My Malice and Bias

Pakhtun Painting by Maryam Mughal - fineartamerica.com Afghanistan (meaning "Land of the Afghans") owes its name to the native people's association with Indian roots. It comes from the Sanskrit term " Asva-Gana " which literally means the people of horses. Let's look at the Indic roots of Afghan people with undeniable historic evidences from various parts of the country. I am only going to use the coins of rulers from Afghanistan as evidence and not go into details of the ruins of Hindu and Buddhist temples and Stupas from the region. Khalji The Khalaj are classified as a Turkic tribe from Afghanistan. The Khalaj were described as sheep-grazing nomads who had a habit of wandering through seasonal pastures. They are considered as the remnants of the Hephthalite confederation that invaded the region during the 5th century AD. Before their conversion to Islam, the Khalji practiced Hinduism , Zoroastrian ,  and Buddhism .  Conversion to Islam 11th-century boo

Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is an epic poem of India which narrates the story of its hero, Rama and his journey in life - aayana . This epic poem Ramayana is a smriti which is translated as "from memory", Devout Hindus worship Sri Rama as a God incarnate, He is our revered ancestor who is mentioned in Sri Guru Granth Sahib , the Sikh scriptures, and Indian philosophers make him Maryada Purushottam , the "Perfect Man of Social Virtue", While at the same time, rationalists condemn the legacy of Rama on how women and people of lower caste were treated during his reign.  I came across this interesting story of Shambooka in Valmiki's Ramayana and I would like to share it with you with my dismay on how our ancestors treated fellow Indians belonging to the so called lower caste of the society. This story is described in Uttara-kanda , the last book of Valmiki Ramayana which depicts the period of his reign and demise by suicide. Death of a Brahmin Boy The story

Punjab Police Constable The uniform of a security force should be in sync with its role and its environment. As the Punjab Police grapples with its anti-people image crisis due to the hangover of the militancy days in the state, being labelled as an instrument of the ruling parties, and an aged blue and red uniform that is remnants of the colonial era. This blog is not going to cover all the ills with the Punjab Police but discuss the public perception of it being being anti-Sikh, instrument of the ruling parties, corruption at all levels, alcoholism, and not forgetting the fitness of the force that used to be the fittest and most athletic of all Indian police.  Icon of Oppression To control all colonies of the empire, The British colonial rulers  created modern institutions of governance for their subjects. The institution of the police was one such tool to control the natives. The British colonizers used Indian Police as weapon for surveillance, domination, and oppression of the

  King Porus of Punjab A great battle took place in 326 BC at the banks of river Jhelum in West Punjab between Alexander , the greek-macedonian king and Porus , the king of Punjab. This battle halted the eastward advance of the Greek-Macedinian army and eventually led to the downfall of the Alexander's empire. So devastating was the psychological impact of this battle that the greek soldiers refused to fight and demanded to go back home. Alexander had ambitious goal of conquering India, but the battle against Porus curbed his aspirations and he retured back to Persia a dejected man. Alexander's Invasion of India Alexander crossed Hindukush mountains via the Khyber Pass in 327 BC after defeating the Indo-Persian satrapy of Gandhara . Next was the great kingdom of Taxila . Its King Ambhi submitted without offering any resistance to Alexander. Next target for Alexander was King Abhisares , the king of Abhira including the region of Jammu and Kashmir. Abhisares also sent his ambass

Kashmir Valley Kashmir has been at the heart of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan ever since the two nations separated in 1947. Both claim Kashmir. In fact, Kashmir is divided into three political entities: Jammu & Kashmir under India (J&K) Azad kashmir or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) China Occupied Aksai Chin (South Tibet) Kashmir Political Geograpy Bollywood movie - Kashmir Files (2022) has re-ignited this debate. The film is produced by pro-BJP Zee Studios, written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, and represents a fictional story line about the murders and final exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley during 1990s.  Origin of Kashmir In the  Rajatarangini , a history of Kashmir written by  Kalhana  in the 12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kashmir was a big lake, When the lake drained out through the passage of Varah-Moola (Baramula), the people began to settle there as it was a peaceful heaven for spiritual and academi