Category: PERSPECTIVE

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The Architecture of Division: Rwanda, Caste and the Colonial State
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October 17, 2026October 17, 2026PERSPECTIVE

The Architecture of Division: Rwanda, Caste and the Colonial State

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How did a society deeply shaped by Christianity descend into genocide, with churches themselves becoming sites of massacre? Anjali George examines Rwanda’s tragic history, tracing how colonial racial theories, rigid identity classifications and shifting institutional alliances helped turn social divisions into instruments of violence. Drawing parallels with India, the article questions how political and religious institutions can perpetuate the very divisions they claim to transcend. It warns that when identity becomes a tool of political power, grievance can harden into hostility and exclusion. Rwanda’s history offers a sobering lesson on the dangers of weaponising social categories in the pursuit of institutional and political dominance.

Hanuman, Bhakthi, and the Miraculous Story of Flydubai Captain Smit Machchar
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October 10, 2026October 10, 2026PERSPECTIVE

Hanuman, Bhakthi, and the Miraculous Story of Flydubai Captain Smit Machchar

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What happens when extraordinary events awaken an ancient faith in the modern world? Through personal testimony, Hanuman’s enduring presence in popular culture, and the story of a pilot who invoked the deity in a moment of crisis, Vamsee Juluri reflects on the power of bhakti to transcend the limits of human agency. The essay explores how faith, memory and the possibility of grace shape our understanding of life, while revealing unexpected bonds across religious and cultural divides. Ultimately, it asks us to see beyond cynicism and rediscover gratitude, hope and our shared humanity.

The Underdog Reflex – What Barbarik Can Teach Us about Power and Justice
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October 8, 2026October 8, 2026PERSPECTIVE

The Underdog Reflex – What Barbarik Can Teach Us about Power and Justice

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What can Krishna’s refutation of Barbarik’s vow teach us about how we judge conflicts? Treating the Barbarik episode as a formal argument rather than merely a devotional story, this essay examines the paradox of always siding with the weaker party: if power shifts, allegiance must shift with it. It then applies this Indic insight to the modern reflex of equating weakness with moral rightness, asking who gets to define the “underdog” and whether compassion can be separated from judgment. From historical conflicts to contemporary political discourse, the article argues that power should not determine moral judgment. The essay closes with Barbarik as Haare ka Sahara - his compassion preserved, but his rule of allegiance to the weaker side discarded.

How Civilisations Forget Themselves: Can a Civilisation Forget Its Own Philosophical Grammar?
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September 30, 2026September 30, 2026PERSPECTIVE

How Civilisations Forget Themselves: Can a Civilisation Forget Its Own Philosophical Grammar?

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How does a civilisation forget its own philosophical grammar even while preserving its texts, rituals and traditions? This essay explores how words such as dharma, karma and avatāra can survive while the conceptual relationships that once gave them meaning gradually fade. It examines how translation, codification, institutional change and collective memory reshape inherited traditions, often making historical changes appear timeless. Using Hindu thought as its primary lens, the article argues that recovering an older philosophical grammar need not mean restoring the past, but recovering the questions and categories through which it understood human life. Ultimately, it asks whether a civilisation can recognise what it has forgotten - and understand the processes through which it changed.

The Gaze and the Garment: A Dharmic Reflection
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August 28, 2026August 28, 2026PERSPECTIVE

The Gaze and the Garment: A Dharmic Reflection

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This essay examines the Dharmic dimensions of gaze, self-presentation, and sensory restraint through the concepts of indriya-nigraha and viveka. Drawing upon the Bhagavad Gītā and the principles of deśa, kāla, and pātra, it distinguishes involuntary perception from deliberate conduct and moral agency. The discussion moves beyond simplistic notions of blame to consider the reciprocal responsibilities of individuals sharing a social space. It argues that Dharma neither denies human impulses nor permits them to govern conduct, but calls for conscious regulation, contextual discernment, and responsibility. Ultimately, the essay proposes that both seeing and being seen carry ethical dimensions within a Dharmic framework.

Decolonizing IKS (“Indian Knowledge Systems”)
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August 4, 2026August 4, 2026PERSPECTIVE

Decolonizing IKS (“Indian Knowledge Systems”)

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Delivered by Prof. Prakash Shah on behalf of Prof. Vamsee Juluri at the panel "Decolonisation, Public Discourse and IKS" during the IKSHA Conference at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, this thought-provoking talk argues that decolonisation cannot be reduced to merely replacing Western knowledge with Indian knowledge. It challenges the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) movement to examine its own assumptions and recover the spiritual foundations of Bharatiya knowledge. The talk ultimately asks whether true decolonisation is possible if Bhagawan is removed from the centre of the civilizational worldview.

Scholarship and Sacred Truth
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July 26, 2026July 26, 2026PERSPECTIVE

Scholarship and Sacred Truth

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Can a civilization survive if all its sacred truths are judged solely by external academic standards? This essay argues that while historical inquiry has its place, Hindu Dharma must remain rooted in its own sacred framework of shraddha, sampradaya, and parampara. A living tradition cannot endure if its foundational beliefs are endlessly relativized. History may study a civilization from the outside, but only its sacred truths sustain it from within.

British Colonial Raj: Drivers of Socio-Cultural Impact
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July 21, 2026July 21, 2026PERSPECTIVE

British Colonial Raj: Drivers of Socio-Cultural Impact

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This essay examines how British colonial rule reshaped not just India's institutions, but also its everyday habits, aspirations, and cultural imagination. From club culture and hill stations to vacations and leisure travel, it argues that colonial-era practices continue to influence Indian society long after independence. By contrasting these with pre-colonial civilisational patterns, the article invites readers to reflect on whether India can rediscover a balance rooted in its own timeless traditions while navigating modernity.

The Sanitized Shastra: The Cost of Domesticating India’s Intellectual Traditions
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July 17, 2026July 17, 2026PERSPECTIVE

The Sanitized Shastra: The Cost of Domesticating India’s Intellectual Traditions

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A seemingly local controversy in Udupi sparked a nationwide digital outrage, revealing a far deeper civilisational crisis: the growing tendency to sanitize India's philosophical traditions to fit modern sensibilities. Examining the history of rigorous debate across Indian schools of thought, this essay argues that intellectual sharpness - not polite uniformity -was the hallmark of India's knowledge systems. It makes the case that reclaiming India's authentic civilisational confidence requires preserving the raw, uncompromising vocabulary and traditions that once made its philosophical culture so vibrant.

Ikigai: A Modern Simplification That Sacrificed Ancient Depth
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July 15, 2026July 15, 2026PERSPECTIVE

Ikigai: A Modern Simplification That Sacrificed Ancient Depth

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Has the world mistaken a simplified self-help framework for the ultimate philosophy of purpose? This essay argues that while Ikigai offers valuable insights into meaningful living, it pales beside the Vedic framework of the Purusharthas -Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. By comparing the two, it reveals why the Purusharthas remain one of humanity's most comprehensive and enduring blueprints for a meaningful life.