Tattva

Refugee camps

The population in Bhutan mainly consists of two communities: the Drukpas and the Lhotshampas. Bhutanese rulers forced the Lhotshampas, minority ethnic Nepalis from Southern Bhutan, to adhere to unusual regulations in order to create a homogenous culture across the nation. The unfair treatment included compelling them to wear traditional clothing, stripping them of their citizenship, and forcing them into exile. Nepali language classes and Hindu schools were also terminated with the intention that this would put an end to their customs and beliefs. In 1985, conflict between these two communities resulted in a mass exodus of Lhotshampas to Nepal. These Bhutanese refugees in Nepal were considered “illegal immigrants” despite their Nepali origins. Until 1994, more than 110,000 Lhotshampas took refuge in seven United Nations-administered camps in Nepal living in very poor conditions. Initially, the refugee population aided in developing an infrastructure prioritizing education and the standard of living, however, as more and more refugees sought shelter in these camps, the situation gradually worsened. Donations from around the world decreased and the educated youth found jobs outside of the camps. The camps would not serve as a permanent solution to the growing number of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. Read the rest of this entry »

Ekal Vidyalaya is an organization that initiates, supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly known as Ekal Vidyalayas) in tribal villages all over India. With the participation of numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now become the greatest non-governmental education movement in the country.

Mr. Mihir Vaidya, Vice President of Ekal Vidyala, North-west America, spoke to University of Washington students about the organization.

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Yet another year has passed by. Like every year, this one too was very happening. With the amount of news we read each day, we very often miss the key details. Here is a review of the most defining events of 2008. Of course, the selection was difficult and several events missed the final cut.

January

·         Jindal Becomes Governor of Louisiana (Jan. 15): Republican Bobby Jindal takes office as governor of Louisiana, becoming the first elected Indian-American governor of the United States. At age 36, he’s also the youngest governor in the nation.

·         Bush Proposes $145 Billion Stimulus Package (Jan. 18): Responding to a crisis in the housing market and rising oil prices, president says a combination of tax cuts for individuals and businesses will “provide a shot in the arm” to the economy. The Bush administration and the House hash out a $146 billion stimulus package Read the rest of this entry »

(Editor’s Note: All opinions expressed by authors in posts and comments are solely their own and do not reflect any policy or opinions of Tattva magazine, website, Hindu YUVA, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, or any of their officials or affiliates.)

The 2008 presidential election is considered one of the most important in US history. There are several reasons for this – (1) Barack Obama is the first African American to be nominated as the Presidential candidate representing the Democratic ticket,  (2) Hillary Clinton was the first woman to run for the office of the President, (3) The US economy is at its worst since the Great Depression, (4) The Republican Vice Presidential candidate for the first time is a woman and (5) the American citizens have long been estranged from the ongoing war against terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this article, I aim to represent bipartisan views about the two presidential candidates and how mainstream America perceives them. Read the rest of this entry »

News about the turmoil in the financial system has occupied the headlines for the past few weeks. America is facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and it is getting worse by the day. So far, as a result of a rapid succession of events, the Investment Banking business in the US has come to an end, the world’s largest Insurance company needed a bailout and several commercial banks have filed for Bankruptcy. The day I am writing this article (29th Sep), the Dow Jones Industrials Index had the biggest fall in its history and just a day earlier, Washington Mutual was the largest bank to fail in the nation’s history. When we are inundated with such news on a daily basis, we are distracted by the details and miss the big picture. In this article, I attempt to describe the financial crisis in simple terms and outline a plan to brace ourselves for the future. In an attempt to make the article understood by majority of the audience, I have abstracted out the details and minimized the use of finance jargon. I hope everyone, from novices to finance pundits find some useful information from what follows. Read the rest of this entry »

The year 2008 has been declared by the United Nations as “International Year of Planet Earth.” The official website (http://www.yearofplanetearth.org/) states: “The International Year of Planet Earth aims to capture people’s imagination with the exciting knowledge we possess about our planet, and to see that this knowledge is used to make the Earth a safer, healthier, and wealthier place for our children and grandchildren.” Having an interest in economics and geo-politics, I felt it is an apt time to summarize the current world situation in regards to economy, the lessons we can learn from the economic policies followed in the past, and what possibly lies in store for us in the near future. The United States of America takes a central focus in this article, because of its current economic and political strength and its influence on world politics.

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In 1963 a Buddhist monk sat down on a busy street intersection in Saigon and then burned himself to death protesting the lack of religious freedom under a US-backed regime. In 1998 when Delhi police tried to break up a hunger strike against China’s human rights abuses, a 60 year old Tibetan immolated himself. In March 2008 two monks committed suicide in response to raids of monasteries by Chinese police.
 
Why do people resort to such drastic measures in response to suppression of religion? And why should Hindus be upset that the Indian and Nepali governments are jailing, and in some cases physically beating, non-violent Tibetan protestors? Read the rest of this entry »

On the occasion of Ram Navami, would like to flash the light on the Divine RaamSetu which was built by Lord Sree Rama to reach Lanka. Many Hindus start their day with reciting shloka of Ramraksha and pray to Lord Rama. The Ramayana is not only our divine holy scripture but also shows us Dharma and guides us on how we should lead our lives and live with others in the family and society. It is very sad that the current government in India is trying to demolish our cultural heritage and divine symbol Raam Setu, saying that it’s not built by Lord Rama and it is nothing to do with the Ramayana. On the other hand the Sri Lanka government has found evidences of Ramayana in Sri Lanka and is challenging our Indian government.
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The recent Hindu-Christian clashes in Orissa during Christmas where many churches were burnt again shed light on the complexity of religious conditions in India. As usual Hindus and Hindu organizations are being blamed. But, before getting into these blame games, it’s important to state the facts.

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This article is from the book Hinduism and the Clash of Civilizations, written by David Frawley and published by Voice of India in 2001. It is reprinted here with permission from the author.

In media accounts today, particularly in India, it seems that any group which identifies itself as Hindu or tries to promote any Hindu cause is quickly and uncritically defined as ‘right-winged’.

In the Marxist accounts that commonly come from the Indian press, Hindu organizations are routinely called fundamentalists, militants or even fascists. This may be surprising for the western mind, inclined to think of India as a Hindu country. But not only have states in India like Bengal and Kerala been long dominated by Marxists, most of academia and much of the English-language media has been as well. Their slanted views are often uncritically accepted by the western media as well.
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