Muslim Veil is "Mark of Separation" says Tony Blair

Last updated on: October 17, 2006 at 9:58 pm By Desh Kapoor

As if the world wasn't done with the finger pointing at Islam's "negative" or repressed side, here is British PM Tony Blair calling the Muslim veil a "Mark of Separation"! This is sure to spark another round of protests and perhaps the 'devout" Muslims getting "devouter" and more rigid regarding the veils! This is really sad. It is true that in Islam the onus of "titillation" has always been thrown on the women - the object - as opposed to the man - the obsever as if the sin was in the object versus the one who got turned on! That kind of logic is what should be debated squarely! And in full detail. But it is doubtful that it will be. Instead the throw backs to the piety of a woman's dress will be brought to the fore. That is sadder! Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped into the debate over the integration of Muslims into British society on Tuesday, calling the full veil worn by some Muslim women "a mark of separation". The use of the veil has prompted a lively debate over social inclusion with some leaders of Britain's 1.8 million Muslims accusing the government of stirring up Islamophobia. Read more

Drishtikone now has forums! Please start discussing…

Last updated on: October 17, 2006 at 8:13 pm By Desh Kapoor

Forums are a major area of interest on any interactive site. On this site, the forums were lacking because that functionality was not up to snuff as of now. Recently, drupal site came up with a forum functionality that is good and more upto the standards so I have installed it. I think there are many topics that need continued and sustained discussions. This area on the site will enable that interaction. For starters, I have included the following topics on the Forums. War on Terror Read more

42 million Indians on Net

Last updated on: October 17, 2006 at 6:51 pm By Desh Kapoor

This is just the Indian IN India.. not the Indians outside of India - the NRIs. I believe that India-specific Online market will boom as internet becomes more affrodable in India specially the broadband. Internet users in India - 37 million at last count in September - will grow to 42 million by March, estimates the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI). Indians also undertake over a billion searches each month, according to a report - 'The State of Search Engine Marketing in India' - by the IMAI, a trade body of online content, advertising, e-commerce, mobile content and advertising industry. Read more

Sanctions are Declaration of War: North Korea

Last updated on: October 17, 2006 at 6:40 pm By Desh Kapoor

A cowboy in charge of a powerful nation and bellicosity of a poor nation with Nukes. What would be the future of the region? Remains to be seen with trepidation perhaps.. but for now.. North Korea calls the putting of sanctions as "Declaration of War"! The North broke two days of silence about the U.N. resolution adopted after its Oct. 9 nuclear test, issuing a Foreign Ministry statement on its official Korean Central News Agency. "The resolution cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war" against the North, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Read more

Pakistan Cricket Team – a bunch of cheats!

Last updated on: October 16, 2006 at 10:14 pm By Desh Kapoor

This team is a bunch of cheats! First they tamper with the ball habitually! That is how the "superstars" of the past were so successful at the reverse swings and they would claim that it was their ingenuity. When their bowlers get pulled up - they walk out of the match and make it look like a religious war between Christian and Muslims!! It was as if the entire country was cheated! Now, their top two bowlers - including their .. what was that? hmm Rawalpindi Express - have tested positive for performance enhancing steroids. As if no one knew of this before. Read more

Vedanta University: Vedic Traditions with Ivy League model in Orissa

Last updated on: October 16, 2006 at 5:11 pm By Desh Kapoor

Nalanda was World's first University. But today you see just illiteracy in that area of India. People are poor and without education or hope. Here is an attempt to open a University that combines the modern education model with the age-old wisdom of Vedic times - the Vedanta University funded by Mr. Anil Agarwal! One of the hot subjects discussed at the peripheries of The Evian Group conference in Montreux, Switzerland, was Vedanta University. Vedanta University's motto is to "Rewrite the history of academia." The university, which is a "not-for-profit" venture, is being endowed with USD 1 billion from Anil Agarwal's personal funds. Read more

Was India ever One Nation?

Last updated on: October 16, 2006 at 12:43 am By Desh Kapoor

Often many ignorant Westerners and "liberals" amongst Indians argue that India - as we know it now as a nation state - was never one. It was only the British who "created" this entity. This is pure nonsense. First, India was and is still known as Bharatvarsha. And Bharatvarsha got its name from the ruler who rules the complete Akhand Bharat which stretched from the Afghanistan of today to Bangladesh and beyond. If you were to carefully read and count... before the British there were at least Nine other times when Bharat/Hindustan/India was under a large expanse! Read more

"Secular" silence and Destruction of Hindu temples in Pakistan!

Last updated on: October 16, 2006 at 12:32 am By Desh Kapoor

For one Babri Masjid (which itself was an encroachment), there have been hundreds and thousands of such Shiv Temples that were encroached and demolished and defaced! And yet this doesnt get copy in the newspapers.. leave alone getting the NGOs off their ass to do something! I challenge the likes of Shabana Azmi and Teestas to raise their voice.. I know they wont! For that is the UGLY and downright nefarious face of today's sadistic "secularism". "We have had enough. We cannot put up with this discrimination and harassment anymore," cry Hindu residents of the century-old Pawandas compound, situated in Lyari town.The compound has a historic Shiv Mandir on its premises but this has been taken over by a self-styled Pir, whose followers claim that the Mandir was a mosque before.They have scraped tiles of Hindu deities in order to "cleanse" the room while the Hindus have been forced to offer their prayers in a makeshift room on another side of the compound. Read more

The Rise and Fall of Indian Restaurants in the US!!

Last updated on: October 15, 2006 at 2:16 am By Desh Kapoor

Indian restaurants in the US start with a bang and then they limp around... to die out and others to start. Quality is not an automatic reservoir! Reputation for quality and service has to be earned every day. For example, in Houston there was a great South Indian restaurant called Madras Pavilion on Kirby and Richmond. It is still there and still excellent. Perhaps some of the best South Indian food I have had anywhere.. I mean ANYWHERE .. including India! It serves vegetarian fare which is delightful and they have built a big Jewish clientele as well! A couple of years back the management decided to open another branch near the suburb of Houston which boasts of a big Indian population specifically South Indian families. So what kind of food do you think they would have served there as well? Vegetarian South Indian.. right? ... and for two reasons: Read more

Friday, the 13th!

Last updated on: October 13, 2006 at 5:58 pm By Desh Kapoor

Interesting day today! Friday, the 13th. In Western urban legends - its a devil's day. Well, in the Northern US the day started with record snows in Upstate NY. They had over 2 feet of snow. An historic and major lake effect snow event will begin to die down across the Buffalo area this morning, after leaving some parts of that area buried under 2 feet of snow. Overnight, snow fell at a rate of 2 to 4 inches per hour, with thunder snow producing frequent lightning. In addition to the amount of snow, this has been a very heavy wet snow, resulting in over 250,000 people without power across the Buffalo area. On the South Asian front, the father of Micro-credit financing industry in Bangladesh and inspiration to many grass-root activists in South Asia, Mohd Yunus, finally got his due - Nobel Peace Prize! Read more

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