Posts

Showing posts from March, 2024

The Geopolitical Chessboard: India's Dilemma in the Face of Western Powers

Image
(Source - X White House handle)  India, as a nation, has delusions of grandeur. Nothing can be more mendacious than its sense of self-importance. It is essential to underline that no Asian or African country could ever develop to become a developed nation without the support of US-led Western Cacausian powers in the last hundred years. Only a handful of countries in Asia could achieve the levels of human development Western countries possess.  The dramatic impact of Western powers on people, culture, and nations can be understood by observing the contrast between South and North Korea. The former is a wealthy and highly advanced economy, and the latter is a poor third-world country. And the difference between the two is Western support. Similarly, many nations in the ASEAN region have made spectacular economic strides in the last few decades. It can also be emphasized that all United States allies could not economically benefit from the Western alliance. However, that reflects on their

Temple Politics and Electoral Gambits: Modi's Strategy for 2024

Image
( Source - X @narendramodi) The demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya marked the culmination of a long struggle of Hindus to take back the site from Muslims. Hindus believe that the Ram temple at Lord Ram's birthplace was demolished by Mir Baqi, the Uzbek commander of Mughal ruler Babar. Remarkably, Hindus have been contesting with authorities and the Muslim community for the last five hundred years. There are not many disputes over a piece of land that has survived for this long. BJP launched the movement to take back the site of Babri Mosque. They had a political motive, but it would be unfair to claim that they could imagine the success of their project. On 6 December 1991, the Babri Mosque was demolished. Interestingly the seeds of demolition were sown with the partition of India in 1947. The Muslim population in undivided India was too high, and Muslims were united against Hindus despite their ethnic, sectarian, linguistic, and regional differences. And their faith-based unity

Debating Ayodhya: Liberals' Perspectives on the Ram Temple

Image
Source - X @ @ErikSolheim There is no doubt Modi is behind building the great Ram temple in Ayodhya. Not only the temple, but he is also investing billions of dollars in building Ayodhya city as the center of the Hindu faith, and this newly built holy city will be as important as Varanasi and Haridwar in its religious significance. The presence of the Saryu River also adds to the charm and the potential of Ayodhya to emerge as another center of the Hindu faith and Holy men.  A lot has been written about the controversy surrounding the birthplace of Lord Ram. Liberals argue that he is a mythological character. Others with no courtesy towards Hinduism call Ram a comic character and outrightly dismiss the faith and devotion of the masses. They also dismiss the reports of the ASI (Archeological Survey of India) as nonserious findings and describe the Muslim officers behind the excavations as government stooges.  Left-leaning liberals oppose the Ayodhya temple on the following grounds. Firs