I completely understand what you are saying. A Jewish friend of mine was visiting India last year and he was telling me how it took him a couple of days before he could suppress the gut feeling he go every time he saw the swastika. By the end of his month long trip he was taking pictures of any swastikas he could see…

I have said multiple times by now that I am not expecting you (or other jewish people) to celebrate the swastika. I have also said that I have absolutely no desire to erase the Nazi connection to the swastika. I have also written in another thread (perhaps in reply to you) that I understand and agree with the…

I am asking people to acknowledge that there is a second (though chronologically first) meaning to the symbol and its use by the Nazis should not erase or belittle the older meaning. In case this is not obvious from all the comments I have written so far, I have no intention of erasing the Nazi association of the…

"But such an argument would fall flat simply because it is hardly recognised as such - whilst the swastika is almost always recognised in the West as a symbol of oppression, genocide and horror, the crucifix simply isn't."

Thank you very much. I am a scientist and researcher, so logically explaining facts is sort of my job.

I am all for education. When have I brushed it off? I have been going on and on about how Europeans and Americans should know the different contexts etc. I even asked you to clarify the difference between the Hindu and Nazi swastikas because as far as I know, they are not different except for the context.

I have been trying to have a civil discussion but if you want to call me thick-headed and blame me for doing a craptastic job then I really cannot expect you to be sensitive. Nice talking to ya.

What is the point of this anecdote? That your cousin's husband's family managed to have a wedding without a swastika? My point is that nobody should tell me that I cannot use it. I will make that decision.

Yes, but plenty of people in the Western world (and many people commenting here) want me to use the swastika only in private when outside India. I already said that I think using it to invoke Nazis is wrong. However, I (and more that a billion other people should not be told to hide it even when using in a different…

Since the swastika has been used by Hindus as an auspicious symbol for thousands of years without a break (not even during the Holocaust), I don't think there is any need for it to be re-appropriated. However, there is a need for the realization that there is a world beyond Western civilization and the beliefs and…

Does this mean that I am not allowed to use the swastika (a very important part of my culture) if I have a traditional Indian wedding in the US? I understand that it should not be used in the Nazi context but are you saying that it is wrong to use it in its original context? Nobody is asking you to "celebrate" the…

"Which is part of why the swastika is such an incredibly sensitive symbol in the Western world"

It is a religious symbol for more than a billion people not just "some people" as you say. That is greater than the population of Europe and US combined. It is a sign of western elitism that the entire world is expected to conform to European and American mores to be considered cultured while most Europeans and…

Are you saying that the use of a swastika image should displease everyone at all times? Or are you saying that it should displease when used to invoke the Nazis or racist hatred? If you are saying the latter then I agree with you a hundred percent. If you mean the former, then I completely disagree.

I knew a hijra growing up. He was almost like an older sibling and I was always in awe of how beautiful he looked in saris and women's makeup. He used to work as a man during the day but outside of work he was a woman. It always amazes me how us kids never thought that was strange.

I don't know about other government documents, but the Indian passport form I filled out in 2011 had "male", "female" and "other" under sex. However, it is possible that different passport offices have different forms. This is the form I found on the government of India website and it definitely has an "others" box.

She never says that the women have the most power. She says that the female characters have a lot of strength and they will come to power.

Who is the woman in the middle in that picture?

I feel like that book seems much better if you read it as a collection of short stories than a novel. To me it came off as being too gimmicky and none of the characters were good enough for me to overlook that.

I posted the sari picture before seeing this post. I completely agree with you about the blouse being too much in the sari look. The sari itself is so pretty.