I am not sure which volcanic eruption you are referring to. If it is the Krakatoa eruption, the earliest recorded eruption was in 416AD. It is also a known fact that Ashoka ruled from 273-232BC. BTW, in 416AD, people in Indonesia followed the "Hindu" religion and had Hindu kings. So please give us more specific references (URLS??).
While I totally agree with you that we should reform our old Hindu calendar and not get immersed in our own dogma and ritualistic practices, Rajeev's point was not regarding the accuracy of this date, but just the significance of it. Almost all cultures have celebrated the Winter Solistice in one way or another: the date December 25th for Christmas is not actually the day of Jesus's birth, but was chosen by the Romans because it was convenient to celebrate it with the pagan festival of the Winter Solistice: the day the worshipped the sun for his triumph over darkness (Sol Invictus).
Also, just to be clear, while I do not agree with Rajeev's views of blaming everything that's bad in India on communist past and its current vestiges; I like the general tone in his articles which give an optmistic look at the future. Nothing wrong with uplifting articles, with a touch of self-aggrandizement ;-)
