The Dharma Dispatch

DVG's Jack Cade: The Soothsaying Play that Predicted Congress Anarchy DVG's Kannada play, Jack Cade was one of the earliest fictional portrayals of a newly-independent India in which the political class headed by the Congress Party was pushing India towards anarchy. It is but natural that Jack Cade’s story starkly resonated with DVG. DVG passionately hated and instintively feared agitation and anarchy. Disturbance of order was a condition tantamount to national suicide and cultural destruction. Overall, Jack Cade is a deeply reflective drama, still relevant. https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/dvgs-jack-cade-the-soothsaying-play-that-predicted-congress-anarchy

Major Themes in DVG’s Creative Literature DVG's three plays titled Prahasana-Trayi are unified by the satirical thread parodying the pathetic condition of Indian democracy almost immediately after Independence. We clearly detect the outpouring of DVG’s anguish at how public life had become debased and disfigured in these. It was his literary protest against how our political leaders were mocking the sacrifices of the freedom struggle made by countless selfless men and women like DVG himself. https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/major-themes-in-dvgs-creative-literature

Introducing D.V. Gundappa’s Literature for Non-Kannadigas A whole new and enchanting world opens up when we survey the corpus of DVG's creative literature. Some of his finest literary works easily occupy a top slot in the annals of the great works of world literature. By temperament, D.V. Gundappa was a literary savant who had completely surrendered to our Rishis who were also poets. He had submitted himself to Valmiki Maharshi, Veda Vyasa, Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti, Bhartruhari, Kumaravyasa and Tyagaraja. From an overall perspective, Ārdratā (moist compassion) and Snigdhata (delicate, tenderness) appear to be the hallmarks of DVG’s literary oeuvre. --- Read the whole piece! 📑🛕🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/introducing-dv-gundappas-literature-for-non-kannadigas

This is a truly delightful piece about 19th Century Indian society! The English barber lathers his customer's face freely with soap. The Indian barber uses none, except when his European customer particularly wishes it. Western civilization calls for every new variety of shaving soap in sticks and tubes with high-sounding names, whilst the unassuming Hindu operator is content with cold water. His results will bear favourable comparison with those of his European' confrère. His razors are always sharp, and he is never in a hurry. https://thedharmadispatch.substack.com/p/the-cultured-art-of-letter-writing

Mir Jumla: The Monster who Melted Hindu Murtis in Gandikota ----------- Mir Jumla came up with an innovation. He ordered his men to collect Hindu Murtis made of metal. Almost every temple in the whole region falling under the jurisdiction of Gandikota was raided, their metallic Vigrahas carted off to the fort and heartlessly melted. All Murtis except six. These were pulled out from the Madhavaswami Temple. But no matter how hard he tried, they simply refused to melt. --- Read this tragic story in full. And share widely! 😓🙏🛕🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/mir-jumla-the-monster-who-melted-hindu-murtis-in-gandikota

"In 1986, Indira Gandhi's Education Minister, Nurul Hasan's trusted lieutenant, H.S. Khan, head of the NCERT's History and Sociology Department, sent a directive to all states to change Indian history textbooks to suit the anti-Hindu model" https://www.dharmadispatch.in/commentary/de-hinduizing-the-history-syllabus-the-secret-directive-of-nurul-hasans-deputy-hs-khan#:~:text=In%201986%2C%20Indira%20Gandhi%27s%20Education%20Minister%2C%20Nurul%20Hasan%27s%20trusted%20lieutenant%2C%20H.S.%20Khan%2C%20head%20of%20the%20NCERT%27s%20History%20and%20Sociology%20Department%2C%20sent%20a%20directive%20to%20all%20states%20to%20change%20Indian%20history%20textbooks%20to%20suit%20the%20anti%2DHindu%20model

The Run up to Gandikota: Mir Jumla Burns Northern Tamil Nadu Between 1643 - 50, Mir Jumla conducted a series of raids throughout Andhra and Tamil Nadu and devastated entire towns and villages. Did you know that the so-called Big Mosque in Poonamalle was formerly a Hindu Temple? Mir Jumla demolished its Gopuram and Kalasham precisely during his death-march in 1646-47. It was converted to a mosque in 1653 by Rustom, the son of an influential Golconda aristocrat named Astirabad Dhulfiqar. -- Read the whole thriling story! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-run-up-to-gandikota-mir-jumla-burns-northern-tamil-nadu

The Dharma Dispatch Completes Six Years! Today, we celebrate the sixth anniversary of The Dharma Dispatch. Here are some contemplations and a rewind of the last year - Sandeep Balakrishna ---- Our sacred work at The Dharma Dispatch has acquired a life of its own and like life, it continues to grow, mature and ripen, almost like a force of nature. Our dedication and commitment to our core values remain unchanged. We have envisaged The Dharma Dispatch as a civilisational initative rooted in the ageless ethos of Sanatana Dharma. With each year, our faith in this vision has only been reinforced and strengthened. We are steadily ramping up our video content on The Dharma Dispatch YouTube Channel. Do check it out! AS ALWAYS, the Sanatana community’s response to The Dharma Dispatch has been nothing short of spectacular. The unstinted support and blessings of a cross-section of the Hindu society continues to be the backbone of and encouragement for our generational work. We offer our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has become inseparable companions on our sacred journey of civilisational reclamation, cultural resurgence and spiritual reinvigoration. 🕉🙏🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/dispatches/the-dharma-dispatch-completes-six-years

I'll be doing a Live on The Dharma Dispatch YouTube channel in about 10 minutes. Topic: Did Gandhi really get freedom for india? To join, head here: https://www.youtube.com/@DharmaDispatch

Today is #GandhiJayanthi. What better way to celebrate it than exposing the story of how Mohandas Gandhi directly fell into the trap set by Mohammad Ali? The video is LIVE NOW! Do watch! 😀😃😄 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlIV3JI7eYk

Mir Jumla: Aurangzeb’s Confidant who Recruited Telugu Niyogi Brahmins ----- The large Jumma Masjid standing bang inside the Gandikota fort was built by Mir Jumla, Aurangzeb’s Confidant. Mir Jumla was a combination of a plunderer-businessman cum military commander cum Prime Minister of the Golconda Sultan. His raw business instincts had enabled him to acquire and wield enormous political power. He was a skilled negotiator and a spotter of talent. Thus, he freely recruited competent people even from the enemy camp. Jumla’s revenue management was almost wholly entrusted to Telugu Niyogi Brahmanas. The role of these Brahmanas in laying the financial edifice of what later became the bustling commerical city called Madras deserves a separate chapter. --- Read the whole fascinating essay! 📑😀🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/mir-jumla-aurangzebs-confidant-who-befriended-telugu-niyogi-brahmins

The Sun-Dried Tears of Gandikota --- This is the first episode of a new series narrating the brief civilisational history of Gandikota, fabled as the Grand Canyon of India. For six hundred years, Gandikota flourished as a strategic military outpost, capital, and a revenue district. Gandikota thus became a great prize coveted by every dynasty that ruled South India after the Kakatiyas. Sri Krishnadevaraya transformed it into a sīme (district), which encompassed Pulivendula, Proddatur, Kadapa, Kamalapuram and parts of Kurnool. When I visited Gandikota in 2014, it resembled an abandoned theatre of desolation. Almost nothing exists of the fabled Vijayanagara-era citadel. --- Read the blockbuster episode! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-sun-dried-tears-of-gandikota