Yogi's Corner

A decade back, a European, CEO of an Indian helicopter company, upon observing Yatris jostling for a helicopter ride to Amarnathji Cave, opined that religion in India was a huge business proposition. Nothing seems to have changed ever since. Even Amarnathji  Shrine Board is seen pandering to the local business wont; treating annual pilgrimage more as a seasonal commercial activity than a sacred duty enjoined upon it by the statute. On being asked how Shrine Board prevents fleecing of Yatris by unscrupulous helicopter and tour operators, a young Babu, probably on his maiden assignment, parried the responsibility to J&K police confirming latent commercial intent. But, then, that is not central to the topic here. Hindu religious assets in the Valley continue to be plundered with impunity. With the advent of Islam in the Valley, and during Islamic rule thereafter, destruction of Hindu temples/Shrines and replacing those with Ibadatgahs (places of worship) of the new faith wa...

Rohingya Muslim refugees have invited worldwide attention for quite some time now. They are widely perceived as world’s most ‘persecuted minority’. Who are Rohingya? In a way it depends on whom you ask- and that itself may be the core to the conflict. To most of the world, Rohingya are Muslim minority in Myanmar; the Buddhist nation in Southeast Asia. But for Myanmar government Rohingya do not exist at all; instead arguing that they are Bengalis who entered the region during the British rule or later as illegal immigrants after Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.  Myanmar’s security operations against Rohingya Muslims forced the United Nations to dub those as a ‘text book case of ethnic cleansing”. Out of an estimated population of about two million, only 400,000 of them now reside in Myanmar, mostly in Northern part of Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh and India. Rest of the Rohingya population has been driven out of their country and are living as refugees ...

   For the Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community year 2017 ended on a sad note. Homeland Day, observed by Panun Kashmir in last week of every December in exile, was given a go-by by those professing to claim copyright to its concept. Whether under duress or due to fatigue, intensity to pursue the demand for Homeland had been on the wane ever since present dispensation took-over the reins. Nothing can symbolise this drift better than the format of ‘Kashmir Shaiv Drishti’ festival ‘celebrated’ in Abhinav Theatre, Jammu, on December 29 &30, 2017.  This festival was an antithesis to what Panun Kashmir stood for all these years in exile. Much that the organisation may deny, the format appeared to have a stamp of approval from RSS as it was in conformity with latter’s efforts to win over Kashmiri Muslims - Mullas  included- to a compromised version of Kashmir Shaivism under the banner ‘Mystic Philosophies of Kashmir – Reconciliation of Theory & Practice’. Omnipre...

For once I agree with his observation when Omar Abdullah tweeted “The Army was to be a measure of last resort to be called upon in extreme emergency. Now it seems like it’s the 1st number on the speed dial.”. That indeed is what Army has been reduced to by the present dispensation ever since it took over. Be it spreading of mats for International Yoga Day, clearing garbage leftover by the tourists, cleaning rivers or laying a bridge for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s cultural extravaganza on Yamuna riverbed and now construction of three foot-over bridges in Mumbai, Army has indeed been on Modi Government’s speed dial. It can’t get any more ridiculous than that. Any number of happy hours Prime Minister Modi shares with troops, on Diwali, can’t justify this blatant misuse of Army on duties which ought to be carried out by those who are employed and paid for the purposes. None grudges employment of Defence Forces in aid to civil authorities during emergencies – natural or manmade- like ...

It is now close to three decades that Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) hounded out of their homes in Kashmir by armed Islamists, masquerading as freedom fighters, have been condemned to live as refugees in their own country. Successive governments often promise to reverse this human tragedy, by ensuring a safe and dignified return of the natives to their homeland, only to forget no sooner promises are made. Since insignificant numbers don't matter in electoral calculus, political and economic empowerment of KPs is not a priority for any party, BJP included. Recently, in reply to an RTI query, Union Home Ministry denied any return-cum-rehabilitation plan for KPs was under its consideration thus reinforcing a long-established neglect of this ethnic group. As this U-turn by the BJP government evoked an instant resentment within the community, brazen-faced Parivar apologists were at hand to dole the government out of this faux pas claiming resettlement in the Valley was never a demand of the co...

Perched at the intersections of religious fervour, public support, political power and often massive wealth, 'godmen', in India, have assumed unimaginable and multidimensional powers- both at societal and political levels. This immense non-state and non-corporate power also leads some of them to believe that they can do anything, act against anyone, mostly women, with impunity. Dipankar Gupta, a noted author in his essay 'India's Godmen Syndrome', aptly sums up this dilemma in his observation "godmen do extraordinarily well in our country than in most other, and that is where the puzzle lies. Is our society more vulnerable?" From a distance, 'godmen' in India are darkly comic. Consider Guru Ashutosh Maharaj, whose followers have stored his body in deepfreeze since a fatal heart attack three years ago, claiming he is meditating. While his family wished to cremate him, Punjab and Haryana High Court sided with the devotees, emphasising the 'f...