Category: Society, Culture

Hate is ours

Whenever I think about the origin of hate politics in India, I end up concluding that it is wrong to blame any political dispensation for this mess. They do not wield that kind of power even though there is proven relationship between hate and votes.

Living paradox

There are few words that we know well but seldom put to use. For me, oxymoron and paradox are two such words. I have a good connect with the word paradox due to nostalgic reasons. And also because paradoxes in real life are not so amusing.

Seeing justice as done

A heinous crime took place. The perpetrators were convicted and sentenced for life. After fourteen years there was a request for their release. Courts consented. Everything happened within the ambit of law. Except justice!

System of Caste – A hierarchical worldview

We often blame the system for the evil we see around. We believe that the evil is imposed upon us. We seldom stop and ask ourselves – who imposed it? More often than not, we get what we deserve. Be it the government or a social hierarchy. They are nothing but a manifestation of our collective worldview.

And God was born!

As a child I used to often wonder about God and had many ifs and buts. I was almost sure that I was not a believer. But I was also unsure about being an atheist. Thankfully there was no urgent need to stake any claim.

The side effects of rejecting the rituals

Rituals are often seen as the remnants of our undesirable past – a baggage which, as a society, we failed to unload. They are often linked with the continuance of many ills that societies face. But it is important that we understand their context prior to rejecting them.

A round trip to Bangalore

Though Bangalore is now to be called Bengaluru, but somehow name changes do not go well with me. These conflicts about nouns are nothing but ploys to distract people. But this note is not about distractions. It is about strange observations.

System of Caste – A matter of identity

Our conversations about humanity are largely centered on the idea of body and soul. But if look around, what get to see is nothing but identities – some self-defined and some enforced. In the sea of humanity, identity seems to be the omnipresent social tag.

System of Caste – Genesis and Anatomy

In order to understand the issue of caste it is important that we zoom out a bit and discuss the legacy and context of caste oppression. Human history, and present, seems to suggest that the casteism is more of a rule than being an exception.