Reflections

This is the 4 th article in the Being Indian Series : carrying on from the previous one - Being Indian - 3 : The 1000 Year Slavery , where I examined our so-called slavery of a 1000 years. The impact of Colonialism on the psyche of a people and a society is a tale that needs to be told, highlighted so that firstly, healing can start; and secondly, harmful and at times divisive ideas and ideologies can be nipped in the bud. The rising feeling of a so-called ‘Hindu’ resurgence /  freedom for 1000 years of slavery / rising sectarianism / other factors, has its roots in the colonial experience, the true extent of which is not known to Indians even in the modern day; if they do know, the realization of its import is sadly absent, as shown by current events. The assumption, gaining popular ground increasingly in a currently niche segment of our population, that we have been slaves for a 1000 years, is sadly not based on facts; this is a telling failure of our education sy...

This is an analysis of casteism that seeks to challenge both narratives in vogue – one, that it is centuries old, and the other that it is recent. The reality, in my opinion, has to be different; what follows is my opinion based on my extensive reading on a variety of topics. Further, at no point is it my contention that the current system of casteism is defensible – it isn’t; it is an insult to humanity. And at no point is it my intention that people did not suffer; they did…  THE BEGINNING The ancient system was the Varnic system, which is completely different from casteism; varnas where the result of deeds, not vice-versa. Then came the commercial and political structures stated below, which existed for 1500 years minimum, leading to internal marriages, and the evolution of distinct identities due to a common gene pool caused by intermarriage.   At this point and for some time afterwards, there was no hint of casteism. The slow degeneration started in only th...

Our Forgotten Freedom Fighters Do We Really Care? Place : Nagpur Location : Zenda Chowk, Mahaal I was visiting a prospective business partner in the Central Indian city of Nagpur, when my eyes chanced upon a well-constructed building lying nearly vacant unvisited, with a statue. In a spare moment I walked upto the statue : that of a freedom figher, inaugurated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Interesting part is, the featured person in the statue is Shahid Shankar Maahle, about whom there is no detail; only that the statue has been inaugurated by Pandit Nehru! I asked around the shops nearby; apparently this building - The Shaheed Smaarak - was one of 4 such memorials made to freedom fighters in India {I have not been able to find internet resources to support these 4 buildings; I can only report what I have seen with my own eyes}. The lament in the people nearby was that people have forgotten about this, and the building now lies unvisited, and is used for Ganapati...

This is based on the book referenced below; I have also read one of the books the main source I have referred to, which has also been linked below. This is an unknown part of Indian History... The First War Of Independence in 1857, and how the British won it... This is what I call The Genocide of Indians in 1857 - 59 : This took place in 2 waves - and was planned at the topmost levels of the British Hierarchy. Village after village were targeted in a cold-blooded manner, and emptied of its citizens through murder - planned, brutal and cold-blooded murder. This was not an impassioned outrage {albeit fanned by vested interests}, nor was it done as a result of a conquerers victory in war. What makes it mind-numbingly shocking and stunning is the simple fact that this was planned, and perpetrated as a vicious punishment, as a war strategy to take the war to civilian non-combatants with an intention of defeating the enemy - against a people who were fighting for independenc...

1857, The event known, till date, as the Sepoy Mutiny by a fairly large segment of our population. Even those who refer to it as a War of Independence call it a spontaneous uprising; thanks largely to the incorrect narrative of the war written and recorded by the English, and dutifully followed by Indian Historians inspite of pervasive evidence to the contrary. Even the most balanced of books on the national movement refer to the presence of some form of conspiracy, but leave it at that, saying no proof exists. Surprisingly, they did not need to look any further than an existing book - Mazhaa Pravaas - an eyewitness account of the events, that lay bare the reality. I have read and reviewed its English translation on my Blog, so am aware, and recognise the need for an honest investigation into the reality of 1857. The current book under review, is a truly commendable start in that direction. This book goes much further than that one single source stated above...

In this article, I have attempted to analyse our fall from the heights of the past to where we are today, and identify the most critical failings of us as a people - our fault lines POINT 1 - THE CONCEPT OF INDIA There is a massive difference between a cultural union and a political union; the political concept of india is relatively young: not more than a hundred years old, perhaps a little more, going back at the most to the mid-1800s. The cultural concept of India goes back thousands of years. As I have written earlier - "it is high time we Indians took justifiable pride in the crafting of a political identity from a cultural union. Even a crude perusal of Indian History will tell you were were perennially divided; and that we have paid a heavy price for our lack of political unity. Yes - we were one people, and have been so for 8000 years. Yes, we are the ONLY surviving and unchanged ancient civilization - all others have metamorphosed; yes, apart from the gizmos and clo...