Gautam, aka Sakyamuni (the sage of the Sakyas), became a buddha around 2,500 years ago. Today, known as Buddha Purnima, the day of the full moon in May, is celebrated as his birthday. So here’s the Chinese singer Imee Ooi singing the Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra, aka The Heart Sutra. Listen.
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Category: People
What Joseph Lelyveld Said About Gandhi
I have not read Joseph Lelyveld’s book on Gandhi. Of course, neither have any of those who are heaping invective upon Lelyveld’s head for having written the book. I will probably borrow the book from the library one of these days but for now, it is good to hear the man himself explain what he attempted to do in the book. Michael Krasny’s Forum on KQED had him on in the second hour of the show today. It was enlightening, as Forum almost always is. Check it out.
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Ban on the Gandhi biography in Gujarat
The chief minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, is a hero of mine. That does not mean that I approve of every position he holds. In the case of the banning of Joseph Lelyveld’s book, “Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India,” I most certainly do not agree with Narendrabhai. What is more, I will not hesitate to tell him so. I am a free speech fundamentalist. Banning expression is the start of a journey the destination of which is something akin to an Islamic state which orders the murder of novelists and cartoonists.
Listen: Joseph Lelyveld talking about his book on KQED Forum.
Banning a Book on Gandhi — Part 2
The freedom of speech and expression is not only a good in itself but it is also instrumental in human civilizational progress. It is therefore puzzling that quite a significant segment of humanity is ever ready to ban expression whenever there’s something said or written that goes against their cherished beliefs. What makes it worse is that another segment which does not fully comprehend what freedom of expression actually means. Usually they go, “I am for freedom of speech but . . . ”
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Banning a Book on Gandhi
Here we go again. The first impulse from the troglodytes on seeing something that is troubling is to shut their own eyes and insist that others be prevented from seeing it also. Apparently their conception of the good society is one in which the people are rendered blind and mute, and where they get to dictate to the people what is allowed to be said, heard, written or read, and by whom. At the center of the current turmoil among the troglodytes is a book by Joseph Lelyveld, “Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India.”
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Manmohan Singh Epitomizes Evil
As some of you have already pointed out, I have been focusing on public corruption in India a bit too much. A recent comment motivates me to explain my seeming obsession with the appointed prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his crimes.
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Where Have all the Giants Gone?
Today we have dwarfs at the helm of affairs — dishonest people such as the appointed prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his boss Antonia Maino aka Sonia Gandhi — but India has had more than its fair share of giants. Once upon a time. A time when giants like Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata and Swami Vivekananda walked the earth.
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Manmohan Singh Will be Remembered for His Venality
IndianExpress.com reports that “Three official letters — one written by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in 2008, and two by the Kerala government in 2006 and 2008 — suggest the palmolein case against P J Thomas had come to the notice of the Prime Minister.” Manmohan Singh knew what he was doing in appointing PJ Thomas as the CVC. It was a despicably dishonest thing to do and then lied about it. But then he’s a despicably dishonest man. This is not the first time that he has done a despicable thing and then lied about it. Sorry to overuse of the word “despicable” but what else can describe the man adequately?
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The Habit of Being Honest
A few days ago, a Pakistani singer by the name of Rahat was caught smuggling around $130,000 out of India. It does not matter what the prescribed penalties are for such an act but the interior minister of Pakistan called up the Home Minister of India, P. Chidambaram and thanked him for facilitating Rahat’s release. Thanks to Mr Chidambaram’s intervention in the matter, it all ended well for the singer. But not for the country.
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The Ventriloquist’s Dummy Will Address a Press Conference
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Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 