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
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.

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.

The Number 12 – An Exploration across Cultures
In this essay, Dr. Koenraad Elst explores the profound symbolic importance of the number 12 across cultures, from the 12 Ādityas in the Vedas to the Olympian gods and the 12-starred EU flag. In ancient India, it represented cosmic order, as seen in the Ṛg-Vedic 'Riddle Hymn' describing a twelve-spoked wheel of Ṛta. Mathematically and geometrically unique, the twelvefold division underlies the structure of the Zodiac and the ancient Yajur-Vedic seasonal cycle.

Mahadev Shambhu – The Story of a Gram-Devata
This story by Rati Hegde, about Mahadev Shambhu, a Gram-Devata, captures the the reality of many such deities and their temples in India. It traces the socio-economic and cultural shifts that have shaped the ecosystem of these temples through the decades. The author paints a poignant picture of how duty and devotion have given way to reluctant obligation even as these deities continue to remain central to the Hindu faith.
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I for Ishvara
To understand one’s relationship with God, one must first understand the meaning of God or Ishvara. In the vision of the Shruti,...
Analysis of the New York Time's coverage of the Pulwama attack and its aftermath
The New York Times headlines were used to mislead readers, blame the victims, and clean up after the mass murder of the CRPF jawans.
Rock Temple of Himalaya – Masroor
The Dhauladhar range is home to one of the few monolithic temples carved in India.
A diversity of white saviours
By reducing the motives of those involved in debates on Indian history to racial prejudice, Devdutt Pattanaik lazily brushes aside the diversity in the politics of those engaged in the intellectual battle. Predictably, he turns out to be wrong on many counts.
Max Weber’s afterglow
Romila Thapar's recent lecture on Max Weber, in which she rightly pointed out the many misrepresentations of Hindu society in his body of work, demonstrates why ideological adversaries in scholarship should not be branded as evil. Rather, engaging them with reason and objectivity is a much more useful and productive course of action for both sides of the debate.
Subhas Bose vindicated
The contribution of Bose in reigniting the desire for independence far surpasses Gandhi's decade old efforts.
The Patron Saint of Indigenisation
Roberto de Nobili with typical missionary zeal launched his "Madurai Mission" at a time when the Portuguese were on a conversion spree post their conquest of Goa.
The concept of Nirashrayatva in the Gita
A powerful concept for the Karma Yogi though mentioned only once in the Gita.
Dharmik View on Human Birth and Grihastha Ashrama
Shashank Poddar throws light on the shastrik view and importance of grihashta ashrama in this beautifully researched piece.
Do you know your India?
Indians are generally either unaware or misinformed about their civilization and how it shaped the world historically.
Is India’s National Anthem secular?
Survey of the origins of the various National Anthems in Europe and a study of the final choice for the Indian anthem throws up interesting questions and amusing answers.
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The Indian Conservative: A History of Indian Right-Wing Thought
A look into conservative thought in India which has existed long before any such discourse in the West.
The Cosmic Wheel
The metaphor of the wheel nearly transcends the limitations of language to ably capture the paradoxes and nuances of the Indic view of the Universe.
The untold foundations of Modern Economics: Did Adam Smith plagiarise Kautilya?
The founding father of modern economics had essentially copied Kautilya's work without giving any credit.
Hampi – Poetry in stone
The ruins of Hampi are a testament to the grandeur of the glorious Vijayanagara Empire and its unsurpassed architectural brilliance.
Ikat – The Ties That Do Not Bind
Ikat weaving is one of the oldest craft traditions of India with a very distinctive weaving technique.
Great Minds on Indian Education System
Views expressed in a time gone by about the state of India's education system still resonate loudly and perhaps are even more true now, than they were then.
“Our Moon Has Blood Clots” by Rahul Pandita – A Review
Mayank Dhar, A Kashmiri Pandit, pens a nuanced and balanced review of Rahul Pandita's book "Our Moon Has Blood Clots", with praises where the author has earned them and pointed questions where the author deserves them.
The Good thief/Bad thief dissonance of Shashi Tharoor
The strange rationalisation by Shashi Tharoor of defending Islamic colonialism while criticising British colonialism is an exercise in fallacy.
The one who stands apart
Bhairava, the terrifying form of Shiva, inspires fear as he strikes at the root of all fear, the ego.
Brahmanism 102: The Prophet of Sanatana Dharma and his “idea of India”
‘Hindu’ is a term given to us by others who thought that their religion was better than ours. To them,...
Mythological Reality
The mythological and historical perspectives define the impact that a particular culture has, often crafted as a means to exert dominance.
Is There an American Caste System?
Americans have developed their own unique caste system along ethnic lines which has subliminally entrenched itself in their society.