By T.J.S. George Anything touching mother and mother-tongue is not negotiable. So strong is the sentiment that Amit Shah had to soften his stand. I am convinced that Malayalam should be declared the national language of India. Of the many reasons, consider just two. It is a universal language spoken all over the globe and…
Butterflies and all things good
September 17, 2019By T.J.S. George When you are a downside-up man condemned to horizontality in bed, you start imagining that the world is plotting against you. A butterfly on the window or an itch on the left hand are seen as messages meant for you. Across cultures, the butterfly is a symbol of hope indicating good days…
World as seen from downside-up
September 10, 2019By T.J.S. George I have hardly ever used, in more than two decades of writing this column, the word this sentence begins with — the first person singular I. Change is the stuff of life and the time for change comes when you are ordered to lie flat on your back motionless. Human bodies are…
Jaitley put his stamp on history
September 3, 2019By T.J.S. George Arun Jaitley’s connection with Gujarat led to epochal developments. There he came in contact with Narendra Modi and chemistry got to work. Was it an accident of circumstance? Or did Jaitley, the astute Mr. Brain of the BJP, see something in Modi that others did not? What we know is that it…
Floods, the language of Nature
August 27, 2019Our sages anticipated this, hence the Vedic references to the maha pralaya that would trigger, at the end of the chaturyuga, cataclysmic events that wipe out all life on the planet. By T.J.S. George Kempegowda, the Founder of Bangalore (now Bengaluru), had received clear instructions from his mother: “Build lakes, plant trees.” He did that,…
Congress did it then, bjp now
August 20, 2019By T.J.S. George The Congress went dictatorial when Democracy was aglow with its initial patriotic zeal and Jawaharlal Nehru was an inspirational figure. Yet, Nehru became a silent participant in the molestation of Democracy. It was left to Ambassador M.K. Bhadrakumar to point out something no one else had noticed — how the Congress had…
Right Intentions, Wrong Steps
August 13, 2019By T.J.S. George When the makers of our Constitution used the term ‘India that is Bharat,’ the implication was that the cultural strength of ancient Bharat would energise the modernistic thrust of resurgent India. It did for a while; India became a model for newly-independent nations. Then new forces rose that damaged India’s position as…
India, China, Chanakyas and Vaastu
August 6, 2019China expressed its scornfulness openly after a visit to Beijing in mid 2018 by Ram Madhav, considered a Chanakya by the BJP establishment for unknown reasons. He is famous for making the mess in Kashmir messier. By T.J.S. George Two years ago, the then Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar (now Foreign Minister) said that India’s rise…
And now, be ready to get smashed
July 30, 2019By T.J.S. George The noose is tightening around the freedoms that have kept India going. The Right to Information Act, as the very name suggests, was a pillar of democracy. It has now been abridged with an amendment. Another amendment, passed against strong protests from the Opposition, allows the Government to declare any citizen a…
Martyrdom Vs Saudi Selfishness
July 23, 2019By T.J.S. George If God is love, why does he allow suffering? A timeless question. The answer provided by religion is that suffering leads to enlightenment. So a rishi would stand on one leg for years, another would do tapas inside a flaming fire. Jesus took whipping as he was taken to the cross for…
Recent Comments