2021 / Articles
-
Were Hindus Ever Invaders?
Published on 30th January, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. Hindutva keeps saying that Hindus never invaded foreign lands; that India has always been invaded. They speak mostly of Muslim invasion and ‘thousand years of slavery’ but rarely of Persian, Greek, Scythian,…
-
Mythology of Bengali Pirs
Published on 24th January, 2021, in Mid-day. Islam reached Bengal somewhere in the 13th century. Mongol raids forced migration of Sufi Pirs, also known as Ghazi, from Iran via Delhi. They spread their faith, in regions that were far away…
-
Horned Demons and Rebels
Published on 17th January, 2021, in Mid-day. The image of a horned, White man storming the US Capitol building is now part of history. It reveals the fragility of democracy and the lure of megalomaniacs and conspiracy theories. But, why…
-
Do the Vedas Acknowledge Women’s Desire?
Published on 16th January, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. Desire is a recurring theme in some of earliest verses of Hindu tradition, found in the Rig Veda. It is what inspires creation itself. It is what Apala craves when Indra offers…
-
Guru Teaches Autonomy Not Submission
Published on 10th January, 2021, in Mid-day. The idea of guru being greater than mother, father, even God, is an idea that emerges from medieval times and is articulated in the “Guru Gita”, a conversation between Shiva and Shakti from…
-
Jain Worldview Is Based On Hunger and Food
Published on 9th January, 2021, in Economic Times. Jains are one of the most successful business communities in India. They understand demand and supply better than anyone else. Not surprisingly their mythology is based on hunger, hunger being a metaphor…
-
Why Does Shiva Behead Brahma?
Published on 3rd January, 2021, in The Times of India. Social Justice warriors will often tell the story from the Uttara Ramayana of how Ram beheaded the ‘low’ caste Shambuka for breaking caste rules and performing austerities like a dvija…
-
Religion In Prehistoric India
Published on 3rd January, 2021, in Mid-day. Humans domesticated fire around 3,00,000 years ago. We started using tools around that time. But, the human brain evolved to its current size roughly 2,00,000 years ago. We migrated out of Africa into…