This is my World

India is a multilingual country that speaks over 1650 languages, each of them representing unique cultures and traditions. Twenty-two of these languages are official languages while 6  of them have been elevated to the status of a classical language (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Odia and Sanskrit). India is a central polity. It has a central government that runs the show while each state in the country has a say in some of these things.  India achieved independence from the British in 1947. English was the official language during the British Raj. During the early 20th century, when the Indian independence movement gained momentum, Gandhi wanted to unite the country, which was then fragmented as princely states, against the British. He felt Hindustani language could do it. With Nehru's support, he was able to convince the Indian National Congress (INC) to back Hindustani and the INC obeyed them. It switched from English to Hindi to conduct all its proceedings...

Perhaps the two reasons India still remembers Rabindranath Tagore is his nobel prize and the national anthem. Outside Bengal, his home, he is known very little for what he did to this country and even less for who he was. So here is a small article on the man on his birthday. 1) In his younger years, Rabindranath Tagore attempted to blend spiritual and romantic notions in the human soul and the mystic divine in his poems, before he moved on to write about oppression and imperialism. 2) He was a fierce critic of nationalism. Power, according to him, is a scientific product made in the political laboratory of the nation, through the dissolution of personal humanity. He often compared the world with a hydraulic press which can unleash an impersonal but effective pressure. 3) He was a humanitarian and the voice of the voiceless India. He spoke for the poor and the slaved and firmly believed that rural reconstruction through basic education and application of scientific methods to agric...

Yet another independence day comes and I already see the Indian tricolour as profile pictures and DPs on social media. I appreciate my compatriots' patriotism (or whatever they believe it is), but I can't help but wonder how many of these people  know their history.  Let's straighten out a few things about our crooked and biased history.  Contrary to popular belief, the revolt of 1857 is NOT India's first war of independence: The Rebellion was nothing but a dogfight between different religions, castes and races. It was a time when: - Hindu and Muslim soldiers feared mass conversion to Christianity. - The "so-called" lower and upper castes fought each other for dominance. - Indian officers fumed over East India company's negligence of seniority and discrimination based on race when it came to offering ranks.  Not to mention the part cows and pigs played in the uprising.  In fact, this dogfight was not even the first unrest against the pillaging East...