Articles

Back in 2013 India was involved in a heated verbal exchange with America over the treatment meted out to Devyani Khobragade, Deputy Consul General in the Consulate General of India in New York. Khobragade hired Sangeeta Richard, an Indian national, in November 2012 as a nanny and domestic servant. She was charged on 11 December [...]

‘Thus, Maya is not an ignorance, a separation from the totality of the truth, but a transcendental power that is the expression of a divine integral knowledge, where each and every force and form that manifest is united in a totality of truth.If I see a beautiful painting, it is not an illusion that separates [...]

Amnesty International has expressed apprehension that hanging of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla will trigger reprisal attacks with country’s minority Hindu community bearing the brunt of it. It also termed the execution as a disgrace as the rights body is opposed to the death penalty in “all cases without exception.” “The execution of Abdul Quader [...]

In the framework of Europalia India, a string of institutions including my Alma Mater, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, hosts a series of exhibitions, performances, films showings, conferences and lectures. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal was to speak in Brussels and Leuven, but he didn’t show up, being detained in a sex scandal. [...]

Perhaps surprisingly in a country where so many people view cows as sacred, India could soon become the world’s biggest beef exporter, according to the USDA. DELHI/MUMBAI: Symbols of India’s emergence as an economic powerhouse line the four-lane highway to Jaipur out of New Delhi: a factory owned by the world’s biggest motorbike maker, glass [...]

Hindu texts have discussed variations in gender and sexuality for over two millennia. Like the erotic sculptures on ancient Hindu temples at Khajuraho and Konarak, sacred texts in Sanskrit constitute irrefutable evidence that the whole range of sexual behavior was known to ancient Hindus. When Europeans arrived in India, they were shocked by Hinduism, which [...]

Indians have brains. This news has spread by now. I read about an Indian girl in a school in U.S. who complained that her American peers expected her to excel simply because she was Indian. There are statistics which show that NRIs in U.S. are doing exceptionally well, that their percentage in organizations like NASA [...]

“On Hinduism is a treat. For those who already know and admire Wendy Doniger’s work, this is a handy (if hefty) compendium of many of her essays…. For those who are reading her for the first time, the book is a marvellous introduction to the multiple ways that Hinduism can be approached and understood through [...]

The common language of Hinduism must depart from the dominance of Shankaran Advaita Amidst the globalization of diverse philosophies, Hindus are trying to establish a unique place for themselves. This requires a unique terminology that explains Hinduism, not in a Western framework but on its own terms. Some of our leaders are attempting such a [...]

Scientists are getting close to proving what yogis have held to be true for centuries — yoga and meditation can ward off stress and disease. John Denninger, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, is leading a five-year study on how the ancient practices affect genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed. His latest work [...]