पाटणकर उवाच

  The Subtle Art of Dharma Blog 1 – 03/07/2021     What man of mettle will have the patience when he sees his rivals prosper and himself decline?   This is the opening line of my latest read, which turned out to be a splendid and insightful book by Gurcharan Das     The book is an insight into the moral and ethical behavior of each character of the Mahabharata. The way they behave, why they behave as they do, and why is it important for the ruler of the society to ensure his subjects and himself adhere to “Dharma”. It addresses the most important and crucial question that befalls people, especially in these current pandemic times, “why”. Why me? Why should one be good? Why should I stand in line for vaccines when others can use “jacks”? Why should I not envy my neighbor, my brother or Mr. Mukesh Ambani? Why is it so hard to be selfless? Why should I follow my “dharma”? What is my “dharma”? What end result will it do me, if I follow the so called “restrictions” set o

As I sit self quarantined in my room, one of the fundamental questions which leaves me wondering, Why was humanity, with all its technological and economic prosperity, unable to tackle a simple attack like a virus? Surely, with the combined might of the world, we should have been able to counter this virus even before it originated. Why have more than 100,000 people (as I write this) died? Most of them in the seemingly prosperous western civilization?  For this, we need to understand the formation of the global economy and civilization as one single entity. To do that, we need to go back to 1945, the end of the second world war. A number of institutions were formed after the second world war, to ensure that humanity never comes close to a global conflict like it ever again. Those institutions failed to make any dent, and the entire human race came towards the brink of conflict a number of times after 1945. Some of them are those we have last read about in our civics boo

We call this nation of ours as a democracy, a rule for the people, by the people and of the people. The constitution of India is also "given to the people by themselves", meaning that it has not been given by any king or prince. Nobody has a "divine right" to rule the people except they themselves. However, is it a reality?  Mahatma Gandhi essayed a big role in deepening of democratic roots in the country, to the last man or woman. He ensured that people trust in the system even if they have had nothing to eat for days, no medical care for the sick, schools for the children or justice for the marginalized. It is creditable that people have not revolted and broken the system into anarchy despite decades of misgovernance, lavish displays of wealth against abject poverty, India faring so low on various hunger, malnutrition and happiness indexes. (India ranked 102 out of 112 countries in the global hunger index) It is creditable that democratic roots

India has been referred to by the mainstream media as "melting pot" of cultures India has been a land of absorption. Since the dawn of civilization, there has been an influx of different tribes into India. Right from the original settlers of the Indus valley civilization till the influx of the zoroastrians, India has accomodated all. With each change in the demography, there has been a change in the culture and lifestyle of the people leading to a "melting pot" These are the words taught to all of us in schools. Leftists swoon at the above statement and give brainless justifications to the ongoing protests in select few neighbourhoods of the capital. (Calling it nationwide as the maulanas appearing on television do is a gross exaggeration). However, that is not my topic for today. While one may not agree that influx of people has made India into a melting pot of culture (more like a salad bowl), it is a fact that we have adopted different lifestyle hab

Share it with your sister! Societal conditioning and gender equality Nirbhaya's family struggling to find justice Six men, one chilly night 8 years ago, one girl, one bus. These factors came together at one point 8 years ago. The end result was a horrific act which still causes our country to hang its head in shame. The girl was brutally raped, maligned and thrown on the road. Bystanders, traffic passing by, none came to the aid of this girl lying unconscious in the dark. The girl succumbed to her injuries. After a long period of trial, appeal, mercy petitions and curative petitions, the supreme court has now confirmed the death penalty for the perpetrators of this act. However, the capital punishment still hangs (pun intended) in the balance. It has been lost again in the legal ramblings of the court, leading to another travesty of justice, which has become far too common in our nation. With the judiciary creaking under its own weight, the devastated parents