Hayagriva, an avatar of Vishnu, with a human body and a horse’s head, was destined to kill a demon. The Puranic story has it that once an asura stole Vedas from the gods, Vishnu had to intervene in the form of Hayagriva to restore the holy books to the gods. Since then,Continue Reading
In 1967, a young journalist Anant Pai noticed while watching a TV quiz show on Doordarshan that the Indian children on the show could quickly answer questions about Greek mythology, but they could not answer a simple question about the name of Ram’s mother. Upset, he pondered about the deepContinue Reading
In the history of Bharat’s fight against the British rule, freedom fighter Veeran Azhagumuthu Kone (1728 – 1757) may be called the first freedom fighter and martyr of Tamil Nadu who boldly opposed the rule of the foreigners and vehemently denied subjugation to the British orders by refusing to payContinue Reading
After the first war of independence in 1857, the British had established themselves as the sole master of the destiny of India. Around 1870, they even started forcing their anthem, God Save the Queen, on Indians. However, fate had its own way. A Bengali man named Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was returningContinue Reading
After the 1857 war of first independence, the British had a change of heart and became fearful of Hindu resurgence. Though they were subtly undermining Hindu civilization earlier too, they started pulling all-out efforts to subvert it. They commissioned many scholars who took a colonial approach to interpret Indian historyContinue Reading
Buddhism never fails to profess esoteric concepts like peace, moksha and nirvana, yet they proved to be highly treacherous people in the real world. They never presented a united face with Hindus in dealing with Muslim invaders and, at least in two crucial battles, openly supported Muslim invaders. It isContinue Reading
On one fine day in 1922, an ordinary person visited the ruins of Somnath temple and cried silently about its condition. He thought loudly: I have a dream, much before a certain Martin Luther King Jr. would say on a momentous day in 1963. He was none other than KMContinue Reading
This month, archaeologists discovered a 5,000-year-old jewellery factory in Haryana’s Rakhigarhi village and ruled out external attacks as the reason for the abandonment of this largest Harappan settlement excavated so far. Last week, on the day archaeologists, discovered a 5,000-year-old jewellery factory in Haryana’s Rakhigarhi village and ruled out externalContinue Reading
The Battle of Plassey in 1757 firmly established the British in India and they became undisputed rulers of Bengal, one of the largest provinces in India. It comprised present Bihar, Orissa, Bengal, Bangladesh and Assam. With due course of time, they also added Chittagong, the thriving south-eastern port in theContinue Reading
January 30th, 1948 is the day when M.K. Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse. This commentary will focus on the act of assassination, and how this particular one has been used and exploited in the ideological tussle and political engagement. A narrative of guilt and despair has been established, andContinue Reading