Tides of Thoughts

ONE NATION - ONE ELECTION The bill for ONOE (One Nation - One Election) has been passed in the Loksabha.  There is no need to explain the importance of elections in democracy. They are the vital step in sustaining democracy and the way they are conducted demonstrates the health of democracy.  What does this mean for the common man? This means that India has moved one step ahead in implementing ONOE. So, what is ONOE? To answer this, we have to look at the type of elections being conducted in India for electing legislative bodies. ECI conducts elections for three types of legislative bodies. They are:  1. Local bodies - Panchayats and Municipalities. 2. State Legislative Assemblies. 3. Parliament  (Lok Sabha or House of People). As we all know, we are having elections for these bodies at different times.  ONOE proposes to conduct elections for all three types of legislative bodies simultaneously and not at different times. This clearly doesn't mean that the whole...

Recently, the name of Ekalavya has come to the foreground when the leader of opposition has taken his name in the Parliament.  So, Who was Ekalavya?  It's a rhetorical question. Right?  And what is the answer? I mostly get the rhetorical answer that Ekalavya was a tribal kid rejected by Dronacharya and gave his thumb to Dronacharya. Unfortunately, this above image of Ekalavya based on what was shown in TV serials and movies was not true. It was too much of creative liberty (I would like to call it distortion) taken by our creative directors.  So, who was Ekalavya?  The answer is this.  As per Udyoga Parva, Chapter 48 of the Vyasa Mahabharata, Ekalavya was born to Devashrava. Who is this Devashrava? He was a cousin for Vasudeva, father of Lord Krishna.  This might be a revelation for many readers. But this was the reality. He was a cousin of Lord Krishna. The reality doesn't end here. Ekalavya was abandoned at birth by his parents as they saw bad omens....

 Who is Viradha? When I ask this question, I often get "We don't know".  So, who is Viradha?  Sorry, I am asking the same question again. Here is the answer.  Viradha was a demon mentioned in Ramayana, Aranyakanda Sarga 2,3 & 4. As per Valmiki Ramayana, Viradha used to live in Dandhakaranya. When Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita were roaming in Dandhakaranya during their exile, they were attacked by Viradha.  Initially, he picks up Sita and she trembles like a leaf in a violent wind. Looking at this, Rama and Lakshmana attack Viradha with bows and arrows.  But Viradha has a boon. He cannot be wounded with any weapon in the world. This is the actual reason for his attacks on every random person and animal.  Given this boon, Viradha was not wounded by Rama and Lakshmana's attack.  Further, he was so powerful that he took Rama and Lakshmana as hostages in both hands and started running into the dense forests. Looking at this, Rama and Lakshmana severed ...