My Musings

Musings....... A tribe is defined in anthropology as a human social group. The exact meaning of the word tribe is considered controversial because of its association with colonialism. In general use, the term may have a negative connotation as it may refer to people who are perceived to be primitive. The system of classification for societies from anthropological point of view, is based on evolution of social inequality and the role of the state. It contains- 1) Hunter Gatherer bands that are generally egalitarian 2) Tribal societies with some limited instances of social rank and prestige. 3) Stratified tribal societies led by chieftains 4) Civilizations, with complex social hierarchies and organised institutional governments We obviously belong to the fourth category and the now well known Sentinelese tribe belong to the first category. The Sentenelese are an uncontacted tribe living on North Sentinal Island, one of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. They are the

Musings....... Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a travelogue as a piece of writing about travel ; a talk or lecture on travel usually accompanied by a film or slides; a narrated motion picture about travel. My idea for this article is the first one. Cherished moments are blessings that come by and one such moment was my recent trip to Chennai, Kanchipuram to be exact. Kanchipuram at a distance of 70 odd kilometres from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is a city that holds years of history. Kanchipuram or Kanchi is the headquarters of the Kanchi Mutt, monastic institution founded by the saint Adi Shankaracharya. This city has been ruled by Pallavas ( was the capital between 4th and 9th Century ), Medivial and Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Vijayanagara Empire, the Carnatic Kingdom and the British who called the city Conjeevaram. Kanchipuram in Sanskrit means place from where Lord Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva. It is located in the banks of Vegavathi river, a tributary of the P

Musings....... Uniform Civil Code is an idea where personal laws based on ancient scriptures and customs of each religious community in India will be replaced with a common set of rules governing every citizen. The framers of our constitution, the Constituent Assembly had contemplated making UCC a law. Leaders including Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who himself was an atheist was for implementing such a law. However, consultations made it clear that in a new Democracy like India, it was imperative to protect the interest of minorities, and hence such a law was deferred. Framers of our constitution included the UCC as Directive Principle of State Policy, under Article 44 where such a law will be implemented once our society is mature enough to inculcate and accept such a policy. Very little has changed in our society since Independence. In fact, the polity has become more fractured and divided on sectarian lines. The growth of extremist elements in every religious community has led t