Celebrate Diwali with Light, Love & The Divine Protector
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Re-centring the Hindu Goddess
Re-centring the goddess is not anti-male. It is pro-ecosystem. It reminds us that festivals are contracts with land, water, animals, and labour — especially women’s labour. When we reduce Diwali…
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Today’s Sanatan Dharma prefers ‘trad’ Bhisma
The Trans Bill signed by the President of India aligns with the commander of the Kauravas, not Krishna. The Kauravas were more aligned to Christian Evangelists, not “woke” Krishna.
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Narada: the Original Provocateur
Narada is Hindu mythology’s impish, itinerant sage. His presence in a story spells trouble. As a character, he plays a key role. He spotlights our love for gossip, our fragile…
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The Global Resurrection of Islam
Earlier, Islam was sustained by rulers. In the modern era, it is sustained by communities. Authority shifted from courts and empires to classrooms, print networks, voluntary organisations, and individual conscience.
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Why Lord Ram Was Painted Green
In Nayaka art, Ram is painted green, the colour of tender leaves that emerge from the earth after rains. Green is not the colour of fear or dominance. It is…
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Ashoka and the Unifier of China
Over 2200 years ago, two rulers on opposite ends of Asia confronted a similar problem: how to hold together vast, diverse territories emerging from long periods of conflict. Qin Shi…
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Chandala’s daughter, Arundhati
Arundhati is remembered today as the ideal wife, the tiny star beside Vasistha in the Saptarshi constellation, shown to every new bride as a model of fidelity. But beneath this…
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Persia was a Civilisation Long Before Islam and Rome
Zoroastrianism traced its teachings to the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster), who is believed to have lived many centuries earlier, perhaps around 1200 BC, according to some scholars.
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Did the Mughals invent Hindi?
Hindi is often described as a language born in Mughal barracks, as if it were simply the speech of imperial camps. This is an attractive phrase, but it is historically…
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A Colonial Category Called Religion
Hinduism did not become a religion by organic evolution. It was forced into becoming a religion by colonial definitions, Christian templates and Brahminical reinterpretations. What had functioned for centuries as…
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If Usha Vance became Christian, would she be American enough?
Sensing the shift in public narrative following the killing of Charlie Kirk, now seen as a Christian martyr, Vice President JD Vance declared publicly that he hoped his wife, Usha,…
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The Ravana of Ratanpur
At Ratan-gad, or Ratanpur Fort, near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh — once part of Madhya Pradesh — there exists a rare and striking sculpture of Ravana. He is shown cutting off…
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The Tale of Two Somnaths
Loud discussions on how Muslim raiders from Ghazni plundered Somnath temple, on the Gujarat coast a thousand years ago, ignore how Jain ‘basadi’ in Karnataka were replaced by Somanatha Shiva…
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Will Bollywood Rama Ignore Shambuka?
A Brahmin approaches Rama in grief. His young son has died prematurely. Such a death, he says, can only happen when dharma is disturbed. A king is responsible for cosmic…
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Are God’s Messengers Real or Imaginary?
We know that information about Gautama Buddha, Chanakya, and Shankaracharya come from textual sources that were composed centuries after their supposed lifetimes. There is no material proof of their existence.…
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Comparing Poems from Tantra and Bhakti
A tiny fragment of the Indian population was literate in medieval times. But a large portion knew poetry, composed poetry and transmitted poetry. These poems are thus major cultural outputs.