The Indian Independence Movement   Although more than merely a military mutiny, the Indian Mutiny of 1857 lacked all-India character and was neither grounded in a coherent conception of the Indian nation nor inspired by a desire for independence from colonial rule. The Indian National Congress, established in 1885, welcomed colonial rule and largely aimed to control its excesses. The decades following the Sepoy Rebellion were a period of growing political...

Importance of Government Schools in India Why do private schools, which are known as public schools in India, attract a large number of parents to send their wards to these schools? We need to go deep into this aspect of education in our country particularly because Article 45 of the constitution of India puts the onus of providing free and compulsory education up to the age of 14 on the state...

Nationalism   Nationalism in modern history, movement in which the nation-state is regarded as paramount for the realization of social, economic, and cultural aspirations of a people. Nationalism is characterized principally by a feeling of community among a people, based on common descent, language, and religion. Before the 18th century, when nationalism emerged as a distinctive movement, states usually were based on religious or dynastic ties; citizens owed loyalty to their...

India’s Corrupt Leadership   Corruption is viewed as a synonym for politicians by our youth. First, corruption is India’s one of the major problems (after a burgeoning population). The only way to tackle corruption is to bring down the ruling government and change the political system in the country. Only true leaders should be elected.’ And somewhere along, there was an overriding sense of disillusion too. Perhaps the only problem where...

Sports in India The history of sports in India dates back to the Vedic era. The “guru-shishya” (teacher-pupil) relationship has always been an integral of Indian sport from time immemorial. Indian sport reached a peak of excellence when Buddhism held sway. It is more than likely that many of today’s Olympic disciplines are sophisticated versions of the games of strength and speed that flourished in ancient India and Greece. Chess, wrestling,...

If Netaji Came Back   Subhash Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist leader, who fought against the British in World War II. He was born in Cuttack, Bengal, and educated at the universities of Calcutta and Cambridge, he left a career in the Indian civil service in 1921 to fight for India’s independence and was imprisoned a dozen times by the British. He shared leadership of India’s youth and peasant societies...

If Sardar Patel Had Become India’s First Prime Minister   Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the leading figure of the Indian Nationalist Movement. He was born in Gujarat, son of an agriculturalist and was educated at Karansad and Nadiad before studying law in England and qualifying as a barrister at Middle Temple in 1912. Patel was made Home Minister in the Interim Government of 1946. After Indian independence in August 1947, he...

Religion Vs Astronomy   Religion and science have always been in direct competition with one another. Religion, broadly, way of life or belief based on a person’s ultimate relation to the universe or a god or gods. In this sense such diverse systems as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Shinto may be considered religions. In a more commonly accepted sense, however, the term religion refers to faith in a divinely created...