There are protests in India and in Iran over the wearing of Hijab. In today’s newspaper it was reported that there have been deaths of two young women in Iran since the protests broke out. Here is my view on this matter: I will start by saying that I have not lived in Iran or […]
Category Archives: Politics
Some Comments on Affirmative Action
I would like to write an article on Affirmative Action in India. According to a Google search: Affirmative action is a policy initiative in which a person’s nationality, sex, religion, and caste are taken into account by a company or a government organisation to extend employment or education opportunities. (Sourced from – https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/affirmative-action ) I […]
Lessons regarding Wealth from Gibbon
This article contains two extracts from Gibbon that might serve as a guide to nations and individual persons. I will not presume to suggest what policy changes governments might make but it offers food for thought. Regarding nations: Background: The Arabs (post the death of the prophet) had invaded Europe and made great advances. This […]
An aid to prevent Communal violence
I came across the following anecdote in my reading of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon. It may help the police and the government more generally speaking to maintain communal harmony whenever the Muslim community is offended because of insults to their faith and to the prophet. The anecdote involves not […]
Commodus and the Sri Lankan crisis
I picked up my copy of Gibbon to research material for an article on Islam that I want to write. Going through the Table of Contents however I was intrigued by the chapter on the life and death of Emperor Commodus. Commodus was the villain in the movie in the blockbuster action movie Gladiator starring […]
Role of the Military in the Roman Empire
I had thought of reading Gibbon and writing a series of articles based on his Decline and Fall. But the book speaks for itself much better than I can ever do so. Less is more and I can do no better than to recommend anybody who is reading this article (and who is connected with […]
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
I have had my copy of the abridged version of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon for many years now. But it is only now that I have started to read it. I read just the Foreword, Introduction, Preface and the first chapter and was blown away by the insights […]
A Solution to the Ayodhya Dispute
This article is like locking the stable doors after the horse has bolted. The Ayodhya dispute has ended with the Supreme Court ordering the land to be handed over to a trust to build a Hindu temple. It also ordered the government to give an alternate 5 acres of land to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni […]
More on the Legal System
We have inherited our civil and criminal justice system from the British. The British naturally gave us the justice system that they knew and worked for them. And this system is based – in large part – on the witnesses being men and women of integrity. And that is a very precarious assumption to make […]
The Cause of Religious Persecutions
A cousin of mine and I were discussing religion. I take spirituality seriously and told him that all religious traditions have produced enlightened mystics. “By their fruits shall you know them”, as the Bible says. My cousin countered by pointing out that there have been many wars fought over religion and millions of innocent people […]