On My Mind

In 2016, the international word of the year for the Oxford Dictionaries was " post-truth ". [1]   Trump's victory in US presidential elections had brought a certain amount of interest in the "post-truth politics" which is defined as 'relating to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.' While the term generated an interest as late as 2016, it would be puerile to dismiss the existence of a "post-truth world" earlier. That humans are creatures of emotions has been the assumption behind the work of many scholars who have tried to identify the causes, consequences, and conflicts arising because of the same. Appeal to emotion is and has been routinely used by activists and others to further their cause. In Julius Caesar , a classic of Shakespeare, there comes a turning point. Caesar is murdered by his confidantes including Brutus. Brutus explains and just...

India - a country, a feeling, a sense of identity - is a wonder for some people. An ancient civilization, and a rather tolerant one, this mystic land has fired the imaginations of people all across the globe. For the melting pot culture of the USA, India has claims on a syncretic culture of its own. In the loose dichotomy of India the nation and India the country, there is a subtle tinge of Indianness that most accept. It keeps being defined. It keeps being pointed out. Here's another attempt at the same. The Siddis are a lesser known group of Indians. At first, they don't give the impression of being Indian. They are, after all, an Indo-African tribal community that descended from the Bantu peoples of Africa. Their ancestors were largely brought to India as slaves by Arabs, followed by Portuguese, and the British. They settled in India starting from the 7th century and are currently found in isolated pockets of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. [1] Despite hav...