The Śūnyatā (Openness) Blog

The Nath Tradition and Dharmic Nationalism The Nath Sampradaya (tradition) has historical references only since the 12 th century CE with Gorakshanath/Gorakhnath or may be from 9 th C. with Matsyendranath yogi. The Naths started calling themselves by that name only after the British rule started in India. However, the Nath tradition, by virtue of being one of the Shaivite traditions, and the syncretic influence of Buddhism and Jainism, is but a newer name (new, as in the medieval era) for the ancient Sidda tradition. The codification and practice of Hatha Yoga is attributed to this tradition. They consider Shiva as the Adi Nath (the first guru). If you are connecting this with Jaggi Vasudev’s Adi Yogi statue, and Hatha Yoga courses, you are making the right connection. The Siddas/Naths have spread throughout the country since ancient times, but due to the bewildering variety of languages, cultures and socio-economic conditions, the names morphed, the rituals differ ev...

Dear Visitors - this blog has been in coma since January 2010, and now I have revived it to post my thoughts on the Telangana resolution by UPA yesterday. I will try to keep posting here from now on till the 2014 elections. (Lets see how well I keep my promise ! ). __________ Ok. So, the UPA Co-ordination Committee has passed the resolution to form Telangana as the 29th state of the Republic of India. It must be noted that this is just the beginning of the process, and there are a few more steps to be completed. Hearty congratulations to all those who have agitated for a separate state of Telangana ! There have been the inevitable incidents of violence and several unsavoury remarks made by some of the T-activists, but by and large it has been a democratic and peaceful movement. The leaders and activists all deserve kudos for this achievement. More importantly, it is good that a people's movement has ended in success. So, what are the next steps? 1. The Union Home minis...

I was hoping to tackle the issue of Telangana Vs. Samaikya Andhra (Unified AP) from various angles today.However, a discussion on the economic and cultural issues and the 'victimhood narrative' of Telangana, Rayalaseema and Kalinga Andhra has to wait, because the political issues have come to fore again. Before reviewing the current political scenario, I just want to make it clear regarding where my affinities lie.The question of separate statehood has surely become an emotional issue for many people.And I don't want the emotions to cloud over a dispassionate analysis of the issues involved. I am 37.5 years old and lived for 11 years each in Telangana (Bodhan, Mahboobnagar and Hyderabad) and Rayalaseema (Nandyal and Kadapa).I have also spent a few early years in Vijayawada and my wife hails from Guntur district, not to speak of the many friends I have from all parts of the state.I am sure there are lakhs of people like me who straddle all three areas of the state. To expect...

I am coming off more than a month-long hiatus from blogging. One of the reasons: I have become a dad again, with the birth of our baby boy (yet to be named) on Oct 12. However, I have been reading the usual newspapers and the occassional online columns/blogs.And as active as ever on Facebook. I drafted a couple of posts in between on (1) the AP situation with respect to Jagan and the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) and (2) Sachin Tendulkar completing 20 years in international cricket. Many people have written about Sachin, and in a much better manner. So, I decided to junk that post. I have also junked the post on Jagan and OMC, but decided to salvage a few points. As far as the AP /Karnataka situation is concerned, here's my take at a high level: 1.The BJP, having benefited from the largesse and muscle power of the Bellary Reddys, cannot now survive in Karnataka without their backing. They have had it coming, and the desperate, pitiful manner in which the BJP high command ( a misn...

Part -1 of this post. While it is true that Chenna Reddy was the PCC president when Congress defeated NTR in 1989, a good number of people gave YSR a decent chance of becoming CM. However, that was not to be. This marked the beginning of a new phase in YSR's career - that of a dissident Congressman, trying to undermine the incumbent Congress CM. Hyderabad was always prone to Hindu-Muslim clashes around the Ganesh Chaturthi, Bonalu and Ramadan time. The Police were unable to prevent the riots, and their effectiveness during the riots was hampered by political interference. But during NTR's first term (1983-89), there were hardly any riots in Hyderabad. NTR gave free hand to the state police to do preventive detentions and increase the patrols. Even though there were some protests about the annual arrests, for about 7 years, Hyderabad was riot free. But during the Congress tenure (1989-1994), communal riots became an annual feature once again. And every time the riots occurred,...

(Caution: Very long post) "In the long run, we are all going to die," said a famous economist some years back. Yedugoori Sandiniti Rajasekhar Reddy (Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy or simply YSR) who died in a chopper crash over the dense Nallamala forests in the Rayalaseema region of AP seemed to have never believed in that truism. YSR (1949-2009) may have died suddenly, and at arguably the peak of his political career, but leaves behind strong political legacy. Not many people would have agreed with his supporters' assertion that YSR has been as influential as the late N.T.Rama Rao (NTR) in shaping the AP political discourse. But when one looks at the events leading to his tragic death, and the emotional response to it by his fans, YSR has once again surprised his own expectations. I have never written an obituary even during my days as a rookie journalist. I did not intend to write one for YSR. And this post is not going to be one either. But watching the thousands of people who ...

It has been a month since the UPA stormed back to power at the Centre.And less than three weeks since the new Cabinet has taken charge. It is too early to take stock of the situation ( I mean, Obama is still having his honeymoon !) but I see a few signs that the UPA Government is trying to do things a bit differently this time.And some of the actions show a slight movement towards centre-right, a departure from the Congress's typical centre-left approach to issues of national interest. Before I proceed further, let me state that I still don't like the Congress Party because of (a) its role in the under development of the country, including some of the Stalinist policies on critical areas of the economy (centralised planning for example), and (b) its blatant violation of the Indian Constitution, especially areas related to individual freedom, institutional independence etc and (c) the stranglehold of one dynasty over the Party and the Indian polity for the past 60 years, and the...

Caution: Long post :) The newspapers, the blogworld, and the electronic media are full of election results analysis this week. With the amazing victory of Indian National Congress (INC) led UPA in the Lok Sabha elections, and the INC's successful defense of its citadel in Andhra Pradesh (AP), hopes have been raised because of assured stability at both centre and state for the next five years. Even though I am not a supporter of Congress politics, I find it hard not to feel happy about the results because: 1.The Left has been routed in its strongholds and 2.Indian electorate has decisively voted for a National party(though for the wrong one !) ; except for Bihar and Orissa, INC has fared well wherever it was pitted against the regional parties. This bodes well for our polity. I will have another post where I am going to look at the short, medium and long term possibilities for inclusive growth and economic policy under the new dispensation. For now, I would like to indulge in some a...