Srinath's OPED

(Un)Forgotten Heroes With the passing of Gandhi Jayanthi, a number of thoughts hit me hard and made me realise a few points about the national hero of India. Before I go ahead and explain my critique of this man, let it be understood that Gandhi was and is a national hero and I consider him a man of extraordinary spiritual calibre. However, in light of all his achievements, the actions and sacrifices of a large number of heroes must not go unforgotten. Gandhi was given the leadership of the congress, and he was(and is) exalted to the point of a near god. This is a common occurrence with the Indian masses. A little media coverage, a couple of biographies, and suddenly, the individual has a temple built for him/her (consider, for example, actor turned politician MG Ramachandran, actress turned politician Jayalalitha, actress Kushboo etc). This was also the case of the good Karamchand Mohandas Gandhi. He was given such overwhelming fame and recognition for his acti...

India, the land of the legendary Aryans. The dispensers of Dharma. The land of the righteous King Rama, King Yudhisthira, King Siddhartha *Who became the Buddha*. The land which gave birth to the very concept of spiritual enlightenment, where the intellect of beings like Aryabhatta made mathematical achievements seem trivial. The land where god is said to have incarnated and walked a number of times. Where poetry of saints like Thulasidasa, Kalidasa and Thirukurral enriched the culture of the nation, is now in tarnished ruins. Bharatha Varsha (original name of the land of the Aryans) is crying tears of blood as she sees her populace die a slow and miserable death. What, then was the cause for the destruction of such a land? What was the sole reason as to why India was bought down? Just as the Atirathi (invincible warrior) Karna was atrociously murdered by several people, so too has Bharatha Matha been culled by the hordes of abusers who continue to rape the land. Having lived in Ind...