Kanchan Banerjee

Certain incidents in history may seem like not so significant during its time, but may have hidden reasons, the seeds to some epoch of great significance in future! Let us think of the exodus of people from India. First, many people went to England in the 19 century to claim a share of the British Empire’s pie. Many people settled, but among those eminent ones who returned actually helped India to become free from the British rule. Prime examples are Sri Aurobindo, Veer Savarkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas, Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel. After the decline of the British Empire, America ...

This issue of our magazine is dedicated to two great states of India: Gujarat and Maharashtra. When the National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was composed, the first two regions mentioned in it were Punjab and Sindh. On 15th August 1947, more than half of Punjab and whole of Sindh were no more within Indian bounds. Then follow Gujarat and Maratha. 50 years for a nation’s history is like a blink of an eye. Yet, 50 years can have a grand meaning for the nation. Though the British left the Indian economy and social harmony in smithereens, the nation today has ...

“Maharashtra is just for Marathis” Such regionalist statements only serve in encouraging China’s motive to break India into pieces. India has 18 official languages, over 1500 local languages and thousands of dialects. Indian states are formed mostly along the language lines; and to some extent, along regional identities. Though one might debate this arrangement, the fact remains that the current national structure is truly ‘unity in diversity’. Today, however, this strength is turning into weakness. Many small regions speaking a local language, whether it is Telengana, Bundelkhand or Gorkhaland is crying out for independence. Maybe in some odd cases people ...