The latest issue of Frontline has put women’s equality on the cover. India, which dreams of being a political superpower, is still paradoxically grappling with discriminations of all sorts: caste, religion, gender, language, and what not. We still have religious leaders like Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, the Sankaracharya of Dwarkapeeth in Gujarat, who preach such claptrap as that the recent firework accident in a Kerala temple occurred because of the people who demand equality for women with respect to temple entry. We have political leaders like Pankaja Munde, Women and Child Development Minister of Maharashtra, who uphold the discrimination in the name of “tradition.” The Dancing Girl of Mohenjodaro How long should we let ignorance and falsehood dominate religion? The Shankaracharya’s teaching is sheer falsehood while the Minister’s reveals ignorance. Both falsehood and ignorance have played a significant role in religion throughout its history. Most religious t
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