Hindu Mahasabha

 Prof Ishtiaq Ahmed, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University and a leading authority on the Politics of South Asia and an eminent author will deliver next lecture (21 st one) in the Democracy Dialogues Series, organised by New Socialist Initiative He will be speaking on ‘The Two-Nation Theory, Partition and the Consequences’ on Sunday, 27 … Continue reading The Two-Nation Theory, Partition and the Consequences – Prof Ishtiaq Ahmed →

Home Minister Amit Shah, while inaugurating a two-day seminar at Banaras Hindu University, emphasised that Indian historians should “rewrite history from an Indian perspective”. There is one thing unique about the present dispensation holding reins of power at the Centre. What one witnesses that the cabinet ministers—who go by the principle of collective responsibility—follow the … Continue reading History as Storytelling →

Jinnah propounded his two-nation theory in 1939—exactly two years after Savarkar presented it. Who could have been the best prime minister of independent India?  Nehru or (Vallabhbhai) Patel? For more than last five years, we have been a witness to this manufactured debate—courtesy Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has tried all the tricks in its … Continue reading Humko Savarkarich Mangta →

Guest Post by Gargi Chakravartty BOOK REVIEW Hindutva’s Second Coming by Subhash Gatade; published by Media House, Delhi; 2019; pages: 272; Rs 395 (US $ 18). The return of Modi to power with a huge margin in this 2019 election is a clear verdict for the Hindutva plank. Why and how it happened leave us, the secular billions, to … Continue reading Return of Hindutva: A Challenge for Secularism →

By distributing knives to meritorious children, organisations like the Hindu Mahasabha, are trying to give religious legitimacy to what is essentially a political use of faith. Image courtesy: Twitter What does an organisation do when it wants to congratulate meritorious students who have excelled in exams? Reward them with some gifts, say, books, and (if … Continue reading Arming Children, Securing a Future? →

“Kasturba Gandhi is no more. She died at the age of 74 in British jail….I salute this great woman who was like a mother to Indians ….Kasturba was an inspiration for millions of Indian girls with whom she lived and met during the freedom struggle of our motherland. She was party to the many travails … Continue reading ‘Mother to Indians’ Kasturba, Bose versus Hindu Sangathanists →

Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination was a culmination of a vicious campaign launched by Hindu communal groups in post-independent India File Photo : Modi – India’s New Mahatma It is far too early to dismiss the possibility of a future Hindu State in India. However, the possibility does not appear a strong one. The secular state has … Continue reading Gandhi’s Assassination – Much More Than Just a Murder →

Review of ‘Truth in Fetters : Broken Promises and Shattered Unity’ “Change is in the air”! A retired academic who had his last assignment as Vice Chancellor of a leading university said to me the other day, while we were discussing the contemporary political scenario. Frankly admitting that he had supported Modi’s candidature then and … Continue reading Bharatiya Janata Party or Bharatiya Jumla Party ! →

( Photo courtesy : The hoot) (To be published in the special issue of ‘Janata’)   The spectacle of what is called religion, or at any rate organised religion, in India and elsewhere, has filled me with horror and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean sweep of it. Almost always … Continue reading Nehru, Ambedkar and Challenge of Majoritarianism