Thought

Bandit in life, MBC in death

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by Chandrabhan Prasad German philosopher George WF Hegel understood Indians fairly well. In his Lectures On The History Of Philosophy, he denounces Indians as “monkey worshippers” who are “incoherent’ in their thought process. Nothing illustrates this better than the way Varna intelligentsia handled Phoolan Devi’s tragic death.  

Thought

Myth called freedom & Varna conscience

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by Chandrabhan Prasad Ever since Varna editors were caught postulating before Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at his free breakfast ceremony in Agra, they have discovered a time tested refuge of “Press freedom” to justify their shameful intellectual conduct.  They are into their old habit of “defining” freedom, where the Press has the spine to confront …

Thought

Body language of the Varna media

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by Chandrabhan Prasad Politicians, usually, lack a sense of shame or remorse. When they were made to wait outside, while the general negotiated with Hurriyat leaders, Indian politicians didn’t seem to mind and instead, argued that a head of state has “schedule constraints” to keep in mind. But what about the Varna-media?  When our editors …

Thought

DU: Hindustan’s other Nathdwara

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by Chandrabhan Prasad About a decade back, Rajasthan’s Nathdwara town was in the news. The town houses a Hindu temple into which Dalits are not allowed. The maverick Arya Samaj sadhu Swamy Agnivesh had organised a march to accord Dalits their right to enter the temple. Read More Most newspapers wrote lengthy editorials condemning the …

Thought

Political radicals but social Tories

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by Chandrabhan Prasad The entire anti-Congress formation, including the intelligentsia, had hailed NT Rama Rao as the saviour who uprooted the Congress from the largest southern state. To be bracketed in the “progressive” club then, one had to demonstrate his or her anti-Congress credentials. Quite logically then, NTR was made chairperson of the National Front. …

Thought

Does India deserve international curbs?

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by Chandrabhan Prasad A novelist friend has just returned from Oxford. She was there to attend a Dalit-related talk where the UN-sponsored World Conference Against Racism, to be held in Durban this year, came up for discussion. She wondered why European scholars were not easily prepared to equate caste-based discrimination with that of race. Another …