What should history text books in California call the area of Asia, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka ? Should they call it India or South Asia ? How should those text books portray caste system? Should they mention family of birth is the most important factor deciding caste or should it say professional excellence also play a big role in it ?
There is a raging battle going on in California on these questions.
Today was the day of voting to elect members of state legislatures who will form new governments in two southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamilnadu.
Women standing in queue to cast their vote during assembly elections in Coimbatore on Monday. PTI photo
Traditional Indian way of becoming a Jnani or a man of wisdom ( yes it was always a man) was to go to Himalayas to meditate. I am also going to do that this week. Beware of very wise articles in coming days -:) .
Ancient Indians thought anyone who have gone to Himalayas and did meditations for months to years knew the answers to deep questions of life. Of course the difficult journey, tough climate and harsh life that make you confront directly with the reality of nature should make you wiser in some way.
But the concept of abandoning life and getting “real” wisdom by meditating in Himalayan caves became a real hindrance to development of Indian society. Instead of respecting those artisans, craftsmen, farmers and physicians who gain knowledge by studying nature and doing experiments while they work, those who do yogic meditation became more respectable and powerful. The ultimate goal of life became attaining moksha and the way to attain it was to meditate. India abandoned experimental falsifiable evidence to “evidences” gathered from thoughts based on personal mental experiences and crude logic. Texts written based on such experiences began to be known as “scientific” and real science was left behind. Thus there came a stand still in development of science and technology for more than 1000 years.
Sad part is even modern India, living under a myth created of past glory, is giving more importance to anecdotal pseudo science than evidence based falsifiable real science.
Generally the family driver is best paid while the maid is only paid around half of what the driver makes. The driver also trumps nanny salaries, suggesting people are willing to dish out more to take care of their cars than their kids.
Findings of a recent study on wage gap among domestic workers in India brings no surprise. If you are a male, you will be paid more regardless of the importance, severity or duration of work.
Sadly there is no sign of any end to this gender discrimination.
Three men were detained on Tuesday for the brutal rape-murder of a 29-year-old Dalit law student in a small town near Kerala’s Kochi last week, a crime that drew comparisons with the Delhi 2012 gang rape.
Police said two of the detained suspects are neighbours of the woman, who was alone at home and found in a pool of blood by her mother when she returned from work around 8pm on April 28.
“We have some leads in the case,” additional DGP K Padmakumar said.
The autopsy revealed she was savagely assaulted with sharp-edged weapons after being raped. The body bore at least 30 cut wounds, her abdomen was slashed and intestines were ripped apart.
The traumatised mother is bedridden in a hospital. “We had complained to police about the danger to our lives. The tragedy could have been averted had they taken timely action,” she said.
Some ayurveda practitioners have told me that doctors prescribing allopathy medicines often advise patients not to opt for ayurveda. Such doctors are anti-nationals,
Ayurveda is one of the oldest medical systems in the world and we should be proud of it. How can anyone oppose ayurveda when the whole world is showing interest in it and trying to find remedies of diseases that modern medical science cannot?
S.Y.Naik,Indian Health Minster (Alternative Medicine- Ayush)
The Freethinkers is a vibrant Facebook group run by atheists catering to users speaking malayalam language in India’s Kerala state. It’s open to all and is a space for vigorous debates on varying topics like religion, politics and atheism. It has a huge membership and was mass reported and closed several times but came back with a vengeance.
Now an anonymous Jihadi malayalam blogger has directly threatened the admins of the group with violence.
“Why are you begging on the street ? Why can’t you do a proper job ? ”
This question is often asked at Hijras of India. The answer is always this.
“Who will give me a job? Who will give people like us jobs ?
Hijras are transgender women of India. They are shunned by society at large. Usually they are disowned by families and are forced to live in ghettos under a leader (Guru). They earn money by begging on the streets and trains. They also get some money by singing and dancing during certain ceremonies and many end up in sex work.
Just heard that a large number of girls of Indian origin are missing in Canada. 4472 to be exact in a period of 20 years.
I had no friends among the untouchables of Baroda State. But I had friends among other classes. One was a Hindu, the other was an Indian Christian. I first went to my Hindu friend and told him what had befallen me. He was a noble soul and a great personal friend of mine. He was sad and also indignant. He, however, let fall one observation. He said, “If you come to my home, my servants will go.” I took the hint, and did not press him to accommodate me.I did not like to go to the Indian Christian friend. Once he had invited me to go and stay with him. But I had declined, preferring to stay in the Parsi inn. My reason was that his habits were not congenial to me. To go now would be to invite a rebuff. So I went to my office, but I could not really give up this chance of finding a shelter. On consulting a friend I decided to go to him [=to the Indian Christian friend] and ask him if he would accommodate me. When I put the question, his reply was that his wife was coming to Baroda the next day, and that he would have to consult her.
I learnt subsequently that it was a very diplomatic answer. He and his wife came originally from a family which was Brahmin by caste, and although on conversion to Christianity the husband had become liberal in thought, the wife had remained orthodox in her ways, and would not have consented to harbour an untouchable in her house. The last ray of hope thus flickered away. It was four p.m. when I left the house of my Indian Christian friend. Where to go was the one supreme question before me. I must quit the inn, and had no friend to go to!! The only alternative left was to return to Bombay.
The above quoted autobiographical account is from the life of an official in the office of Maharaja of Baroda, that took place in India 1917. He was 26 years old. By then he already had an M.A and a PhD from Columbia University, New York. But he could not find accommodation in Baroda and was forced to resign his job.