2018

by Kunal Ghosh
The Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of practicing one’s faith and propagating it, provided it is done without coercion or inducement. The Archbishop of Delhi (of the Catholic Church), Reverend Anil Couto, has spoken about the threat to the democratic principles and the “secular fabric” enshrined in our Constitution and distributed a circular to all the churches in his diocese in May 2018. The message is that the Christians should be careful in exercising their (…)

In 1947 India was divided by the foreign rulers by playing a game of divide and rule to which the religious fundamentalists fell prey. India and Pakistan since then have a chequered history and uneasy relationship sometimes climaxing in wars and violent conflagrations.
While the governments prefer to maintain an adversarial relationship, which now sustains certain vested interests on both sides, the common people and business interests on two sides want peace. They do not want conflicts in (…)

IMPRESSIONS
Donald Trump’s impetuousness often gets boosted by his ego. This makes him a dangerous player in conflict situations. West Asia, already on edge with clashing ideologies, has been brought closer to war by his eccentric pull-out from the Iran nuclear deal and all-out backing to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) policies of provocation at home and in the region. Add to this Trump’s support to Israel’s military adventurism, and we have a tinder box ready to catch fire (…)

When Nathu Ram shot dear Bapu dead,
Was he a terrorist or a patriot?
The answer lies in the hat you wear—
A white Gandhi topi or a black Nagpur fit.
But when an Abu son picks up the gun
For a purpose similar to Nathu Ram’s,
What hat you wear is irrelevant—
He is simply a terrorist with arms.
So tell me what is true or false,
Kosher white or black as night?—
The things that are in effect done,
Or the opinion we hold of black and white?
Badri Raina

by Vijay Kumar
Justice P.N. Bhagwati, whose first death anniversary falls on June 15, 2018, was one of the most trail-blazing judges of the Supreme Court. His first landmark judgment was rendered in the Royappa case,1 in which he introduced the concept of arbitrariness in the text of Article 14, and thereby liberated the equality clause, which was, to borrow his own language, ‘cribbed, cabined and confined within the narrow and doctrinaire limit of classification’.
After the liberating (…)

by O.P. Jaiswal
Nalanda1 has a very ancient history going back to the days of Mahavira and Buddha in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. According to the Jaina texts, it was a suburb (bahariya), situated to the north-west of the famous city of Rajagriha. Indeed, so important was the place that Mahavira spent as many as fourteen rainy seasons there. The Pali Buddhist literature too contains many references to Nalanda. It is said that in the course of his sojourns the Buddha often visited the (…)

The following is the text of the letter sent on June 12, 2018 by the office-bearers of the All India Indo-Korean Friendship Association to Kim Jong-un, the Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army, on the successful accord of North Korea with the United States on an equal basis following his talks with US President Donald Trump at Singapore.
Dear Comrade (…)

The Kannada saying “murthi chikkadaadaru keerthi doddadu” (meaning that even if the physical form is diminutive, the virtue is great), applies to Lal Bahadur Shastri who, as the Prime Minister, led India with remarkable initiative and verve in the 1965 war against Pakistan. It was he who coined the slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”, in the full understanding that the Jawan provides border security (since then he has also been providing internal security due to the failure of governance) and the (…)

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
“Here is our vast country, Hindusthan, the land of the Hindus, their home country, hereditary territory, a definite geographical unity, fulfilling all that the world should imply in the Nation idea. Living in this country since prehistoric times, is the ancient race—the Hindu race, united together by common traditions, by memories of common glory and disaster, by similar historical, political, social, religious and other experiences, living and evolving, under the same (…)

Pranab Mukherjee is a man of all political affiliations. He had occupied the highest position as a Congressman and had also floated a political party with a few of his associates in the Congress. But one can call him a self-made man in the political arena. He has accepted the invitation to visit the RSS headquarters at Nagpur to address the Sangh’s cadres.
To quote RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, “Mukherjee was graceful enough to accept the invitation.” It is a surprise because the place never (…)