AS I See It

POLITICS AS PROPHECY: INDIA VS THE US

Valson Thampu When the near celestial mega event titled Howdy Modi was unfurled in Houston, Texas, on the 19th of September 2019, Trump’s victory in the November 2020 presidential election seemed settled. My Prime Minister turned prophetic on that occasion, and decided that Trump would continue in office. ‘Akali baar, Trump Sarcar!’ Being a patriotic […]

THE ANGUISH OF A CHRISTIAN AUTHOR

Valson Thampu Two contrary assumptions prevail about Christians in our country. In the first, Christians are the pioneers and providers of education, a pacifist and ethically sensitive community, a God-fearing, service-oriented people. The second view is just the opposite. It prevails mostly in North India. In this view, Christians are Dalits, culturally and intellectually low, […]

I CAN’T HELP REMEMBERING FR SERGIUS

Valson Thampu Fr Sergius haunts me these days. Don’t know him? Well, read Tolstoy’s novella of the same title. It will take you only a few hours. You can’t possibly invest your time better; especially these days. Why? Fr Sergius is Tolstoy’s acutely realistic anatomy of holiness. It will be a pity, if we remain […]

WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME

VALSON THAMPU Christmas has a thousand faces. So, it means different things to different people. Or, is it, rather, that Christmas is always the same; and we read it differently, depending on who we are? In that case, is Christmas a mirror held up to us? That reminds me of Sree Narayana Guru. He installed […]

FROM FREEDOM TO FASCISM

Valson Thampu Jesus tells the parable of a man delivered of an unclean spirit. The now-homeless spirit roams around searching for an alternate accommodation. Finds none. Returns. Finds the former house empty, to which it returns with a vengeance. It brings in seven additional spirits. The state of the man becomes worse than it was […]

NEW INDIA AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Valson Thampu Prime Minister Modi has announced the advent of New India. Its colour, contour and culture are left, for the time being, to the speculation, especially of the naïve. His speech at the bhoomipooja of Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya contained enough indications as to where were are headed. In the days ahead, the […]

LET ME SPEAK THE UNSPEAKABLE

Valson Thampu Vijay P. Nair is either a psychologist, as he claims, or a mental case, as he seems. Whether dabbling in clinical psychology is as dangerous as fiddling with demonology, I do not know. But, there is something this Nair now knows; which, perhaps, he did not know before. He knows that there are […]

ANNIHILATION BY CASTE

Valson Thampu Eighty-four years ago B.R. Ambedkar published The Annihilation of Caste (May, 1936). His thesis was that caste cannot be reformed or humanised. It has to be annihilated, if a democratic way of life is to be nurtured and human dignity upheld. Democracy, according to him, can rest safe only on the foundation of […]

Eviction-facing Indian Catholics to fight Muslim charity’s claims

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica