Life/Philosophy

This dhoti wearing  academic in the U.S. knows Indian archaeology from the inside

 Few men can give us a better understanding of the  saffronisation of archaeology and the  temple mosque controversy than  Ashish Avikunthak.  He  has spent 20 years researching Indian archaeology, he is a sensitive film maker, social activist, a multi faceted figure.He has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Stanford university,  he teaches archaeology  and film studies in Rhodes Island university[Read More...]

Bhagwati Charan Vohra –  Revolutionary Who Sacrificed His All for Freedom Movement

            May 28 is the 92nd death anniversary of Bhagwati Charan Vohra who sacrificed his life in 1930 at the age of only 25  while making preparations for rescuing Bhagat Singh from jail. As he was preparing for his own martyrdom in jail, Bhagat Singh paid very rich tributes to the great sacrifices of Bhagwati Charan Vohra in the course[Read More...]

Relevance of Nehru’s Legacy of Democracy, Secularism, Socialism, Peace and Non-Alignment Has Increased Further

It is a true mark of greatness if what a leader struggles to achieve in his lifetime is widely realized to be even more valuable in the years or decades after he has left the world. This is exactly how Jawaharlal Nehru is being remembered by more and more people of his country, despite a persistent tendency on the part[Read More...]

Justice Ajit Singh Bains’ birth centenary celebrated in Greater Vancouver

South Asian activists came together to mark the 100th birthday of a towering human rights defender of Punjab, at Strawberry Hill Library in Surrey on Sunday, May 22. The late Ajit Singh Bains passed away on February 11, leaving a rich legacy of tireless work for social justice. He would have turned 100 on May 14. Bains, a retired judge,[Read More...]

Tribute to Bertrand Russell on 150th birth anniversary  

On his 150th birth anniversary on May 18th we must salute late Bertrand Russell .He ranked amongst the greatest intellectuals of the last millennium who gave philosophy a new dimension. Even Although a committed atheist he exuded spiritual overtones. Russell challenged dogma and tradition in the very thick of it’s skin and opened up the mind of his generation to[Read More...]

How we Treat Our Disabled : Our Not so Hidden Shame

In an incident that raised eyebrows recently, budget airline IndiGo denied boarding to a specially-abled child on a Hyderabad-bound flight at the Ranchi airport. The wheelchair confined boy in his teens apparently posed a safety hazard for the flight because he was in a state of panic. There were doctors on board the flight who felt otherwise and suggested that[Read More...]

Remembering Inge Deutschkron, a Force of Nature Holocaust Survivor

Inge Deutschkron, Holocaust survivor, author, and lecturer, was a force of nature. She died at the age of 99 on March 9, 2022, and was buried on April 8 in her hometown of Berlin, where she fought for justice against right-wing extremists. She was honored by officials and political leaders from Berlin, few of whom knew her personally, at the[Read More...]

Story of a revolutionary mom, India’s mainstream media won’t tell

This year’s Mother’s Day must have been the hardest for 92-year-old Anusaya Teltumbde. She has not recovered from the recent loss of her insurgent son, while the other one is locked up in jail for the past two years. Milind Teltumbde, a Maoist leader, was gunned down by the police in November 2021, while Anand, his elder brother, a well[Read More...]

Donkeys Need More Care and Compassion

They are often victims of neglect and even cruelty, while the wild ass is badly endangered People who are sincere and hard-working, simple and quiet should be highly valued for these virtues, yet their simplicity and sincerity are often misused by others. This can also be said about donkeys, who have much the same virtues and have suffered much the[Read More...]

Sufi Amba Prasad: The One-Handed Freedom Fighter Who Fought on Two Fronts— in India and Iran

Freedom fighters often face immense difficulties, all the more so if they are challenging the biggest imperial power in the world. This is precisely what Sufi Amba Prasad (1858-1917) did ever since his young days. In fact he took up this challenge not in one but in two countries—India and Iran—and finally died fighting for this cause in Shiraj ([Read More...]