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May 13, 2025
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Latest Posts

‘The Battle for Sanskrit’ by Rajiv Malhotra – A Review
April 15, 2025April 15, 2025BOOK REVIEWCharu Uppal1 0

‘The Battle for Sanskrit’ by Rajiv Malhotra – A Review

First published in 2016, Rajiv Malhotra's 'The Battle for Sanskrit' is as relevant today as it was then. In the book, the author challenges dominant Western narratives that seek to desacralize Sanskrit by stripping it of its religious and cultural significance. Written in an easy-to-read style with scholarly insights, the book urges both traditional and modern readers to engage in an honest dialogue. The book is an important one that defends heritage and also seeks to de-westernise Indology.

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Concerns of the Colonized – Freedom for Temples
April 03, 2025April 3, 2025ESSAYRaghu Bhaskaran2 0

Concerns of the Colonized – Freedom for Temples

For centuries, Hindu temples thrived as autonomous centers of faith, culture, and community life. However, today, the secular state treats temples as mere public property and exploits them, subjecting them to to excessive taxation, mismanagement, and neglect. Unlike religious institutions of other faiths, Hindu temples remain uniquely burdened by government interference, highlighting a systemic inequality. In this call to liberate Hindu temples, Raghu Bhaskaran addresses the concerns of corruption and mismanagement if temples are freed and asserts that freeing temples is a key step towards Hindus owning their narrative.

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No Waqf, No Fawq, Just some FAQs on Hindu Temple Properties
March 25, 2025March 25, 2025ESSAYRaghu Bhaskaran1 0

No Waqf, No Fawq, Just some FAQs on Hindu Temple Properties

A Hindu temple and its properties do not belong to the government, the public or even the Hindu community — they belong solely to the residing deity, the Pradhana Devata. Historical arguments about coercion in temple land donations ignore the broader reality that all land ownership has evolved under different rulers. While institutions like the Waqf Board retain vast properties, temples face state control and encroachment, reducing them to mere revenue sources. This neglect betrays both the faith of past donors and the cultural heritage temples embody.

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Oppenheimer – An Open Letter to Christopher Nolan
March 13, 2025March 13, 2025COMMENTARYCharu Uppal2 0

Oppenheimer – An Open Letter to Christopher Nolan

As we pass the 2025 Oscars, Charu Uppal recalls the grand success of the movie Oppenheimer in the 2024 Oscars. In this open letter to the director Christopher Nolan, she points out how the movie conspicuously avoids showing the suffering of the Japanese people, barely mentioning the names Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even more troubling is the decision to juxtapose the sacred Bhagavad Gita with an intimate scene — a choice that was neither accidental nor faithful to historical context. In an industry that does not shy away from showing violence, the film omits the human cost of the bomb while including a scene that offended millions. Creative freedom is vital, but so is cultural responsibility.

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The Ghent School : Promoting a Better Understanding of India
March 01, 2025March 1, 2025PERSPECTIVEPingali Gopal4 0

The Ghent School : Promoting a Better Understanding of India

The Ghent School, led by Prof. Balagangadhara, challenges colonial narratives that have shaped India's understanding of religion, caste, and culture. It argues that India's traditions differ fundamentally from Western religious frameworks, emphasizing rituals over doctrinal beliefs. The school advocates for decolonizing Indian social sciences by rediscovering indigenous perspectives and rejecting imposed categorizations. By understanding India's traditions on their own terms, it proposes a more nuanced approach to multiculturalism and identity.

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Daily Feed

In COMMENTARY

Thoughts on the date of the Mahabharata War

Astronomical references from the text suggest that the Mahabharata war took place not earlier than 3200 BCE nor later than 1800 BCE.

In ESSAY

Our Civilizational Imprints From Bharat To Japan: Limiting Boundaries Is Relinquishing Cultures

From the ancient times till present-day diplomacy, civilizational exchanges and acculturation have played a significant role in establishing and renewing inter-nationstate relationships. This article explores the relationship between Bharat and Japan within the purview of civilizational linkages and thus highlights upon the reach Bharat, as a civilization, has on the cultural land of Japan.

In PERSPECTIVE

Confiscating Our Gods: How State Antipathy, Disguised as Passivity, Is Undermining India’s (Hindu) Heritage

Since a civilisation is established by its people, if the community can no longer identify itself under any banner, the civilisation and, ultimately, the State perish. Under such conditions, the future of Indic culture is bleak.

In ESSAY

परब्रह्म श्रीकृष्णकी निजानंदात्मिका लीला एवं व्रजगोपांगनाओंका भक्तिरस

दिव्याङ्गनावृन्दनिषेविताय स्मितप्रभाचारुमुखाम्बुजाय।
त्रैलौक्यसम्मोहनसुन्दराय नमोऽस्तु गोपीजनवल्लभाय॥

In TRAVELOGUE

Kailashnatha temple – Crowning glory of Pallavas: Kanchipuram (Part 1)

The exquisite Kailashnatha temple became the template for temple architecture with magnificent sculptures in south India and beyond.

In ESSAY, HISTORY, TRANSLATION

Hymns to Brahman – Part 1; By Rabindranath Tagore

These verses are selected and translated from the poet Rabindranath Tagore’s vast repertoire of Bengali Brahamsangeet song lyrics. These song lyrics are rich in terms of literary finesse, outstanding as musical compositions of a classical or semi-classical nature; and, they demonstrate an intense religious longing in the poet – a yearning to attain and dwell in a constant state of union with the Divine.

In EXCERPT

Nababarsha (The New Year)

Bharatavarsha did not pass by the man and make work larger than humanity. By giving importance to action emptied of desire for reward, she has in fact reined in work with restraint. When the desire for reward is abandoned, the work loses its

In BOOK REVIEW

‘The Imperishable Seed’ By Bhaskar Kamble – A Summary Review

Dr. Pingali Gopal reviews 'The Imperishable Seed' By Bhaskar Kamble, a theoretical physicist from IIT Kanpur and presently a data scientist in Germany.
The linear progression of history from a primitive past to an advanced future, deeply entrenched in western philosophy, embeds itself in Indians even today as a classic case of ‘colonial consciousness’. Bhaskar has done a brilliant job of describing the history of mathematics, a much ignored subject in our educational systems,  and tracing the roots of many subjects to the genius mathematicians of ancient and mediaeval India.

In COMMENTARY

This business of naming

Renaming roads and buildings is an important exercise in decolonization and the urge is just another expression of language and cognition.

In ESSAY

Effects of Colonization on Indian Thought – Part 2

This Indian genius has now begun to percolate back to the West, where it inspires new approaches, deeper thoughts, though not yet the transforming Shakti. Perhaps the tide of colonialism will be reversed, after all.

In EXCERPT

Is Indian Culture Obsolete?

Can Indian culture still feed its country's malnourished soul which has been decaying amidst the onslaught of western society's social norms and ethical values?

In HISTORY, ESSAY

The Neglected Hindu Period of Pakistani History

Since the partition in 1947, Hindus in Pakistan, the persecuted minority, have found their voices unheard and suppressed.
Once inhabited by Hindus and Buddhists, the region that forms Pakistan at present has a demographically insignificant, if not laughable, population of minorities. With the physical disappearance of the Hindus in Pakistan, their history as indigenous inhabitants of the land is gradually becoming a fading memory.

Daily Feed

In ESSAY

The Sword of Kali by Chittaranjan Naik: Part 2

Dr Pingali Gopal encapsulates an old debate about the nature of Hinduism.

In POLITICS, COMMENTARY, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY

Understanding Political Systems Of India – Part 3 – Indigenous Political Thinking In Ancient And Modern India

"Western polity conceives of doing away with political parties and creating governments of national unity only in times of war or crisis; India, because of her long tradition of a unity underlying her diversity, should have shown that unity is not a freak phenomenon but a workable basis for new politics."
The current political and social systems being followed in India remain wedded to the older British structures. Concepts such as uncoupling of state and religion, secularism et al are based in Judeo-Christian theology; and where it is not available, these become radically unintelligible.
In the third installment of the series titled "Understanding Political Systems Of India", Dr. Pingali Gopal shares his findings from his study of ancient Indian thinkers such as Kautilya, and modern thinkers such as Sri Aurobindo, and Ananda Coomaraswamy, a Sri Lankan Tamil philosopher with a deep understanding of Indian culture.
Enlightened monarchies, free citizens, and decentralised political units glued together by spiritual and cultural unity were the essence of political India in the past. Following independence, India’s attempt at decolonization was less than half-hearted; and thinkers such as Sri Aurobindo were categorically ignored.

In BOOK REVIEW

‘The Vow of Parvati’ by Aditi Banerjee: A Review

Rohan Raghav Sharma reviews Aditi Banerjee's book "The Vow of Parvati", and gives us his impression of the retelling as well as the writer's approach towards the different episodes in the life of Devi in her different births and roopas.

In ESSAY

Vivekananda’s Teachings on Character-Building

Vivekananda propounded ‘man-making education’ which involves the harmonious development of the body, mind and soul.

In ESSAY

Yantras – What is their purpose

Used in sadhana practices for worshipping deities, yantras are symbols of divine power which need to be installed with the use of specific mantras.

In ESSAY

The Life and Teachings of Ramana Maharshi

Ramana Maharshi's influence is as strong today as it was during his lifetime.

In TRAVELOGUE

Splendours of Hampi – Virupaksha Temple

A look at the magnificent architecture and cultural relevance of the famed Virupaksha temple.

In COMMENTARY

Oppenheimer – An Open Letter to Christopher Nolan

As we pass the 2025 Oscars, Charu Uppal recalls the grand success of the movie Oppenheimer in the 2024 Oscars. In this open letter to the director Christopher Nolan, she points out how the movie conspicuously avoids showing the suffering of the Japanese people, barely mentioning the names Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even more troubling is the decision to juxtapose the sacred Bhagavad Gita with an intimate scene — a choice that was neither accidental nor faithful to historical context. In an industry that does not shy away from showing violence, the film omits the human cost of the bomb while including a scene that offended millions. Creative freedom is vital, but so is cultural responsibility.

In STORY

Return Gift

The difference in the Hindu ethos amongst those of the older generation versus the present lot is all too evident to see.

In POLITICS, COMMENTARY, PHILOSOPHY

Understanding Political Systems Of India – Part 2 – The Political Trajectory Of Post-Independent India

"Much of today’s normative ‘liberal democracy’ has clear theological roots and may not make sense outside the Western world. Universalising and secularising a theological theme may be problematic when applied to Indian culture. Independent India, ignoring indigenous political philosophy, inherited Western values, creating a story of contradictions clashing with the intensely traditional society of India."

In the second installment of the series titled "Understanding Political Systems Of India", Dr. Pingali Gopal brings us a summary of essays of Professor Bhikhu Parekh where he assesses post-Independent Nehruvian India.
Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister from 1947 to 1964, constantly looked at the West as a template for India’s future, rejecting the indigenous past. The article analyses the effects of implementation of Western political thought and primarily British laws in the Indian society which wasn't structured the same way as the West. When implemented in India, the institutions of Western law encourage just the opposite of what such laws are meant to do: a vengeful, spiteful, and ‘selfish’ citizenry. Instead of promoting a cohesive society, such laws encourage divisiveness and conflict in society.

In ESSAY

The Eternal Dasas of Sree Padmanabha Swamy – IV (Making of Modern Travancore)

This period in the history of the Travancore kingdom set the stage for the modern state of Kerala.

In ESSAY

Hamvira Deva: The forgotten warrior-prince of Odisha

A brief narrative of the valorous warrior-prince Hamvira Deva of Odisha's famous Suryavamsa Gajapati dynasty.

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