CHARVAKA DESK
-
Charvaka and the Tradition of Dissent
A Review of Wendy Doniger’s Beyond DharmaBy reading Beyond Dharma through a skeptical and rationalist lens, the reviewer reframes Wendy Doniger’s survey of dissent into a focused study of Indian materialism. What Doniger treats as an intriguing chapter becomes, in this review, the logical culmination of ancient skepticism—where practical statecraft and pleasure give way to radical epistemology.
-
An Activist’s Guide to The Demon-Haunted World
Carl Sagan’s 1995 masterwork, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, stands as one of the most vital manifestos for critical thinking ever written. While framed around scientific skepticism, its message is profoundly radical: without the tools to spot deception, question authority, and resist pseudoscience, a society cannot remain free.
-
György Lukács
Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Western MarxismIn this featured video lecture, Dr. Ramkrishna Bhattacharya explores the legacy of György Lukács, a seminal Hungarian thinker and founder of Western Marxism. Bhattacharya analyzes Lukács’s groundbreaking contributions to aesthetics, philosophy, reification theory, and Leninism, providing crucial context for understanding his departure from Soviet ideological orthodoxy.
-
Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj: To Each Ones’ Own!
Ram Puniyani Some concerned citizens have filed a Public Interest Litigation (August 17 2015) to stop the highest award of Maharashtra Government, Maharashtra Bhushan to Babasaheb Purandare. Purandare is known for his work ‘Raja Shivaji Chatrapati’ and the play ‘Jaanata Raja’ (wise king) his is not the first time that such a controversy around Purandare…
-
What did Colonialism do to India?
Ram Puniyani A video of Shashi Tharoor speaking at Oxford on a debate related to the colonial period has been ‘viral’ on the social circuit for a while. In this video Tharoor makes a passionate plea to the British that they make reparations for the losses to Indian economy during the British rule. He puts…
-
Saluting Courage: Memorial for Vasant Rajab
Ram Puniyani Gujarat violence (2002) was horrific. In this, after the burning of train in Godhra in which 58 innocents died, the same tragedy was made the pretext to launch the massive violence in which over one thousand people perished. In the aftermath of that I got many occasions to visit different parts of Gujarat…
-
The State Must Not Organise Religious Festivals
Ram Puniyani After staging the Yoga spectacle on 21st June 2015 on Rajpath, Delhi, the Modi government now plans to celebrate Rakhi, Raksha Bandhan on a grand scale in late August. This plan has full approval of its parent organization, the RSS. Now a Hindu religious festival will be given the status of a national…
-
Islamist Terrorism: The Underlying Politics
Ram Puniyani The World at large has suffered massive inhuman acts of violence, terrorism in the name of Islam. There are many glaring insane, cruel acts which cannot be forgotten and condoned in any way. Be it the killing of nearly three thousand innocent people in the attack of 9/11 (which was upheld by Osama…
-
One Year of Modi Sarkar: Hate Speech Galore
Ram Puniyani The coming to power of Narendra Modi in a way gave an open license to all the affiliates of RSS combine to indulge in open hate speech against the religious minorities. The current agenda behind the hate speech is to consolidate the communal polarization of the society along lines of religion. The well…
-
Where do Ram and Allah Live?
Ram Puniyani Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it a point to keep visiting temples when visiting other countries. His visit to Dhakeshwari Mandir and Ramkrishna Math in Bangla Desh were part of his itinerary (June 2015). On the heels of this he is planning to visit the oldest mosque in India. This happens…
-
Manufacturing and Undermining National Icons: RSS Style
Ram Puniyani Many a social and political processes related to projection of some icons and undermining of the others have intensified during last few years. Even during the last regime of NDA led BJP rule from 1998, Savakar’s portrait was unveiled in the Parliament. At one level the game of undermining some icons and projecting…
-
Gandhi’s Vision of Ramarajya: A Critique – Part II
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya The extent of democracy Is Gandhi’s Ramarajya a land of the equals with all economic disparity gone? The utopias conceived by many writers since the sixteenth century do so. Gandhi held out no such hope in this regard. On the other hand, he categorically declared: [The] Ramarajya of my dream ensures equal rights…
-
Bhakti-Sufi Traditions: Uniting Humanity
Ram Puniyani In contemporary times, religions’ identity is being used as cover for political agenda. Be it the terrorist violence or the sectarian nationalism in various parts of the World, religion is used to mask the underlying politics. While one was talking of separation of religion and politics many decades earlier, the times have been showing…
-
Population by Religions in Times to Come
Ram Puniyani The PEW Research Center has released a report (2nd April 2015); which gives the projections of populations in times to come. It says that in India the population of Hindus will fall down from present 79.5 % to 76.7% and the Muslim population will rise up to 18% by 2050. The population of Indian Muslims…
-
Gandhi’s Vision of Ramarajya: A Critique: Part I
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya Ramarajya, ‘’the kingdom of Rama,’ is the projection of an ideal state in the Sanskrit epic, Valmiki Ramayana. When Rama, after rescuing Sita, his wife, from the demon Ravaṇa, came back from his fourteen-year exile, he was given back his kingdom by his devoted brother, Bharata. Rama, we are told, was a model…
-
Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka: It’s Not About King George
Ram Puniyani The debate about our national anthem is a ceaseless one — the ones related to undermining Jana Gana Mana and pushing forward Vande Matram, so to say. To undermine the Jana Gana Mana time and again, questions have been raised about its having been written in praise of George V, the king of…
-
Ramarajya in Valmiki, Tulsidas and Krittibas: A Comparative Study
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya The concept of Ramarajya (literally, the kingdom of rama), the all-found-land, or the land of heart’s desire, is first projected at the end of Book 6 (Lankakanda, Book of War) of the Valmiki Ramayana [critical edition (Varoda: Oriental Institute) canto 116 verses 84-90, vulgate (Delhi: Parimal Publications edition) 128.99-106]. The passage runs as…
-
Color Coding of Communal Politics
Ram Puniyani As per the reports from Ahmadabad (12th April 2015) the uniform at Shahpur School, where most of the students are Hindus, is saffron and the color of uniform in Dani Limda school where almost all the students are Muslims, the color is green. This is absolutely shocking! One knew that the ghettoization of Muslims in Ahmadabad is probably…
-
A Class Utopia in the Rāmāyaṇa
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya An imaginary land of heart’s desire is known as utopia (literally, no-place, but actually meaning ‘a happy place’, eutopia) in Latin. Originally it is the title of a book written by Thomas More (1478-1535) in 1516. Uttarakuri was such a place in ancient India. This imaginary land was located beyond the Himalayas (for…
-
Ambedkar’s Ideology: Religion, Nationalism and Indian Constitution
Ram Puniyani In order to gain larger legitimacy, RSS has been making claims of sorts. One of that which was made few months back was that Gandhi was impressed by functioning of RSS. Now on the heels of that comes another distortion that Ambedkar believed in Sangh ideology (Feb 15, 2015). This was stated by…
-
Science versus Miracles: Leaping on Broken Glass.
B Premanand The Hata Yogi leaps barefoot from a table onto broken glass. Experiment: 136 Effect: Leaping on broken glass. Props: 50 to 100 kg of the bottom of soda water bottles or beer bottles. Roll them in a big sack to grind down the sharp edges and make the pieces smooth. A table. Method:…
-
Science versus Miracles: Curing Blister through Yogic Power
A Yogi claims to have overcome pain through meditation. He takes a lit cigarette and bums his fingertip and shows the blister. He is smiling and in meditation. After a short time the blister vanishes. Experiment: 135 Effect: Overcoming Pain while burning your finger. Props: A car key and a lighted cigarette. Method: With your…
-
Saffronisation of Education: Political Ideology and Interpretation of History
Ram Puniyani Our sub continent, which has a common past; shares its history, there are diverse ways of looking at the same history by groups belonging to different political ideologies. With the change of Government in Delhi, the leading institutions are having a major policy shift, organizations like Indian Council of Historical Research, National Council…
-
Subversion at Work: Astrology Discredited in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyākāṇḍa
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya An advertisement published in the Times of India (Kolkata edition) on December 10, 2014 entered by Nakshatra Diamond Jewellery (certified by Gemological Science International, International Gemological Institute, Independent Gemological Laboratories and others) contained a half-page picture of a bejewelled Bollywood film-star. The advertisement was entitled ‘This Pushya Nakshatra / Buy from the amazing…