"In 1965, a book titled Vedic Mathematics was published in English. Since then, the subject has become an industry that shows no sign of diminishing. In its latest manifestation, parents who know no better are shelling out serious money in the hope that their children will become scientific geniuses. They really shouldn’t bother. The subject amounts to nothing more than a few cheap parlour tricks, and there is nothing Vedic about it. But the story of how it came to be makes for a fantastical tale.
"Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activists ransacked the office of Delhi University’s History Department head S.Z.H. Jafri on Monday protesting against certain portions of the B.A. History (Honours) syllabus. The activists allegedly manhandled Prof. Jafri and hurled abuses at him before vandalising the office. They also allegedly threw stones into classrooms and broke doors, windows and furniture of the Department on the North Campus. Some groups have raised objections to inclusion of an essay by scholar A.K.
"'Modi Sahib has wrought a revolution in Gujarat' announced the glum-looking corpulent businessman sitting on the berth next to mine on the train to Ahmedabad recently. He proudly introduced himself as a Nagar Brahmin, even though I did not ask him his caste. 'We now have regular electricity for our industries, new superhighways and massive shopping malls', he went on excitedly. 'Modi ji is the saviour of the Hindus of Gujarat. He taught the bloody Muslims a lesson in 2002 and now they dare not raise their heads', he belligerently asserted as I squirmed in my seat.
If one tries to understand the developments in Gorakhpur and its neighbouring areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh (Poorvanchal) from January 26 to 31, 2007 through the eyes of the print and electronic media, one moves further away from the truth. It is a sordid story of a highly communalised media conjuring up a riot, collaborating with BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, a Bal Thackeray clone and heir to the Gorakhnath Peeth operating from the Gorakhnath temple.
