Issue 32 - July 2008
Migrant child labourers of Bihar in Aligarh
India is among the fastest growing economies in the world. But this economic growth has led to the increasing divide between the rich and the poor. If, on the one hand, four Indians figure among the list of the world’s 10 most rich, 28.6 percent of the Indian population lives below the poverty line.
Foreigners barred from receiving organ transplants in Philippines
The Philippines will ban kidney transplants for foreigners as part of a government attempt to end the illicit trade in human organs purchased from the poor. Francisco Duque, the Philippine health secretary, told a news conference that violators could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined as much as P2 million for illegal transplants.
Kosovo, Kashmir and the role of international community
The strategic role played by NATO and most of the member countries of the European Union and Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) in achieving independence and freedom for the people of Kosovo is a significant blueprint that can be directly applied to the longstanding crisis of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir.
Sloganeering in Srinagar
‘Thanks to Smt. Sonia Gandhi For Nominating Jenab Ghulam Nabi Azad and Chief Minister of J&K State’ announces a sprawling billboard just down the street from the Tourist Reception Committee in the heart of Srinagar. It was obviously hurriedly put up just in time for Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Srinagar earlier this month.
Pakistani-Hindustani bhai-bhai, literally up in the sky!
We have a three-hour stop over at Lahore airport on our way back to Delhi from Islamabad. I am excited about going back home, but, at the same time, I am sad at the thought of leaving Pakistan. I don’t know when, if at all, I can come back here, if I can ever again meet some of those wonderful people whom I almost instantly bonded with in my short week-long visit to the country.
The discovery of ages
The subject matter contained in these works detail the great need of every person on the planet earth to change their state of consciousness. Failing to do so, the human race will be destroyed. Such will be shown by scientific verification. The how and why we all must, and not should, change our state of consciousness is fully explained with illustration in the works as mentioned here.
Gandhi: Under Cross Examination
Gandhi’s biographies, autobiographies and other writings about him are laced with false information, imaginary stories, inconsistencies and contradictions. It is a pity that for almost a century none of the authors, not even academicians, ever bothered to check the veracity of various accounts in Gandhi’s autobiography.
The future of Punjabi literature
Punjabi novels have been reasonably successfully in dealing with all themes that are familiar to an average Punjabi, be they Sikh, Hindu or Muslim. However, modern media, most notably film and music, actively competes with this little respected language. In such a scenario how can Punjabi language overcome the influence of the modern media. Surely the way forward has to be more introspective?
The Gospel of God to the Sikh
To his credit this Pastor acknowledged his “limitations” while relying exclusively on books written by “Sikhs and western scholars” on Sikhism. The question is: What compelled him to write this flawed book? The answer is lodged in the preface section of the book.
Alcohol, drugs and young people
Since the 1990s alcohol consumption and drug misuse levels has increased enormously in the state of Punjab. This has been accompanied by a disturbing increase in drug and alcohol related problems, including those involving young people. A preliminary study by the Punjab Health Department showed that more than 40 percent of those aged 15-25 were addicts.
What is the meaning of “Hindu”?
In his column “Who is a Hindu? Who is not?” published in the India Tribune (September 28, 2002), Mr. Niranjan Shah made the assertion that like Jains and Buddhists, Sikhs are also Hindus. In my response, I pointed out that Guru Nanak rejected all the essentials of Hinduism; therefore, it is absurd to regard Sikhs as Hindus and Sikhism as a sect or an offshoot of Hinduism.
Sikh-Rajput Relations During the Eighteenth Century
The present study is a preliminary attempt that looks into the nature of relations between the Rajputs and the Sikhs, especially during the eighteenth century. It also makes use of the contemporary Rajasthani source material which has remained unnoticed so far.
Music as Guru Nanak’s mode of communication
The present paper is an attempt to understand from a Tamil perspective the musical mode of communication of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder Guru of Sikhism. While claiming no specialized knowledge of music, the author feels that the Tamil perspective of Guru Nanak’s music could add up to the already existing studies on Gurbani.
Sikh Studies and Ghostwriters
Plagiarism is quite common in academia, especially in the disciplines of humanities whereas ghostwriting is generally the domain of propagandists. I had heard of ghostwriting by scholars, but I had not actually seen it until I saw a reference to it, in 2004, in Planned Attack on Aad Guru Granth Sahib: Academics or Blasphemy.
The Concept of Faith – Perspective of a practicing Sikh
Antoine Lavoisier, the French chemist, is a rather unusual starting point for an article Faith. What qualifies him to be part of a discussion on faith is that he is regarded as the founder of Chemistry. It does not mean that before Lavoisier there is no history of man’s experimentation with chemicals. On the contrary, chemicals have been used by humanity for thousands of years.
Shri Guru Granth Sahib – Its relevance for Muslims
No Islamic literature could dare to present the strongest contempt for those Muslims who do not offer Nimaz as said by Hazrat Baba Sheikh Farid in Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Hazrat (1175-1265) expired about two and a half-century before Shri Guru Nanak Sahib.
Understanding Jap – 3
In the first stanza of Jap, Guru told us that in order to break down the wall of falsehood that we have been building unwittingly around us by following the dictates of our mind, we must live our life as per the Hukam of God.
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