Posts

Showing posts from November, 2015

Khoya Hua Noor: Should the Kohinoor Come Back Home?

-by Garima Jain The British were infamous for impoverishing their colonies, disregarding the social development of the country and robbing them of their relics which have made their way to the British Museum, away from their countries of origin. Recently however, Keith Vaz, a Member of British Parliament of Indian origin, has requested the government to return the world famous Kohinoor diamond to India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country in November. Owing to India’s rich history and relations with the Middle East, the real home of Kohinoor remains a debatable issue. When Nadir Shah invaded the Mughal Empire, the Kohinoor was included in his loot and taken all the way to Persia where it was given the name it is known as today: Koh-i-noor, or Mountain of Light. Upon Nadir Shah’s assassination the diamond found its way to his general who passed it on to his descendant, Shah Shuja Durrani. Shah Shuja Durrani gave the Kohinoor to Maharaja ...

India’s religious heritage

Image
By: Misbah Khan  India has immense cultural diversity ranging from religion to language, dance to music, architecture to painting, ethnicity to region and so on. The heart and soul of this country lie in its underlying unity amidst its apparent diversity. Take the example of Sufism of Islam and  bhakti  cult of Hinduism, nonviolence of Buddhism and selflessness of Jainism, supreme sacrifice of Christianity and service of humanity of Sikhism, all lead to common cause. They aspire for self realization by bringing one close to divine benevolence. In fact  ‘ one religion read is all religions understood’. One may agree or disagree with this statement and underscore the fact that in the past religious differences caused upheavals. However the truth is that it was not because religions taught us differently but because we misinterpreted whatever was written in different prose and language. All these religions teach us Peace and Non-Violence, oneness of humanity, go...