Pankaj Mishra writes in the Boston Globe, repeating the canard that there was no such thing as Hinduism before the British came.

“Indeed, there was no such thing as ”Hinduism” before the British invented the catch-all category in the early 19th century and made India seem the home of a ”world religion” that was as organized and theologically coherent as Christianity and Islam. The word ”Hindu” itself was first used by the ancient Persians to refer to the people living near the river Indus (”Sindhu” in Sanskrit). It later became a convenient shorthand for those who weren’t Muslims or Christians.”

His failure to describe Hinduism is reminiscent of Shankaracharya’s failure to describe the soul – the Neti Neti philosophy.
Is Hinduism a universalist religion like Islam or Christianity? No.
Was the Vedic religion the same as Hinduism? No.
Are any of the various sects of Hinduism Hinduism? No.
There are various philosophical streams in India. Is any one of them Hinduism? No.

Whatever the question, the answer would be no. Because it cannot be described, there is no such thing as Hinduism.

Americans observed a “Buy Nothing” day yesterday – the day after their Thanksgiving day, and the start of their Christmas shopping season. Filtercoffee wants us Indians to observe it a fortnight before Diwali. Sure why not? As a capitalist, I will go along with the idea if it gets corporate sponsorship.

An interesting analysis of how the war on Iraq by the US will help India in the long run. I think that he is right. The post suggests that this is why India is keeping quiet and not attacking Pakistan, even though we have ample reason to. The Kolkata Libertarian thinks that the second part of the analysis is nonsense. I think that he is partly right and mostly wrong.

Update: Swaminomics weighs in on whether the Iraq war will help the Indian economy. His verdict: Yes, but in the long run. Oil prices may go down as low as $15 per barrel.
These arguments seem much more sensible than the one above by Den Beste, but even Swami assumes that a remaking of the Middle East is in the offing.

…the implication is pretty straightforward: the average male is biologically suited – the crucial phrase – to certain kinds of occupation; the average female is suited to other, very different, kinds of work.
Why women can’t read maps
Men are also more prone to develop autism, apparently.
Why have I suddenly developed an interest in the human mind? My two readers might wonder. No it is not because I am losing mine.

…the world has improved its ability not only to utilize resources more efficiently but also to locate many more. With today’s technology, it’s possible to find and exploit even low-quality iron ores, thereby expanding the supply for years to come. Likewise, as humans have become better at extracting oil, the world’s known oil reserves have increased significantly in recent years despite a considerable rise in energy consumption. Moreover, as nations have become more wealthy, the overall rate of population growth has declined. Today, the most grievous demographic problem in the West is not a burgeoning population competing for resources and producing waste but a fertility rate that is too low to sustain a vibrant workforce.

In short, there is no natural law dictating an exponential mounting pressure on Earth’s ecological resources. The limit of sustainability is not a static ceiling but is formed and expanded by human innovation and technological progress. This exponential dynamic seems to have outpaced any pressure on the limit. Thus, perhaps the most problematic assumption is the omission of technological progress and human innovation from the model. Only by ignoring these strong dynamic forces can one posit a fixed limit to growth. By contrast, Yale economist William Nordhaus has demonstrated that if the rate of technological progress is included in these calculations, the Earth’s collapse will be avoided by a large margin. Limits to Growth

I meant to post this earlier and in any case Anita has posted it..

The Aryans came from outside India. We actually have genetic evidence for that. Very clear genetic evidence from a marker that arose on the southern steppes of Russia and the Ukraine around 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. And it subsequently spread to the east and south through Central Asia reaching India. It is on the higher frequency in the Indo-European speakers, the people who claim they are descendants of the Aryans, the Hindi speakers, the Bengalis, the other groups. Then it is at a lower frequency in the Dravidians. But there is clear evidence that there was a heavy migration from the steppes down towards India. Dr Spencer Wells – Rediff Interview.

In a sane and rational world evidence from genetics would be conclusive evidence that proves the Aryan Migration Theory (not “invasion&#34 But we are not in a sane or rational world, so people will continue to argue.
But there is an interesting question: When the Dravidians migrated, why did they migrate down south? Why didn’t they migrate to the Gangetic plain from the Indus valley? The latter is a much more fertile area right?

They include homeopathy and magnet therapy. I wonder how effective or otherwise Ayurveda is. My guess is that some of the treatments are effective, regardless of the validity of the scientific theory behind them.

The sad story. He seems to have the same problem that John Nash (of “A beautiful mind” fame) had and Parveen Babi has.

Due to my interest in the human mind, how it works and reacts in different situations I have chosen to study physiology at the University of Vina Del Mar says Miss Chile

err… Miss Chile, study of the human mind is psychology. Physiology is the study of the human body.

Needless to say, this is pretty cheap shot is a pretty cheap excuse to put a pretty face on my site. I haven’t found time to blog, because for the past few days whatever time I could snatch from my work has been used up in sleeping, eating and other essential activities required to keep body and soul together. So I thought I’d make up for the lack of content with pictures.* While we are at it, please study the physiognomy of Miss India, Shruti Sharma. If you are in a GSM country, vote for her at MissWorld.org

* Hmm… So you did find time to browse Miss World pictures – ed.
“essential activity required to keep body and soul together” – Ravi

Update: Mahesh has objected to my comment that the Miss World caused those riots in Nigeria. I agree and so does the economist (Link requires subscription)
Some western commentators tut-tutted that the pageant’s organisers should never have tried to stage such an immodest spectacle in such a conservative country. This is unfair. Beauty contests have been popular in Nigeria for decades. Every year, young women from all over the country, including many Muslims, vie for titles such as Miss Nigeria, QueenAfrik, and The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. Such pageants rarely spark riots.

Why does Google think that Gulzar is related to me? I mean, has it developed mind-reading skills?

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is accepting research proposals to create the first system that actually knows what it’s doing.

The “cognitive system” DARPA envisions would reason in a variety of ways, learn from experience and adapt to surprises. It would be aware of its behavior and explain itself. It would be able to anticipate different scenarios and predict and plan for novel futures.

“It’s all moving toward this grand vision of not putting people in harm’s way,” says Raymond Kurzweil, an artificial intelligence guru and CEO of Kurzweil Technologies Inc. in Wellesley Hills, Mass. “If you want autonomous weapons, it’s helpful for them to be intelligent.” Computerworld

Uh… When a Defence agency talks of “not putting people in harm’s way” I suppose it means that they are talking of making killer weapons that will do the job without putting their own soldiers into danger?
The language sounds Orwellian to me.

It really isn’t.