Remembering and honoring Vidyasagar Haimanti Banerjee The 19th century was a very important one among so many before that because it gifted the world with innumerable great personalities from Bharat, particularly from Bengal. To take a few names: Bharat Pathik, a great social reformer; Raja Ram Mohan Roy, a giant spiritual leader; Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and his disciple Vivekananda; Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, a genius and a pioneering scientist; Jagadish Chandra Basu, Kobiguru Rabindranath Thakur, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy, CV Raman, Srinivasa Ramanujam and so many others in and outside of Bengal who will be remembered as stalwarts in ...
Read more
Comments Off on Remembering Iswarchandra Vidyasagar
Editorial Board
Welcome 2014! Welcome India! It’s Homecoming time once again! Excitement kicks off in New Delhi on January 7 with the inauguration of the 12thPravashiBharatiya Divas event. It is indeed, time to celebrate, to rejoice and to get engaged. In the good old days, people from around the globe flocked to India for both knowledge and wealth. The ancient Indian centres of learning – Universities of Takshashila and Nalanda and travelogues of numerous travelers from Greece, China and Middle East are testimonials of that rich bygone era. Always a safe haven for the world’s persecuted communities – including the Jews, the ...
Read more
Comments Off on Homecoming once again!
Time is ripe again for the ‘homecoming’ of the Indian Diaspora: and also for celebrating their achievements. Twenty-five million plus people of Indian origin, whether or not born in India and living outside of India in over 100 countries, are drawn towards their motherland that is variously referred to as Bharat, Hindustan or simply India – a land of dreams. Yes, India is far from perfect. The mother, once richest in the world, is unable to fulfill the basic needs of its people such as food, education and healthcare today. But a mother is always a mother. Today, India stands ...
Read more
Comments Off on Welcome Pravasi
No mean task –handling health-care of 1.2 billion peoplefor any country or government. Health-care services in India have undergone a vast change over the last few decades. The industry is expected to supersede China by 2030 in terms of population expansion. India has a curious mix – a mixed healthcare system – public and private. Public health-care is used mostly by the less affluent people and also for emergency services. There are ‘super-facility’ hospitals–mostly for the rich and affluent, locals and foreigners. These create headlinesin India’s economic progress stories that claim to provide health services at par with hospitals in ...
Read more
Comments Off on India: Health Pangs
India is a wonderful paradox. The real strength of Indian lies in the ability to celebrate its amazing diversity. Catch the glorious hues of India’s diversity. Will Durant described India as ‘mother of us all’, through which the great river of ‘time’ flows incessantly, making it the oldest continuous civilization on earth that has not yet lost its past completely. It speaks in 20+ languages, and thousands of dialects; its dresses are fashion statements – from Sarees to Dhotis to Kurtas to colorful Turbans to Ghangras. Its tastes vary from north to south, east to west. India, the so called ...
Read more
Comments Off on Salute India!
The founders of ancient Indian civilisation chose to use language as key criteria. And hence, most states grew to be identified with one language. This saga continues with the government giving the nod to Telangana… but India should take pride in its multiplicity. Early builders of modern India perceived the prime role that English education could play in order to match up with the West. Imagine an India speaking French or Portuguese or even Arabic, as opposed to English. History witnessed not only the speakers of these languages ruled India, but also the Greeks and, for a short stint, an ...
Read more
Comments Off on Wither Telangana?
Kanchan Banerjee urges each and every India to be an agent for change on the eve of the 67th Independence Day August 15 – the day India broke free from colonial shackles– has come again. This is the 67th year. A new India was born out of the old with the image of a modern nation, and guided by a Constitution which is largely British inspired till date. But asking question about Indian Constitution’s effectiveness for the people may not be a politically correct act. Although the Greeks are given credit, the idea of democracy originated in India, even the ...
Read more
Comments Off on Are you ready to make the pledge?
West Bengal has been in the news lately several times – not always for good reasons. And that is the nature of news that are `catered’ to by and large these days all across the media platforms. ‘If it is not negative it is not ‘news’! Yes, there are cases of rapes, some unreported communal violence, missing people in Uttarakhand Nature’s fury, Left Wing Extremists threatening the lives of Chief Ministers and also mundane stuff like growing joblessness, legalities of panchayat polls etc. Yet, one must see beyond these to understand the state’s current affairs. Compared to many other states, ...
Read more
Comments Off on Bengal News
India is said to have become a nation-state on 15th August 1947, as if until then there was no idea of what is represented by a modern idea of nationhood. The idea of ‘rashtra’ which has wider meaning compared to ‘nation’ has existed in India from time immemorial. The idea of ‘Bharatvarsha’ is not an 18th or 19th century concept, but for millennia. Emperors Asoka and Chandragupta and even some of the Mughal rulers envisioned one India bound by common history and heritage. There lies the delinking of past, present and future of India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime ...
Read more
Comments Off on What India Needs?
Bihar is close to my heart. Whenever I think about its legacy I get emotional not only because I was born in undivided Bihar, but of its glorious history and great contribution to Indian and world civilization at large. In 2000, when Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar the feeling of oneness among Biharis was hurt and a lot of commotion took place in the region. Still, Bihar is the largest state as far as population is concerned, though 12th in size. The name Bihar was derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word vihara, which means ‘abode’ and also centre ...
Read more
Comments Off on Bihar’s Past, Present & Future
Recent Comments