The other day, a colleague who is unfamiliar with Indian culture was wondering why Indians were obsessed with knowing about their future and why despite being a scientifically advanced nation, its citizens are so reliant on astrology.
He was referring to politicians who are making a beeline to astrologers to know about their prospects in India’s election. This phenomenon is not new. But how to explain this propensity to my colleague?
Bejan Daruwalla, one of the most popular names in Indian astrology, told a newspaper recently: “Today, everyone is hungry for power, money, status. The easiest way to access all three is politics. For seasoned politicians, it is their money and reputation which is at stake. Therefore, before investing, they would obviously check twice.”
Even though predictions often result in failure, faith in astrology has remained unshaken among Indians for generations. As far back as 1971, The Astrological Magazine, the world’s longest-running English astrological monthly – it was published from 1895-2007 – was filled with forecasts of Indira Gandhi’s defeat in the election. She won with a thumping majority.
In 1980, at a conference organised by the Indian Astrologers Federation, both the president and secretary of the federation predicted a war with Pakistan in 1982, which India would win, and a world war between 1982 and 1984. They proved wrong. In the 2009 parliamentary election, a large number of soothsayers wrongly predicted that Pranab Mukherjee would become prime minister.
Believers, however, cite instances of successful predictions. In 2001, when Kerala-based astrologer Unnikrishna Panicker forecast that Jayaram Jayalalithaa – she reportedly added an extra “a” in her name upon advice from a numerologist – would become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, many found it hard to believe.
Although she couldn’t contest, her party, the AIADMK, won the assembly election and she was made the chief minister as a non-elected member. The prediction earned Mr Panicker a reward of one million rupees.
These examples show that there is more to it than ambition, greed and superstition. One explanation of this popular appeal of astrology is ignorance and lack of criticism, as Jayant Narlikar pointed out in a study. Unlike in the West, he said, where criticism of astrology is common, few in India would make an effort to divert diehard believers towards logic and rationality.
On the contrary, astrology enthusiasts received a huge impetus in 2001 when the University Grants Commission (UGC) – a statutory government organisation charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education – decided to offer funds for training in astrology leading to certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate degrees in the subject at various Indian universities. Its circular underlined: “There is urgent need to rejuvenate the science of Vedic astrology in India ... and to provide opportunities to get this important science exported to the world.”
In less than a year, dozens of universities applied for government grants to set up departments of astrology.
In 2004, a group of sceptics filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court to stop the UGC from funding courses in Vedic astrology.
They argued that it was a pseudoscience that would erode the credibility of India’s institutions as well as funds available for genuine scientific research.
The court dismissed the case on the grounds that it was not right for it to interfere with a UGC decision that did not violate Indian law.
In 2011, an appeal was made to the Mumbai High Court under the law that bans false advertising. That, too, was dismissed by the court on the ground that the law, as the The Times of India reported, “does not cover astrology and related sciences. Astrology is a trusted science and [has been] practised for over 4,000 years”.
Is India’s fascination with astrology then a psychological phenomenon?
“It isn’t,” says Dr Shamil Wanigaratne, a consultant clinical psychologist at the National Rehabilitation Centre, Abu Dhabi.
“It’s steeped in the culture. Thousands of years ago, rajas and maharajas used to consult astrologers before going to war. That tradition has continued today.”
So the answer to my colleague is this: our trust in astrology is here to stay. I have looked at the stars and predict it’s not going to disappear any time soon.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20has%20been%20moored%20off%20the%20Yemeni%20coast%20of%20Ras%20Issa%20since%201988.%3Cbr%3EThe%20Houthis%20have%20been%20blockading%20UN%20efforts%20to%20inspect%20and%20maintain%20the%20vessel%20since%202015%2C%20when%20the%20war%20between%20the%20group%20and%20the%20Yemen%20government%2C%20backed%20by%20the%20Saudi-led%20coalition%20began.%3Cbr%3ESince%20then%2C%20a%20handful%20of%20people%20acting%20as%20a%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ae%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiw2OfUuKr4AhVBuKQKHTTzB7cQFnoECB4QAQ%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.thenationalnews.com%252Fworld%252Fmena%252Fyemen-s-floating-bomb-tanker-millions-kept-safe-by-skeleton-crew-1.1104713%26usg%3DAOvVaw0t9FPiRsx7zK7aEYgc65Ad%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Eskeleton%20crew%3C%2Fa%3E%2C%20have%20performed%20rudimentary%20maintenance%20work%20to%20keep%20the%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20intact.%3Cbr%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20is%20connected%20to%20a%20pipeline%20from%20the%20oil-rich%20city%20of%20Marib%2C%20and%20was%20once%20a%20hub%20for%20the%20storage%20and%20export%20of%20crude%20oil.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%E2%80%99s%20environmental%20and%20humanitarian%20impact%20may%20extend%20well%20beyond%20Yemen%2C%20experts%20believe%2C%20into%20the%20surrounding%20waters%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia%2C%20Djibouti%20and%20Eritrea%2C%20impacting%20marine-life%20and%20vital%20infrastructure%20like%20desalination%20plans%20and%20fishing%20ports.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
Company%20profile
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MATCH INFO
FA Cup fifth round
Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying