Notwithstanding the fundamental socio-cultural cum religious divergences existing between the Muslims and Hindus, the two religious groups managed to forge bonds of fraternity based on mutual understanding and respect thanks to their centuries-long overall peaceful co-existence in the Indian environment. This virtually harmonious relationship soon gave birth to a composite culture whereby many of the Muslim-Hindu differences were blunted and replaced by shared socio-cultural – and sometimes even religious – aspects of life. Yet, the second half of the nineteenth century witnessed a reversal of this trend. In fact, the post-Revolt context in British India was marked by the emergence of consciousness among the Muslims whereby they developed a sense of belonging to a cultural entity that was different from that of the Hindus. In other words, these “Muhammadans” became actively conscious of their cultural differences vis-à-vis the Hindus, and therefore, saw themselves as a separate group with distinct cultural traits. This shift towards cultural exclusivism, which eventually gave rise to a separatist tendency among them, has been a moot point that drew a great deal of interest among scholars who provided different interpretations. In this article, the main task is to look into whether the British had any involvement in this new development in the Indian scene. [Indian Muslims, Hindus, Urdu, Hindi, divide et impera, language controversy]

This study hypothesizes the emergence of social evolution in northeast Africa, about 70,000 years ago. The combined emergence of syntactic language and collaborative groups generated a process of systematic social change. Spoken language itself and its speaking community, as they solidified, became the first social institutions. A deductive theory formalizes the emergence of language in a group of youths, tracing the “institutional evolution” of their community in a model inspired by Darwinian logic. The model relies on innovative variation in creating institutions, on institutional inheritance by succeeding generations, and a process of social selection that preserves the institutions seen as fit. It is argued that the articulation of this theory, with its testing on evidence from the late Pleistocene era, should help sort out relations among the many current research projects in human biological, cultural, and social evolution. [social evolution, syntactic language, we-group behavior, institutional change, social selection]

In numerous publications about Central Africa one can find more or less precise information about “Lake Aquilunda.” The lake was first recorded on the map published in the 17th-century work by Pigafetta and Lopez titled “Relatione del reame del Congo.” In this article, I analyse relevant sources in order to demonstrate that this “lake” is in fact a broader section of the Congo River south of Boma. In the mythology of the Kongo, this part of the river is believed to be the source of all life, including human beings. The sacred significance of the lake and of its surroundings is marked by a number of natural elements, such as particular rocks, deposits of kaolin, etc. Other toponyms, such as the Kongo dia Mulaza (“Kongo of the waters”) and Mpemba Kasi (“deposits of kaolin”) also stand in the relationship to the sacredness of that area.