I AND MY WORDS

Wikipedia Photo of a Ravidassia Procession in Italy Of late, a campaign has been going on, somewhat unnoticed , by two factions of a single community — the Ravidassias — in the Doaba region. These groups have been urging the Centre government to provide them recognition as a separate religion, distinct from both Hindu and Sikh faiths. Both factions want a separate religion column for themselves and also a unique code for their respective sects. One sect that is making these demand includes two groups — the All India Adi-Dharam Mission led by Sant Satwinder Heera as well as All Indian Adi-Dharam Sadhu Samaj led by Sant Nirmal Das, and the Dera Sach Khand, Ballan in Jalandhar, Punjab. The Ravidassia movement, primarily based out of Jalandhar, is also incidentally home to the largest Dalit population within Punjab. The controversy, for those who follow Punjab's socio-political fabric, isn't new. The demand for a separate religion status for Ravidass followers first came up in 2010...

  A paper by the rather elite foreign policy think-tank Atlantic Council, authored by a person who wishes to remain anonymous, garnered a lot of attention in the American press. Titled The Longer Telegram , It is ironic though that people within India refused to discuss or deliberate the paper barring one odd video deliberating on it in a rather hallowed way.  Given the stark reality of the adversary standing next door, this paper should have certainly received more attention. Instead, what we have seen is a strangely absurd silence on the subject. Be that as it may, it is imperative that a short look at the paper is taken, and lessons are derived from it that need to be considered seriously in the defence and foreign policy circles. The Fait Accompli Approach Has Failed – US’ China Policy Remains Incoherent The paper can be seen as a wakeup call for the American diplomatic circles in all senses. Some of the wooly headed optimism regarding China had been wearing thin over ...

 प्रत्येक पल में तिरस्कार छिपा है कुछ भाग्यशाली ही इसके भोगी होते है जीवन यातनाओं के माला पिरोता है जो इनके कण्ठ की शोभा बनते हैं मैं भी संभवतः इसी श्रेणी का हूँ और इस जीवन सत्य से परिचित हूँ ये वेदनाओं के आभूषण मेरे लिए बना काल के द्वारपाल मुझे आकर्षित करते हैं बस टकटकी बाँध बैठा हूँ किवाड़ पे सोचता हूँ, जब स्थितियाँ वश में होती हैं उचित समय पर कर सबसे विछोड़ा हम भी तेरे कटरे की ओर चल देते हैं हाँ, ये कटरा इस आयाम से परे है यह बात सोचता हूँ सब को बता चलते हैं के कल, गलती से किसी विचार में जो मैं दिखूँ तो जान लेना, के हम एक भ्रांति बन रह गए हैं

  It has been a very long time since a budget actually cut short on frills and embellishments and took head on some of India’s bigger challenges. Political messaging in India for long has been couched in the poverty driven, gareeb kalyan , redistributive mindset which while seemingly right has made politicians forsake growth as a political strategy. To that end, the Narendra Modi government’s Budget 2021 with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have displayed a rare step - a break from the voter driven politics of India and actually pushing for growth. For the longest time, India’s political class has been deriving the wrong messages from electoral politics. This misplaced belief that free goodies, subsidies and coverage for all will somehow be able to buy the voter’s support has caused much damage to the economy. What has often been forgotten is that you can only distribute what you earn, and distributing wealth instead of poverty is what the voters would rather prefer. It is ...

While Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya agreed with some form of mixed economy, one sees practicality in his economic thought and vision. There are two particular instances that seem to clearly indicate what he thought of different kinds of measures. Minimal government intervention in the private space of entrepreneurship beyond a certain regulatory approach was clearly seen as a plus by him, judging by his critique of the five year plans over centralization. As noted by Mahesh Chand Sharma, Panditji saw major problems with the second plan vis-à-vis the first five year plan, especially on the mission statement of creating a socialist society:  Socialism as a confused principle only ends up in the emergence of autocratic governments, and remains fundamentally incompatible with democracy. The second plan, being a plan that aimed to alter a fundamental system in its entirety, would certainly be a problem as it shifted focus from functionality. The obsession with big industry was ‘indecent’ a...

  Sukhbir Singh Badal with Bishop Franko Mulakkal at an event in 2016 In the ongoing farmer agitation bringing attention on to Punjab, it is interesting to note the various social dynamics that have emerged over the past century first in the undivided state and post-partition, in the various mutations that eventually led to the present state of Punjab in India. An important phenomenon that has been obscured by the various tumultuous events over the years has been the rise and rise of Christianity in Punjab. Through this essay, an examination of this phenomenon is understood. From historical contexts, the role of the community in 1947 to the present state of affairs, an attempt has been made to bring all such details to light. What is also brought to light is the rather strange silence of certain groups who would rather respond to those looking to examine reasons for this conversion and exercise some kind of restraint on it.   The Moorings of Christianity in Punjab Chris...