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Does “Net Worth” Stack up against Sense of Worth?
This haunting dialog from the 1975 Hindi movie Deewar captivated audiences (link below) and rocked the movie scriptwriting industry. The onscreen characters of Shashi Kapoor (SK)—the poor, but happy guy—and his brother, played by Amitabh Bachchan (AB)—the rich, but unhappy guy—are having a heated argument about SK’s “adarsh” (ideals) and “asool” (convictions) in contrast to AB’s flamboyance of wealth. AB arrogantly barks, “Aaj mere paas buildingay hai, property hai, bank balance hai, bangalay hai, gaadi hai. Kya hai tumhare paas?” [Translation: I possess buildings, property, a bank balance, mansions, and cars. What do you claim to possess?] SK utters with great pride, “Mere paas maa hai!” [Translation: I have my mother.] *** Who doesn’t want to reside in their dream house in a sought-after neighborhood? Or drive their dream car(s) or have the kids attend private schools? … Read entire article »
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A Middle-East Democracy; The Perfect Oxymoron!
What is really ‘The Arab Spring,’ their hope or ours? “… democracy is a product of western culture, and it cannot be applied to the Middle East which has a different cultural, religious, … Read more »
‘Chanakya’s Chant’ – An intelligent man’s guide to governance and foreign policy!
Had Chānakya been a Western philosopher (like Plato or Aristotle), history probably would have treated him with much more respect. His Arthaśāstra is easily the Earth‘s first treatise on statecraft, which dealt … Read more »
Welcome to the future: Come down from your ivory towers folks
I am not getting enough time these days to write…but I could not resist a comment after June 2011’s Horrific Job report in USA. The U.S. economy added a paltry 18,000 jobs … Read more »
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Yoga, Indian Sciences, Vedas and Tradition – Koenraad Elst: Mistaken Identity?
The modern era is full of writers who expound the essence of Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharat, Ramayan, Indian politics etc. Some sanskrit scholars did an indepth analysis and gave their own interpretations of … Read more »
All Free Nations Must Mandate Inquiry into Intolerant Faiths!
Editor’s note: On March 10, 2011 US Representative Peter King opened Congressional hearings about radicalization in the Muslim American community. The New York congressman says the threat of homegrown terrorism is on … Read more »
Adoption of The Bush Doctrine, a Must For Every Democracy!
A nation nurtured on pacifism can never be a superpower, and how the wisdom of tolerance has made India defenseless. [Author's preface: The only country, surrounded by Islamic countries that has NOT lost … Read more »
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Kashmiri Pandits: A Forsaken Minority
Written by: Narayanadas Upadhyayula | February 18th, 2012 | Add a Comment |Another anniversary of the exodus that made the Kashmiri Pandits orphans of history stared at us on January 19. The Pandits, were uprooted from their home and hearth and cast about as refugees in their own homeland. The tragedy and tribulations that befell this unfortunate community for the last twenty two years include some of the most heart-rending stories. Theirs is a story of humanitarian disaster of unprecedented magnitude, but strangely, had gone unnoticed by the rest of the world and more importantly by their own countrymen here in India. As K.P.S. Gill, former police chief of Punjab who rid his state of separatist militancy put it, “[...] one of the reasons for the apathy … Read entire article »
The US: A decade after 2001
Written by: Kishan Bhatia | February 13th, 2012 | Add a Comment |A star (*) indicates more information is available in the references and notes. President Obama in his latest State of the Union Address reported to the US Congress that after nine years of war the withdrawal of all US troops from Iraqis completed and in more than two decades Osama bin Laden (OBL) is not around to threaten the US security. President has in three years resolved major issues related to theUS security except that associated with the Af-Pak area terrorist Taliban and intransigent warlords of Pakistan. President has asked theUS and NATO generals to set up by 2014 a 350,000 strong Afghan army capable of neutralizing threats to its sovereignty from its neighbors. The US is … Read entire article »
Promotion of Indian culture and ‘minority appeasing’ Secularism
Written by: Sameer Thakkar | January 29th, 2012 | 7 Comments |Every country’s primary education revolves around its history, languages, philosophies, art, culture and sciences. Ancient greece is characterised by greek philosophies and sciences, egypt with pyramids and the science behind it etc. It is only natural for any school of a country to be teaching the ancient language of that country along with the philosophies. Would it sound logical to a rational mind if, in his own family, someone else’s lineage and history is given more importance and taught to him than his own? Would it be hypocritical if his own history is given much more importance to him than someone else’s? Similar is the case with India. Today, if one vouches for the promotion of … Read entire article »
Happy Republic Day, India
Written by: Raji Lukkoor | January 29th, 2012 | Add a Comment |Did you know that the Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules and 94 amendments, with 117,369 words in its English version? Compare that to the United States Constitution, which comprises 7 articles and 27 amendments. India became a republic on January 26, 1950. What that means is it is the birth date of the “Constitution of India,” the governing document that defines the principles upon which the nation is based. January 26 is a national holiday in India. To commemorate this event, the government of India holds a magnificent parade in the capital each year, consisting of invited bands, military units, floats, and … Read entire article »
The Dream of Vishnu: Shunyata or Infinity? (Part1)
Written by: Prashant Saxena | January 29th, 2012 | 3 Comments |Dream of Vishnu : Shunyata or Infinity? That man who uses the mind for reins and the knowledge for the driver, reaches the end of his road, the highest seat of Vishnu. Than the senses the objects of sense are higher; and higher than the objects of sense is the Mind; and higher than the Mind is the faculty of knowledge; and than that is the Great Self higher. And higher than the Great Self is the Unmanifest and higher than the Unmanifest is the Purusha: than the Purusha there is none higher: He is the culmination, He is the highest goal of the journey. (Katha Upanishad, Kena and other Upanishads, Page 115, 1.3.9-11) A thought cannot … Read entire article »
Asymmetric War and Financial Bets
Written by: Kishan Bhatia | January 28th, 2012 | Add a Comment |The blog present following topics: Introduction Asymmetric Bets The Big Short and Bubble Economies The Obama Factor Pakistan Big Short Option The Afghanistan’s Future References and notes Introduction The political soap opera now being staged inPakistanindicates that it may be plunging into one more political crisis in its short history (1971 – present). If constitutional remedies are applied for the resolution of political crisis may strengthen basic institutions of the fragile democracy. The weak government institutions continue to support army and intransigent warlords managed proxy wars even though its fragile economy lacks resources to sustain the annual costs at an estimated $1 bbl for maintaining 100,000 proxy warriors. Using the mercenary proxy warriors a goal appears to be to dominate South Asia with … Read entire article »
Is Your EQ Consistent with Your IQ?
Written by: Raji Lukkoor | January 14th, 2012 | Add a Comment |EQ or Emotional Intelligence (popularly referred to as EQ) is a term that’s been around a while. Author Daniel Goleman brought it into prominence in the 1980s with his best-seller, you guessed it, “Emotional Intelligence.” What is EQ and how is it different from IQ? And, why does it matter, anyways? IQ, as we know, is an individual’s ability to learn, memorize, problem solve, reason, communicate, and process information. Scientists believe that both genetics and the environment can influence an individual’s IQ and that it cuts across gender and ethnicity. Myriad tests are available on the market that assess IQ and are used by educators as predictors of a student’s educational achievement or “giftedness.” The higher … Read entire article »
Purpose of Life and Absolute truth
Written by: Kishan Bhatia | January 3rd, 2012 | Add a Comment |Introduction Purpose of Life and Education* Immortality and Absolute Truth References and Notes The star (*) represents more information can be found in references and notes. Purpose of Life and Education* The purpose of life, the reason to exist, from birth to death, is to learn. We are here to learn of God’s Truths in His works. We are here to learn to live in peace and in harmony with all of God’s Creation. What better way to know God than to look for His Truth in His Work. It takes very little insight to realize that all life on earth must learn and that failure to learn guarantees extinction. Although learning does not guarantee immortality, it does point in the … Read entire article »
Pakistan Palestine Sufism and Terrorism
Written by: Kishan Bhatia | December 28th, 2011 | Add a Comment |Pakistan Palestine Sufism and Terrorism Introduction The star (*) represents more information can be found in references and notes. This blog with following topics is concerned with select Op-eds of Pakistani scholars. International Political Opportunists Hate and Intolerance Palestine State and Khilafat Movement South Asia Developments Death of Humanism Hopes for Future References and Notes for Islamic History International Political Opportunists Irfan Husain a respected Pakistani Op-ed writer in defense of a case for Palestine state presented interesting arguments based on select history to counter the firestorm ignited by a flame thrower and a want-to-be GOP nominee, American Newt Gingrich. Prof Gingrich had recently claimed that Palestinians were invented people. Before Mr Gingrich’s claim, Mr. Zuhair Mohsen stated that “The … Read entire article »
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