Tomichan Matheikal's blog

In his article in today’s Indian Express , Vijay Singh laments the jingoism that marks election speeches of presidential candidates in France.   “Once upon a time, presidential candidates making election speeches spoke of lofty ideals, their vision of history and the world,” he reminisces.   One of the French presidential candidates, Marie Le Pen, harped on the strings of “xenophobia, Islamophobia, immigrant-phobia, anti-Europeanism, anti-globalisation.”   ‘France for the French’ is a popular slogan now. Image from OutlookIndia Donald Trump wants an America of only Americans. The right wing in India is going out of its way to create Hindustan in place of the heterogeneous India. Various Islamic organisations have been trying for quite some time to fabricate a Caliphate in the whole world. It’s interesting to ask the questions like who the Americans are really or who the Indians.   With German ancestry from his father and Scottish ancestry from his mother, Trump is

There should be no difference whatever between man and woman when it comes to dignity.   Both are the same species.   Both are required to reproduce the species if nature’s rules are respected. They are counterparts of each other.   The concept of Ardhanarishvara in Hinduism eloquently illustrates the quintessentially complementary nature of man and woman.   Yet women have been suppressed and oppressed in most parts of the world for a very long period of history.   The morning prayer of the Jewish men may be the most blatant outrage perpetrated on women theologically.   “Thank you, Lord, for not making me a woman,” the man prays every morning.   The woman is the cause of the human sinfulness, according to the Old Testament which is sacred to both the Jews and the Christians.   There is no female Rabbi in Judaism and there is no female priest in Christianity, though the discrimination is slowly relenting. Islam is worse than its two Semitic predecessors when it comes t

There’s something in me that resists making friends.  Except for a brief period of my youth, I kept away from people as much as possible.  That brief period itself was the cause.  Those whom I considered friends were mocking me at my back.  When I learnt that I chose solitude except at the professional level.  If people found me funny enough to have hearty laughs at my cost, there must be something wrong with me.  That’s why I quit socialising.  So it’s not the others I’m blaming; it’s myself.  However, I’m not wallowing in self-pity.  It’s just that I learnt that I wasn’t meant for being with people.  So I chose books as my friends.  But there are a few individuals whom I can call friends with whom I maintain meaningful contact.  As meaningful as the relationship between Piglet and Winnie the Pooh: Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted

Exactly six years ago, on this very day, a man who perpetrated the worst violence on mankind in the name of religion was bombarded to death.  Osama bin Laden was a perverted idealist.  He wished to establish Islamic rule all over the world.  He killed all those who he considered to be the enemies of his dream.  Finally he died an exceptionally violent death that befitted him. What was wrong with Osama bin Laden?  Well, almost everything. First of all, his very dream of creating a utopia on the earth .  The history of mankind from it humble beginnings more than two or more million years ago is ample proof that a utopia is not possible on earth.  Every animal is marked by certain limitations.  Man is even more so.  Jealousy and greed, lust and sloth, hubris and anger… That’s an endless list.  The items on that list have only gained vigour as time passed.  In other words, man became worse and worse as generations went by.  The dream of a utopia is more impractical than bin Lad

Book Review Title: Foot Soldier of the Constitution: A Memoir Author: Teesta Setalvad Publisher: LeftWord Books, New Delhi, 2017 Pages: 221       Price: ₹295 Hatred is a powerful political tool.  Its power increases in direct proportion to the symbols associated with it, especially religious or nationalistic.  Many leaders in present Indian politics rose to occupy high positions wielding this weapon effectively.  However, as it turned out, power was not their ultimate motive.  If it were the socio-political atmosphere in the country would not have been so thoroughly vitiated. The real motive was a “Goebbelsian desire to change the narrative” of the nation, says Teesta Setalvad in her memoir.  The narrative is being altered so much that erstwhile heroes are becoming villains while people with little heroism are being elevated to heroic stature.  The alteration is not confined to historical figures alone; anyone who questions the BJP and its allies runs the risk of