MAULANA  ABUL  KALAM  A ZAD                  Maulana Abul Kalam was born in Mecca in 1888. He came with his family to  Calcutta, India  in 1890. As he grew up, he adopted the pen name 'Azad' to indicate that he  was no longer tied to the  inherited beliefs of his family. He tried to convince his Hindu  friends that they should not generalise  from their experience of a few Muslim officers in  Bengal, and that they should not think that Muslims  as a community were their enemies.                 He joined the Congress party and became a close associate of Gandhiji. When  second world  war started, Maulana Azad was of the view that India should cooperate with  the allies in war efforts...

                                        INDIA : MIXTURE OF  RACES  AND  CULTURES                Human beings of different races have arrived and settled in India, over several thousand years,  including Negroid, Proto-Austroloid, Mongoloid and Caucasian. People of different body frames, facial  features, hair type and skin color are found in India today, representing mixture of all races.                When Aryans came from north, so called Anaryans were already living in India. All the way in  the south Dravidians were living, There was intermingling of cultures between different groups. Then Shaks, Kushans, Greeks, Turks and Arabs came as invaders. They were absorbed within inhabitants of  India. Northern Europeans came last. India represents a rich diversity of cultures. ...

                                                RELIGION  AND  STATE                Human life, in early stages of most  civilizations, was controlled by religious authorities  as well as those who held political power (e.g. kings). Religion and politics were intertwined. At some points of history, religion had a larger sway on people, at others political rulers had a larger  influence. This has historically led to several conflicts between the two institutions, often violent ones resulting in significant bloodshed.                Slowly an idea emerged that Church and State should be seperated, that there should be a wall  between the two (specially because there are so many different religions and also today there is a  growing minority of non-believers)...

                                                              RIGHT TO MAKE MISTAKES                The United Nations Organization has established a list of several fundamental human rights. One right that needs to be added is 'Right to Make Mistakes'. To make  mistakes is every human's basic right. There is nobody in the whole wide world who has  never made any mistake. We ought to be compassionate to ourselves as well as others for  making mistakes.                 Some people feel very upset or guilty if they make a mistake. Karen Horney, a psychoanalyst, has referred to 'tyranny of the should' as one of the roots of mental illness. Many of us carry an obsession: "I must succeed in all that I undertake", " I must win if I  am p...

                                          WHAT WILL  OTHERS THINK ABOUT ME ?                Many of us harbor an irrational belief, " I must be a likeable person to others". We  then try to please everybody. We refrain from voicing our displeasure even when treated  inappropriately by someone. We do not speak up against injustice lest we fall out of favor of  some. We stay away from expressing our  hurt feelings out of fear that he or she will stop  liking me. In reality, so what if some people do not like you? The sky is not going to come  down. Be assured, other people's ill opinion about you is not going to damage your skin. We  have to stop measuring our self worth in terms of whar others think about us. If we keep  trying to please others. we wind up making ourslve...

                                                          GENGHIS  KHAN                  Born in 12th century ad., in the region of Mongolia, Genghis Khan grew up in a  world of tribal violence. From the harsh environment (no formal education) he cultivated  the full range of emotions: desire, ambition and cruelty. While still a child he killed his half- brother. As he reached his adulthood, year by year, he conquered all rival tribes on the  Mongolian steppe. Then he ventured out of his homeland, going on a killing spree, and  conquering towns and villages across  the Gobi and the yellow river, into the kingdoms of  China, thru the central Asian lands of Turks and Persians, across the mountains of  Afghanistan to the Indus ri...

                                                            PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT                Ancient Civilization of Egypt is dated about 3500 bc. Then King was the absolute  lord. Most of the people ruled by him were peasants. There was also slavery. Zosar was the  first king of the third royal dynasty, during whose reign Pyramids started being built. Stones  were now used in the construction of buildings.  Slaves were used to pull very heavy stones.  Against this irony, ingenuity and engineering skills used in constructing these pyramids, in   the absence of today's technical knowhow, remain astounding. A lot of wealth of  the kingdom was used in the construction of pyramids,...

                                                    iNDIA'S  CASTE  SYSTEM                India's caste system was set by about 1000 bc. and still regulates lives of  millions. Some time around 1500 to 2000 bc. great influx of Aryans began to enter India  from Hindu Kush region, from northwest of India. Aryans fought with and eventually  assimilated with non-Aryans, who were living in India prior to their arrival. The  Aryans  achieved supremacy over non -Aryans and divided the society into four parts:  Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and non-Aryans (including 'untouchables' who were  responsible for cleaning and disposing of human waste), with social ranking in the same  order.          ...

                                                                 RELIGION                 What is the origin of 'Religion'? In my opinion, in ancient times when human beings could not understand the big natural phenomena, such as, sunrise, sunset, rain, windstorm fire, they imagined that some mysterious and powerful forces are  causing them. Being  awed  by these agents, they developed beliefs in different Gods: Sun God, Moon God, Rain God, Wind God, Fire God, etc.  Fear  of their wrath and  Desire  for their blessings led them to develop rituals of propitiation and worship of these Gods, Thus 'Religion' was born. At first prevailed polytheistic religion (many Gods), also called paganism.                 About 4...

                                                          BEGINNING OF CIVILIZATION                Initially humans lived in nomadic tribal groups, which encroached upon each other  for food and other resources. In essence, law of the jungle or 'might is right ' rule prevailed.  After invention of farming and animal husbandry, human beings began to settle down and  live in settlements in specific area. As each group expanded and developed common  traditions, beliefs and system of law and order, ancient civilizations came into existence in  different parts of the world, at different times of history.                First recognizable civilization seems to have developed in the fertile crescent area  of Mesop...