Ram Madhav

RAASHTRAM – SPIRITUAL-ETHICAL CONCEPT OF NATIONHOOD

Ram Madhav, May 2, 2013

RAASHTRAM – SPIRITUAL-ETHICAL CONCEPT OF NATIONHOOD   Paper Presented at 2nd ASSE International Conference on Nation, Nationality, Nationhood: What is in the Name? On 2–3 May 2013 at Tirana, Albania     ABSTRACT   Nation, nationalism and nationhood are relatively new concepts as far as the West is concerned. It was in the 18th and […]

BODU BALA SENA – A NEW BUDDHIST MOVEMENT IN SRI LANKA

Ram Madhav, March 28, 2013

BODU BALA SENA – A NEW BUDDHIST MOVEMENT IN SRI LANKA Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) – a Buddhist organisation many wish to call as Right or Ultra Right – is a new phenomenon in Sri Lanka. One may prefer to brand them in any manner one would like to. But the fact remains that this […]

Tackling Terrorism: Soft State or Absent State?

Ram Madhav, February 28, 2013

(Article written in 2009) Have you seen the visuals of the aftermath of the Mumbai blasts? One feels ashamed at the sight of people – dead and injured – being carried on simple blankets and gunny sheets by ordinary citizens in a most rudimentary manner. Contrast it with similar visuals elsewhere in the world when […]

Minorityism Hurts Minority Interests

Ram Madhav, February 28, 2013

(Article written in 2008) Shri Veeresh Malik, a resident of Delhi, filed an application dated 25.4.2006 before the PIO of National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Delhi, wherein he sought information. Not getting a reply from the PIO after the expiry of 30 days from the date of filing the application, the appellant filed a First […]

Kashmir – The Argument of Power

Ram Madhav, February 28, 2013

(Article written in 2010) A historic agitation came to an end with eloquent symbolism. Terror struck in the heart of Jammu city around the time the Jammu Accord is being penned between the leaders of Sri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (SASS) and the representatives of the Governor. Terrorists held several people, including children, captive in […]

Ram in Hindu Belief – Immortality is Historicity

Ram Madhav, February 28, 2013

(Article written in 2010) It was Rosh ha-Shanah or the Jews on that day, 12-13 September – when I visited Jerusalem, the ancient capital city of the State of Israel. It is from there that the Government of Israel functions to this day, although for the outside world Tel Aviv is the capital. Many Jews […]

Russia – The Country that we chose to forget

Ram Madhav, February 28, 2013

(Article written in 2010) “Medvedev practises Yoga everyday”, announced Moscow Times, the prominent English daily of Russia the day I landed in Moscow in mid-April for meetings with various Government and non-Government agencies. Quoting the wife of the 42-year old President-elect the paper went on to add that over 10% Russians have been attracted to […]

Terrorism in India: Democratic Dilemmas

Ram Madhav, February 28, 2013

(Paper presented at a conference in Israel in 2008) “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?”–Mahatma Gandhi. The following litany of death covers major incidents in the last decade in […]