50 years since Kavi Samraat Viswanatha Satyanarayana has been Conferred Jnanpith Award

 It is nothing less than an audacious attempt aided by stupidity for a person educated in English medium with no strong grip on Telugu language to write about Kavi Samrat Viswanatha Satyanarayana. Around 50 years back - in 1970, Viswanatha Satyanarayana became the first Telugu writer to receive the Jnanpith Award.

Telugu literature had its ups and downs, one of the lowest periods for Telugu language and literature was when parts of Telugu Desam was pillaged by Islamic invasions headed by Malik Kafur followed by barbarous rule imposed by chieftains of Delhi Sultanate. Telugu literature had a revival during the Vijayanagara Empire and later it was able to crawl on its own legs, but its prominence dwindled.

There were many writers and poets whose endeavors made sure that Telugu language and literature isn’t lost in time, but for some strange reason many are willing to give the entire credit to the revival of Telugu language to the British official, Charles Philip Brown. I have no intention to diminish the contributions of Charles Philip Brown but snubbing the works of other people is not affable.

"Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram"

I told myself that I will be less acerbic in my views and ignore the ranting from the usual suspects but decided to hold it back partially due to bunkum published by Troll.in and Co.

"Bharat Mata" sounds offensive for Sharia Bolsheviks not just because it has idol form but also because it doesn't represent country as "Fatherland".

The concept of "Motherland" is ingrained in Indic thought and philosophy, this concept doesn't get total approval in Monotheism and Communism.

"Fatherland" is what Communists have been preaching for decades with very rare exceptions, some Socialists prescribe to the term "Motherland" opposing the leftish rhetoric, usually they are from a land which has rich cultural and literary heritage.

Cultures & Traditions which are not substantially exposed to organized religions and not strongly influenced by Communism refer to their country as "Motherland".

"Bharat Mata" comes to every Indian by default because the idea of a nation can be associated with a female form. No one says "Bharat Pita".

How many nations achieved freedom based on a slogan associated with motherland? Indian freedom struggle got amplified by "Vande Mataram". The slogan "Vande Mataram" was the essence of Indian freedom struggle, the origins of nationalist movement happened through "Vande Mataram". I am aware that it has became an irresistible fashion for some Urbans to support the slogan "Pakistan Zindabad" and make a mockery of "Bharat Mata" and "Vande Mataram".

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad resolved these controversies long back but they come back again with help of Left Liberals and their hatred for some individuals. I am not in favor of compelling others to say "Bharat Mata" or "Vande Mataram" as I am a supporter of Freedom of Speech and expression, but remember that these are the slogans which represent and encapsulate the ethos of India.

Happy Women's Day

Being a self proclaimed polemic, I like to add my comments over this picture which is being shared by prominent people on social media.

The problem with analogies like the one in the pic is that it obfuscates history and exposes how Indians are still in colonial hangover.

Chess was invented in India, and the old stories say that it was invented by Ravana to charm his wife.
Indian Chess didn't have the "Queen" till it traveled to different parts of the world. Indian chess had "Mantri" or "Minister" and not the "Queen" or "Rani" as some Indians today call it.

The introduction of "Powerful Queen" happened in Europe. The Spanish Queen was not amused the way chess was being played and ordered the rules of the game to be changed. To please the Spanish Queen, the rules of Chess were slightly changed and it finally accommodated the "Powerful Queen". 

Prominent people should be careful while citing examples and analogies which have a fractured and dubious history. Crackpot Feminists love today's chess for obvious reasons, teach them the history of Chess and Indian Chess especially to Desi Feminists.

If you want to please women or feminists today as today is "Women's Day", tell them that quite often Ravana's wife Mandodari used to defeat him in the game of Chess.

Indian Frontier Policy - Tournament of Shadows

"Tournament of Shadows" as many called it was the rivalry of British Empire and Russian Empire in their pursuit to dominate Central Asia.Though history text books seldom mention the "The Great Game" (Tournament of Shadows), as a history lover I felt that it is an interesting topic to ponder over as for over a century, Central Asia still remains a Geo-political-strategic mystery. Tournament of Shadows had similar features like Cold War and doesn't have a precise starting date. The end of this quest to dominate Central Asia was followed by World War 1, World War 2, Start of Cold War, End of Cold War and "War on Terrorism", all the previous event which got mentioned had active participation of Russia and Britain either as an ally or a foe.

Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) which devastated Central Europe culminated with the 1649 Westphalian sovereignty where European powers agreed to respect the sovereignty of their neighbors didn’t transcend into Central Asia and the Indian sub continent. India was a precious territory and European powers were more than enthusiastic to posses India.

When keys are handed over to the new owner of 10 Downing Street, there is an unwritten custom where the predecessor passes on vital verbal advice to his successor - for example "Keep your hands away from Central Asia". Lessons learnt by Soviet Union for their misadventure in Afghanistan are now being taught to America. White House is calculating the number of days left for American soldiers to leave Afghanistan a midst the incomplete goal to destroy Al-Qaeda, unresolved aim to stabilize the democratic government of Afghanistan and unachieved target to confiscate the presence of Taliban in Afghanistan.

India was British Empire's jewelry which it used to flaunt proudly before the world but they were constantly on vigil as they feared that they can lose their precious possession if they cannot contain Russia in Central Asia.

North West frontier of India was dominated by Sikhs, but their decline started with Sino-Sikh war followed by the results of first and second Anglo-Sikh wars, where the British eventually got hold of small but crucial part of Central Asia. John Miller Adye was a British General who served during the Crimean War (fought between Russia and Britain), India's First War of Independence (1857) and he took part in British Empire's progress in India’s North West frontier. General Adye gives an awe-inspiring description of British Empire's policy in India on the North West frontier in his book "Indian Frontier Policy" first published in 1897