quirkyblue

A glance by chance at the list of articles by Shashi Tharoor led me to this article, also incidentally named - 'The Idea of India'. While I put my thoughts about the same subject in the earlier blog entry in an elementary way, here's an intellectual giant elaborating the same in a much more engaging and pursuasive write-up. Enjoy!

Just read an engaging column by MJ Akbar - 'All religions are not the same, but fundamentalists are' . He is right on three accounts: Fundamentalists are totally out of sync with popular culture. They are holding on to their own outdated notions - that are incorrect in the first place - and enforcing them on others with impunity. All religions are not the same, but fundamentalists are. Akbar Ji says that they all share an aversion for modernity and a hatred of gender equality. I totally agree. He says, "India is one nation among many that emerged from the ruins of the British empire claiming the mantle of modernity. This is not because Indians are superior to their neighbours, but because the idea of India is better." "The Idea of India" - This is one of the most powerful phrases I've ever come across. The idea of India is so gigantic, vast, expansive, all-endearing... that there is no space for 'one' right way of doing things. India is a...