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Welcome to KHOJ: The search to know our roots and understand the meaning of our existence.
Prejudice is the biggest problem in the society. It can be it in terms of religion, cast, sex, skin-colour, status etc. Prejudice can also be in form of the feeling that human beings are the greatest creation, or even patriotism about artificially created borders. The motto of KHOJ is to gain knowledge and break that prejudice. But there is a word of caution for the readers. To break the prejudice KHOJ might throw upon you the concepts it believes in. If the reader believes on KHOJ’s perception without question, then KHOJ itself might incept a prejudice in the readers mind thus failing in it own motto. KHOJ is trying to break its own world of prejudice, but at times that prejudice might get reflected in its writing. Please do challenge them.
Gandhi saw in industrialization a hidden evil that tied men
into a vicious web of materialistic world. The promise of science, technology
and prosperity were illusion that threatened our nation and even the souls of
our men. Running blindly after westernization made our youth lose their
identity. Wearing English dress, learning in English medium school, working in
industries controlled by British, masked as modern and liberal and which
Indians were proud of, were only created for the profit of our oppressor [1]. This 'modern' attitude was advertised by British because it bred an industry, like the Manchester clothes, that were controlled by British. In this
culture both consumer and worker become slave to machines of those big industries in Britain; a culture that promote
suspicion, hatred, racism and exploitation [2]. It was draining India's wealth, and spoiling indigenous industries. It was making us poor. Gandhi was right in a way. We see the same attitude even today that makes a women who dress in traditional fashion be named 'bahenji', or someone who is poor in English as illiterate. We also see it in our obsession for fairness. The thought that 'Western' equal 'Modern' in itself show lack of intelligence. Thinking that a women in burka as not intelligent is equally shameful as calling a women in bikini a slut. Gandhi thus called for
renunciation of everything western, and complete non-cooperation with the Government.
He urged people to follow simple lifestyle and use of indigenous products, the
symbol of it being the ‘chakara’, or the spinning wheel. That would help Indians become self sufficient. Gandhi thus started
the Chakara agitation inviting all Indians to spin the wheel. This extreme
view, however, was criticized by Rabindranath Tagore, one of Gandhi’s greatest
admirers and one who gave Gandhi the title ‘mahatma’.
India’s freedom struggle took a new turn after the Great War
and it was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who took the center stage in that final
battle against British Raj. Gandhi is widely regarded as a saint, a mahatma, who showed the whole world that battles can
be won without violence. To Einstein he was a role model for generations to
come, “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked
the earth in flesh and blood”. Yet Gandhi had his fair share of critics.
Recently he has been labeled as a ‘sexual
wierdo’ who slept with his young niece, and there have been protests
against building his statue in London. He has been called a racist, and has been accused of having sexual relation with a German body builder. So before we go
into our next phase of freedom struggle we have to understand who Gandhi really
was.
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| "Gandhi London 1906" por Desconhecido - gandhiserve.org. Licenciado sob Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_London_1906.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Gandhi_London_1906.jpg |
"This is a work of fiction. All politicians appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."
Students protests after a girl was molested in JU
India has a rich and interesting history, taught to us in a
very boring way. Even though we used to run away from our history teachers,
there was a message that we all took from our not so pleasant history lessons. The
lesson was: “Our elders had sacrificed a lot, and fought hard for our
independence; they earned it from the cruel British”…and we believed them. As
we grew older we learned history from other sources, and realized that the
reason we earned freedom was far more complex than just the efforts of our
elders. Though victorious, British were left wounded after World War II. The
victory in World War II was mostly due to the efforts of Russia and USA, while
Britain was left drained out of energy and resource. The grand empire was crumbling like a cookie,
and they were not strong enough to keep their prized possession, India. And we
also learned that, while the British rule in India was cruel, not all British
were. So, was the history taught to us biased? Should we be ashamed?
At the beginning of the christen era Funan kingdom rose to
power because of its interaction with traders, especially Indian. However, by
the end of 5th century the Funan Kingdom was on a decline. The trade
route has shifted from Isthmus of Kra to Indonesia. Indonesia had the best
spices and the traders now directly contacted them rather than Funan. Ironically,
the prosperity of South East Asia started by the Funan led to their decline,
while Srivijaya (Indonesia) thrived. There was a desperate attempt by Funan
kings to change from a trade dependent economy to one that was agrarian. Many
irrigational canals were built, but could not stop the downfall. By the mid of
6th century Funan Kingdom was dead. The political instability pushed
the Khymer people further inland and they settled around the great lake of
Tonle Sap. It was here that the Khymer Empire began to take its root.
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| Floating Village at Tonle Sap- The Great Lake |
Saturday, February 22, 2014
history
Hindu religion, it is said, forbids people to cross the ocean
which they call ‘kala pani’, or black waters. Beyond it lays the land of
demons; once you go there you lose your identity, your religion. It was
probably a desperate effort from the Brahmins to stop the adventurous traders
who were making their own destiny. The traders were growing rich and powerful,
challenging the authority of the priests. Indian traders have been adventurous
since the time of Indus Valley Civilization. Rome once banned Indian traders as
they were draining out their treasury. Sindabad, an Indian sailor from Sind
found his way into the Arabian Tales. The efforts of the Brahmins went futile.
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| A Serpent...NAGA |
