Articles

. Through disease, warfare, broken treaties, the Native Americans suffered demographic catastrophe. Christian missionaries helped by the state enforced European-American culture on the indigenous people via boarding schools where the children were forced to forget their language, culture and gods, all in the name of ‘progress’. Children were usually immersed in European-American culture through appearance changes [...]

In India's case we have William Dalrymple, a complete social misfit in his own native land, so he decided to transplant himself in the same manner which bubonic plague once ravaged Europe by hitching a free ride on fleas infesting rats. Dalrymple has suddenly become the spokesperson on what he calls Hindu 'extremism' when he [...]

"[Many filmmakers] see their jobs as being missionaries for Christianity, and film is their missionary tool. Fear is a missionary tool." —Hector Avalos [...]

Based on a number of requests to explain the basics of Eastern philosophies in English for those daunted by the sheer volume of foreign terms, I have attempted to present a simplified summary of basic concepts in one document. I’m only a student myself, so I assume all responsibility for any inaccuracies in the following [...]

In fact both Left and Right wings of the western political spectrum end up pushing the same agenda, which is rooted in western imperialism, colonialism, ideas of racial superiority, and attempts to create a utopian New Order out of the unfathomable polytheistic mess that they see around them. Its roots lie in seeing divine intervention [...]

I beg you, all my Hindu Readers, don’t let this happen to your traditions. Your religious practices are gifts the Gods have given you. They are an ancestral inheritance passed down from generation to generation. Do whatever you must to preserve them. Every temple is precious. Every puja holy and sacred. The Gods deserve the [...]

In fact, Yoga/Hinduism is one of the few (if not only major tradition) surviving to this day that still highly favors honoring one’s ancestors. While it is somewhat understandable as to why the modern mind would ask the question, ‘what is the value of honoring the ancestors?’ In reality, the answer to this [...]

My own wish would be to reclaim Kolkata from Teresa—to sever the automatic connection of the two names as the whole wide world sees it. Kolkata’s image under the yoke of Mother Teresa will take a century to recover. In the last 50 years, the city has lost an unimaginable amount from the loss of [...]

September 4, 2016 is the day when Mother Teresa, recipient of Nobel Peace prize of 1979, will be canonized by Roman Catholic Church in Vatican city to finally declare her a saint and make her sainthood universal. This event of declaration of sainthood raises many critical questions about her deeds and legacy which juxtaposes her mainstream image [...]

Anyone in Kerala will have a story to tell of a cherished memory with an elephant. It is said that a true Malayali can identify elephants just by looking at it. As a person who grew up in Kerala, I can testify how the intelligent, gentle and majestic pachyderm has been an integral part of [...]