Babasaheb Ambedkar’s prefaces to his works were often as penetrating and incisive as the main body of the work that followed. His book, Who Were the Shudras? How they came to be
Jyotirao Phule: An architect of ideas
Umesh KumarB.R. Ambedkar’s fascination with Jyotirao Phule goes beyond the fact that he considered him a guru. Ambedkar, recognising the intellectual legacy of Phule, wished to project him on to the national scene. More
The essence of Jyotiba Phule’s revolution lay in his rationality
Snehashish DasAmidst the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the ritualisation of mindless joy through banging of utensils, clapping one’s hearts out while screaming slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the
No, Being religious will not save you from suicide
Jessy BeringAmong the more obnoxious things I’ve read in the wake of Anthony Bourdain’s death is that if only he had been a man of faith, he wouldn’t have taken his own life.
Playing with blind believers
Narisetti Innaiah“Is Vivekananda whom we know different?” that was the title of my article published in Udayam daily. The Telugu daily managed by movie producer Dasari Narayana Rao in 1985 with
A Brave and Startling Truth
Maya AngelouWe, this people, on a small and lonely planet Traveling through casual space Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns To a destination where all signs tell us
Shocking ‘Words of Wisdom’ from Indian Gurus and Hindutva Brigade
Logic-defying, mind numbing statements cast in front of the public in India over the years.There is no dearth of ‘ancient wisdom’ in India, but the sheer number of self-styled ‘godmen’
Vrihad Indrajaal: Searching for the Vedas in the Sciences
As soon as I was about seven or eight years old and could read Hindi well, I started looking for books that I could read. This way, I found a
Swami Nityanand: Founding of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’
Ram PuniyaniReligion is probably the most complex human phenomenon. From Centuries philosophers have tried to understand and define it. Different commentators have emphasized on its many facets. Probably one of its
The Decade of Unholy Godmen
Wild Wild West, the Netflix show that chronicled the sordid truths about Osho’s life, predictably created a big stir. National embarrassment for us, yes, but who doesn’t like a story
Jaggi Vasudev Doesn’t Understand Science (or the Nature of the Universe)
tArkikaIntroduction Jaggi Vasudev is a self-styled new-age guru whose philosophy and agenda are represented by his activities through his organization, the Isha Foundation. Isha Foundation has steadily been gaining a follower
Attempts at Debunking “Fake News” about Epidemics
Gary StixConspiracy theories can undercut public health efforts to forestall epidemics. An emerging line of research exploring what might be called misinformation studies is trying to understand how and why fake
Indian Feminist Movement and the Challenges it Faces
Gail Omvedt(This is the text of Gail Omvedt’s inaugural lecture on Feminist Discourse, organised by the Department of Sociology, SavitribaiPhule Pune University.Gail Omvedt is a scholar, sociologist and human rights activist
Why it’s only science that can answer all the big questions
Peter AtkinsScience has proved itself to be a reliable way to approach all kinds of questions about the physical world. As a scientist, I am led to wonder whether its ability