In USA individuals not only own guns, they even propagate the need to have it as a right!

One of the most interesting things I noticed in Salt Lake City where I right now, is the prevalence of gun culture. Anecdotes take a round on how someone fired at an xyz person, and yet got way with it. Nothing new, as we in India also keep reading about how guns are commonly used in the US leading to fatalities even in schools.

As we were moving towards the nearby mountains, I noticed a young man on a motorbike. His t-shirt proudly advertised the necessity of keeping a gun. Printed on the backside of the t-shirt was "You can't buy happiness, but you can buy guns", offering the name of the place where you can have it. Searching on the internet, I found that, as per a 2023 survey, 32% of Americans own at least one firearm. From 1994 to 2023, 28% gun ownership increased in America, in which women ownership increased by 13.6%!

The recent use of an assault rifle by asuspected gunman who shot Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 may be a stark reminder about the dangers of gun culture. The two main parties, the Democrats and the Republics, only differ on how much should one control guns. The former advocate gun control through increasingly restrictive regulation of gun ownership; the latter advocate for gun rights oppose increased restriction, or support the liberalization of gun ownership.

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Breaking news? Top Hindu builder ties up with Muslim investor for a huge minority housing society in Ahmedabad

There is a flutter in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur area, derogatorily referred to as the "border" because, on its eastern side, there is a sprawling minority area called Juhapura, where around five lakh Muslims live. The segregation is so stark that virtually no Muslim lives in Vejalpur, populated by around four lakh Hindus, and no Hindu lives in Juhapura.

60 crore in Mahakumbh? It's all hype with an eye on UP polls, asserts keen BJP supporter in Amit Shah's constituency

As the Mahakumbh drew to a close, during my daily walk, I met a veteran BJP supporter—a neighbor with whom we would often share dinner in a group. An amicable person, the first thing he asked me, as he was about to take the lift to his flat, was, "How many people do you think must have participated in the holy dip?" He then stopped by to talk—which we did for a full half-hour, cutting into my walk time.

Caste, class, and Patidar agitation: Veteran academic 'unearths' Gujarat’s social history

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New York-based digital company traces Modi's meteoric rise to global Hindutva ecosystem over several decades

A recent document, released by the Polis Project Inc.—a New York-based digital magazine and hybrid research and journalism organization—even as seeking to highlight the alleged rise of authoritarianism in India, has sought to trace Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meteoric rise since 2014 to the ever-expanding global Hindutva ecosystem over the last several decades.

Behind the scene? Ex-IAS, now Modi man in Yogi Cabinet, who lined up Mahakumbh VVIP comforts for Gujarat colleagues

The other day, I was talking to a senior IAS official about whether he or his colleagues had traveled to the recently concluded Mahakumbh in Allahabad, which was renamed Prayagraj by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as part of his intense Hindutva drive. He refused to reveal any names but said he had not gone there "despite arrangements for Gujarat cadre IAS officials" at the Mahakumbh VVIP site. "The water is too dirty—why take the risk?" he asked.

Socialist utopia challenging feudal and Brahminical systems: Kanwal Bharti on Sant Raidas’ vision of Begumpura

In a controversial claim, well-known Dalit writer and columnist Kanwal Bharti has asserted that a clever Brahminical move appears to be behind the Guru Granth Sahib changing the name of the 15th-16th century mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement, Sant Raidas, to Sant Ravidas.

What's wrong with those seeking to promote Sanskrit? An ex-Hindi professor has the answer

Ajay Tiwari I have always wondered why certain elite sections are so fascinated by Sanskrit, to the extent of even practicing speaking a language that, for all practical purposes, isn’t alive. During my Times of India stint in Gandhinagar, the Gujarat state capital, I personally witnessed an IAS bureaucrat, Bhagyesh Jha, trying to converse with a friend in Sanskrit.

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