself and my family in the 1990s, I found great joy in the ‘World of Homosexuals’, a book written by Shakuntala Devi, in 1977, long before HIV-AIDS made…
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Was Ram Born In Ayodhya?
Published on 6th August, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Devdutt Pattanaik, the author of The Book of Ram, answers some commonly asked questions. ♦ Was Ram actually born in Ayodhya? Hindus believe he was, just as Muslims believe Mecca is where…
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Gender Fluidity In Hinduism
Who is a Hindu? Gender fluidity in Hinduism Published on 2nd August, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Greek mythology focuses a lot on same-sex love: love between men and men, women and women and between men and boys i.e. inter-generational love.…
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A Jain Take On Lakshman’s Death
Published on 2nd August, 2020, in Mid-day. In the Jain Ramayana, Ram is considered to be a baladev. He is non-violent. Lakshman, on the other hand, is considered a vasudev. It is Lakshman who kills Ravan using a magic wheel,…
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The Transformation Of King Ashoka and Bill Gates
Published on 25th July, 2020, in the Economic Times. Stories of transformation are very impressive. Let’s take the example of Ashoka. Ashoka was a Mauryan prince who, 2300 years ago, killed his brothers to become the king of Pataliputra. He…
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The Missing Horse Of Baghpat
WHO IS A HINDU? – The Missing Horse Of Baghpat. Published on 19th July, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Ram rides out of Ayodhya on a horse-driven chariot. Krishna rides out of Vrindavana and into Kurukshetra in a horse-driven chariot. As…
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You Want Wealth Or Knowledge?
Published on 19th July, 2020, in Mid-day In popular lore, Lakshmi and Saraswati hate each other. Where there is fortune, there is no respect for education, and where there is education, there is no value for wealth. The courtesan’s house…
