Reaching There

#Kashmir  A region known to the world as a "disputed" territory if you follow the so called populist media. As recently as this week, Al Jazeera shamefully printed an article stating " Kashmir Muslims fear demographic shift as thousands get residency " Yet, ignored by these so-called journalists is the historical fact that 'Kashmir valley is dotted with pre-historic pilgrimage centers and ancient ruins of Hindu temples and Buddhist Stupas and Viharas.' ( source: Col Tej K Tikoo. Kashmir: Its Aborigines and their Exodus (Kindle Locations 316-317). Lancer Publishers LLC. Kindle Edition. )  Ancient Kashmir  Two great Indic religions, namely, Hinduism and Buddhism, thrived here and interacted with each other in a manner that affected their outlook on spiritual and temporal matters. ( source: Col Tej K Tikoo. Kashmir: Its Aborigines and their Exodus (Kindle Locations 318-319). Lancer Publishers LLC. Kindle Edition. ) Here are just a few examples of ancient temple...

#6431truth, #FreeKashmir, #BlackLivesMatter,  #FightForHongKong, #FreePalestine It's quite possible that you have knowingly, within a blink of eye, 'retweeted' or published such hashtags on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. I am guilty too, yes 'guilty' because it's part of symptom called lazy activism.  Isn't activism the trait of a morally conscious human being? Unless you care about your something, how else will it get any better, right? The answer is yes and yes. But, too many of us are prone to lazy activism. We're quick to share the hashtags and change our profile pictures with superficial opinions we've created on the spur of the moment or based on stereotypes.  Since I too have suffered from the same, I'm tried to understand some of the symptoms from my past behavior as well as from what's available from external sources like news, essays etc. Disclaimer: Being an Asian, my viewpoints...

I recently read an article by Sadanand Dhume in WSJ titled ' Hindu Supremacism Turns Deadly in Delhi '. I was not surprised by the blatant one-sidedness of the so-called opinion as well as the lack of the likes of WSF, NY Times, Washington Post, etc. to even include any disclaimer or even reach out to discuss the other aspect of the debate. After all, if the opinion of an individual is published in a news media the audience should be entitled to balanced information filled with detailed facts, not personal interpretations. Here are examples from the article which is an unashamed manner promoting the entire episode of violence as Hindu Supremacism.  Example 1: The article states that in the Delhi riots most of the killed are Muslim. It shamelessly tries to portray this as an anti-Muslim or a pogrom as Pakistani prime minister likes to call it. Yet it fails to mention that it was, in fact, a riot where both Muslim and Hindu community lost civilians. It fails to mentio...

Democracy thrives on the debate is a universal thought that has been the corner thought of modern democratic nations. The US presidential debates can, in fact, make or break a political career. Although these presidential debates tend to be popularity contest with moments of quips that a large audience will remember until they vote.  However, the importance of debate has been there from the ancient times; whether it was the 'Shashtrartha' ( शास्त्रार्थ) of ancient India where scholars debated each other on an extensive range of philosophical or religious topics. Our Vedas, Upanishads, and Darshans are the epitome of debates and conversations.  If you want to get a feel of such debates in Ancient India I would highly recommend an episode from TV series Upanishad Ganga where they have dramatized the debate between Ashtavakra, who was a Vedic sage, and Acharya Vandi, who was one of the primary scholars in King Janaka's court. You can see the episode here . While rese...