RIFLE RANGE BOY

Goa Inquisition It is probably due to cognitive dissonance. Finally listening, for once, to what they were saying, they must have had a revelation. It must have sounded so ridiculous that they must have thought of what they were smoking when they plunged head-on into the cult. Hey, heck no! They are not going to denounce everything. They had invested too much time, resources and life to give it away. The next best plan is to convince others. They would get the numbers. It cannot be so wrong if everybody buys their story. And they thought, while we are at it, let us monetise the whole concept! Hence, the worldwide inquisition started. Because they felt they had been told the inside story about the Creator and thought they knew the backstory of everything's creation, they walked around with a chip on their shoulders. It is funny how overconfidence leads to aggression. It does not feel wrong to inflict all the pain, injustices and cruelty upon another being because it is viewed as car...

A saying goes... 'With Ram in your heart, you don't have to look for places where he is and where he is not!' At one look, it seems to make a lot of sense; that God is within you, you decide your fate, you sow the seeds, and you reap the benefits or wallow in misery. That you have to be confident of your belief in the Almighty that nothing can sway you from his path of righteousness. That whatever people say, your communication with your Maker is so strong and personal. And you do not need to show your piety through mammoth structures to awe the non-believing others. I guess this is what the dwellers of the land, which later became known as Hindustan, thought when the first wave of foreigners came with the good news. They assumed that the newcomers indeed had another path to approach the truth. After all, after aeons of philosophising, pontificating and searching, the natives had come nowhere near the answer. Perhaps, the newcomers could help. Come, come, the more, the m...

THE MYTH OF THE LAZY NATIVE (1977) S yed Hussein Alatas Professor of Malay Studies, University of Singapore  A study of the image of the Malays, Filipinos and Javanese from the 16th to the 20th century and its function in the ideology of colonial capitalism. Reading this book, I was reminded of this joke. An American venture capitalist was visiting a picturesque lagoon somewhere in the secluded interior of Mexico. He was fascinated with the scenery and quickly his capitalistic mind went overdrive. He saw great potential in that place, with its lovely blue sea and its abundant sea produce. He was perplexed that none of the locals was keen to develop the area. He approached one of the Pedros slouched against a tree enjoying his afternoon siesta chomping on his half burnt cigar and a fishing rod dangling lazily between his thighs. Even his faithful dog seem to be suspended in time with no urgency, just enjoying his forty winks. He woke the annoyed Mexican from h...