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The Indian Soul - If you had to define "the Indian soul," what values would you include?
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Dr. Khilnani's Response:
I am very sceptical of such phrases. There is no timeless thing called "the Indian soul." Indian history and culture are a diverse and
internally quarreling legacy, with great achievements and also great
failures -- for example, the oppressive caste system. The one continuous
feature of India's history has been its openness to the world, to
outside influences and voices and its capacity to draw these
influences and voices into its own identity in ways that enrich it.
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Dr. Kak's Response:
I believe what is unique about the "Indian soul" is India's
spirituality, emphasis on personal knowledge, and reflectiveness. These
values seem to characterize all Indian religious communities. For
example, Indian Islam is more spiritually oriented than Arab Islam.
Indian music represents this soul and it is not surprising that the same
music is popular across the entire Indian sub-continent.
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Dr. Kak's Rebuttal:
Certainly, the Indian civilization has a different flavor from the Chinese, the Arab, or the English. Although it is politically correct to say that the idea of "civilizational values" has no meaning, it is a fact of history.
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Dr. Khilnani's Rebuttal:
Indian Islam, like Indian Hinduism, or Indian music is very
diverse, too diverse to subsume it under terms like the "Indian soul" or
some innate "Indian spirituality." What is distinctive to India is this
diversity, which is continually proliferating anew.
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Nation Divided Photo Essay - Trace India's post-Ayodhya religious strife.
India Timeline - Learn more about the history of relations between India's Hindus and Muslims.
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Grozny Photo Essay - Take a walk through Chechnya's bombed-out capital, Grozny.
Kurdistan Map - See where Iraq's chemical attacks on Kurdistan took place, and why.
Chechnya Timeline - Discover the history that drives the Chechen separtist movement.
Mexico Photo Forum - Respond to photos that depict Mexico's struggle with human rights abuses and corruption.
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