Society
-
Can Dalit Food Ever Be Satvik?
Imagine a meal made of coagulated blood cooked with oil, salt and chillies, or a meal of the flesh of rats, or the flesh of a dead, not slaughtered, animal. Or imagine a meal which contains the brain, intestines and…
-
Influx of Islamic Ideas
Today, when people talk about Indian knowledge systems, they usually refer to Indian knowledge systems which originated in India. In the process, we forget the major contribution that happened to India in the Islamic period.
-
Pleasure, a Brief Indian History
Atharva Veda says, “Desire gives. Desire receives”. Kama, we are told, is what stirs the first being to create the world.
-
Why is Holi celebrated more in north India than south India?
Holi is indeed celebrated mostly in north India, not south India. No one knows the reason why.
-
It Is Not Just Hindus Who Love an Imagined Past
Imagined history has always served ideologies. Colonial powers have sought to present precolonial states as barbaric and savage to justify their imperial outreach. Muslims insist that a society before conversion to Islam is ignorant (jahila). For Marxists and Cultural Marxists,…
-
What Makes Ramayana “Curiously Modern”?
Ramayana is a curiously modern book, because it deals with CONSENT. Both male and female.
-
Did Krishna Resist Jarasandha’s Hegemony?
Krishna embodies the nomadic cowherds. Kamsa is described as the dictator of Mathura, who overthrows an oligarchy (janapada).
-
Three Aryan Invasions
When people speak of the Aryan invasion, it is important to clarify which Aryan invasion they are talking about. Believe it or not, there are actually THREE.
-
How Hindu Temples Evolved
We assume that temples were always part of Hindu culture. But historians present a far more complex story.
-
The Saint Outside the Temple
There is tension between the social idea of purity and pollution, and the spiritual idea of connection between the deity and the devotee. Here are five such stories drawing attention to the tension.
-
Science Values Doubt Over Faith
Most people confuse science with logic. Anyone can be logical, even analytical, in establishing causality. But science is about stepping outside the human mind, relying on measurement, comparison and evidence.
-
The Hindu History of Bengal
Published on 6th May, 2023, in Times of India. When we talk about Bengal, we speak of its partition. The eastern part became Muslim Bangladesh, the western part became communist West Bengal. It almost seemed as if Hinduism had been…
-
The Ahimsa Seal of the Indus
Published on 29th April, 2023, in Economic Times. The oldest seals depicting ahimsa (non-violence) are found in the Harappan cities of the Indus Valley (2500 BCE to 1900 BCE). These are the M-478B seal from Mohenjo Daro and the K-65…
