Indian Opinion

Mukesh Devrari  This article deals with two presentations by Professor Lidia Guzy who teaches at the University of Cork, Ireland, before going deeper into her insights and research. First, a query has to be answered, she repeated it thrice as an allegory that the scholars of religion do not know anything about what happens after death at the end of her last presentation on the second day of the seminar. ‘They simply do not know’ she forcefully emphasized and now nobody has the courage to spread lies. It is an easy question, if treated non-academically, and deserves an easy non-scholarly answer. Nothing happens after human beings die. Human life is like a candle flame. When fuel heads towards the end, it just goes away. It just ends right there. In the absence of an empirical answer, it is perhaps the best possible answer one can accept without being accused as irrational. Like we all accept Big Bang theory, knowing fully- well that our future generations will be laughing at ...

Mukesh Devrari  The debate initiated by William Westerman, Adjunct Professor at City University of New York, after giving a very brief introduction of his paper ‘Critical Edge of Cultural Work’ was enlightening and gave insights into the European worries as the economic fortunes of the western world is dwindling.   Here is basic information for the readers to understand the context.  Center for Tribal Folklore, Language and Literature  of the Central University of Jharkhand is organizing a seminar on ‘Tradition, Creativity and Indigenous Knowledge: Winter School of International Folkloristic and Indigenous Culture’. It is open to all students and faculty. Not many turned up but that is a different story.   The first day of the seminar was emblematic of the geopolitical realities of the 21 st century. China was confident. The US was worried, funds are drying up. What will be the future of arts and social sciences in the western world is a paramoun...

Mukesh Devrari  William Westerman Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York claimed in his paper titled ‘Disruptions to Culture: The Refugee Experience, Cultural Sustainability and Finding Accord with Indigenous Folks’ that native and migrant populations could live peacefully side by side by respecting each other in five different areas of human activity. He gave a simple theory in his paper presented in a seminar organized by  Centre for Tribal Folklore, Language and Literature of   Central University of Jharkhand on 12 Jan. 2014.  Westerman lists five arenas, where he claims that a varied set of people should treat each other respectfully. He increases the dictionary of ‘being respectful’ for his theory.  Here respectfully means acting without any coercion, force and exploitation. Here is a remedy given by him.   First is land, the only finite supply of land is available on earth and on every nation also and native inhabitants be...

Mukesh Devrari  The answer to this question must start from further questioning. Is there anything like cultural imperialism exists, obviously it exists, many argue. Others say it is a figment of human imagination. Is it a conspiracy of the west against weaker nations? Perhaps the answer dwindles between yes and no. If it exists, is it going to benefit only the white men who live mainly in Europe and America? Perhaps the one simple answer is no. What then this question mean? It is true that due to the present global economic structure western behavioural patterns spread immediately around the globe. But not necessarily everything that is being accepted around the globe is western and it not that the western countries are not being influenced by others. It is well-documented fact that in Great Britain thousands of people covert each year to Islam, at least Jihad watch claims that. It is perhaps greatest defeat for the Judeo-Christian civilization. West thrived because it s...

Mukesh Devrari Let’s go to the cremation ground. That can also be a place to learn about the culture. The holy city of Haridwar in India is considered as one of the most auspices places in the Hindu religion. It is believed that the soul directly goes to heaven if the last rites are conducted in Haridwar on the banks of Ganges. Once you go there, it is a drastically different experience? Dogs and filth are all around and the river is far from clean. If it is a rainy season, then small rivulets which open directly in the Ganges carry all the known and unknown filth human beings generate on a daily basis. Apart from that one can also see dogs searching for pieces of bones from the remains of a cremated corpse.   Now there are few things, which need discussion, attention and perhaps questioning also. Somehow as people reach the crematory ground, the first thing they are told is to purchase wood piles to burn the corpse. That does not come cheap keeping in m...

Mukesh Devrari  Transnational media ownership means ownership of media assets by global corporate houses around the world. The word 'transnational' can easily be easily replaced with the term multinational. In other words, when a multinational company owns media companies around the globe that company can be described as a transnational media organization. There are plenty of such organizations, but most vilified among all is owned by Rupert Murdoch.  The nature of media is very different. As you all know media is a plural form of the medium. Production of films, TV serials, drama, theatre and other wings of the cultural industry are also owned by western media companies. Here, the meaning of the word transnational can be extended. Not necessarily western media companies own assets in the third world countries. They create their work in the west and sell it around the world.   It has long been a complaint against western media companies that wherever they g...