Author Archives: askenni

Before censuses. Before Constitutions. Before categories. We were here. We are Tamils — not a footnote in someone else’s history, not a subheading in a colonial census, and certainly not a checkbox under “Religion: Hindu.” Long before the British came with their obsession to slot every soul into neat little boxes — Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian — weContinue reading “We Are Tamils — And We’ve Always Been”

In today’s world, shaped by digital modesty, religious dogma, and moral policing, the image of a phallus evokes discomfort, laughter, or shame. But for thousands of years, across continents and cultures, the phallus wasn’t something to hide — it was something to worship. It stood not as a vulgar object, but as a divine symbolContinue reading “Phallus Worship and Human Civilisation”

Since 2014, a strange, unsettling transformation has gripped India. Hatred — once whispered in hushed tones, now shouts from rooftops, television studios, WhatsApp forwards, and temple loudspeakers. India, a land that prided itself on tolerance and unity in diversity, seems to be cracking under the weight of its own bitterness. And the question that hauntsContinue reading “The Hatred That Will Crumble India”

During the British colonial era in India, public spaces were not merely places of leisure—they were reminders of humiliation. Benches in parks, railway compartments, clubs, and even entire neighbourhoods often bore signs that read “Europeans Only.” For the native Indian, it was not just about exclusion from a wooden bench—it was about being made to feel inferiorContinue reading “‘Europeans Only’: A Colonial Shame India Must Not Forget”

In today’s India, perception isn’t just everything — it’s the only thing. The narrative isn’t shaped by truth or experience. It’s outsourced to PR firms, sold through headlines, and consumed with religious devotion by a public too exhausted or too distracted to ask questions. And this is how the narrative has been carefully crafted forContinue reading “The Manufactured Narrative of Modern India”

India is home to 1.4 billion people, speaking over 700 languages, practicing multiple faiths, and representing thousands of culinary traditions. And yet, when it comes to public discourse around food — what is “pure,” what is “civilized,” what is “ethical” — there remains a quiet, stubborn dominance of one particular narrative: the Brahminical one. ThisContinue reading “Who Decides What India Eats? The Silent Brahminisation of Indian Food Habits”

I recently watched a talk show where one of the guests was hell-bent on proving that astrology is nothing more than a pseudoscience. The audience laughed, nodded, clapped — the usual herd response. I sat back and chuckled too, not because I agreed, but because I realized something funny: I could have done a far betterContinue reading “The Real Anal Tear Happens on the Other Side of the Debate”