Even at the breakneck pace at which its proponents are rewriting history in the Hindutva mould, its real past will habitually catch up with it. Last year, a statue of freedom fighter and first education minister of independent India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, was destroyed by Hindutva mobs at Kankinara in North 24 Parganas district, … Continue reading Exit Azad! Enter Savarkar!! →
BJP’s poll promise of Bharat Ratna for Savarkar, who inspired a wide spectrum of fanatic individuals and violent organisations, shows the moral vacuousness of the Hindutva project “The curious fact is that as we move into the 21st century, historians have become central to politics. We historians are the monopoly suppliers of the past. The … Continue reading Savarkar, India’s ’Ratna’ of a Different Kind! →
The Sangh’s obsession with vocabulary is not innocent. The speech by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supremo Mohan Bhagwat on its foundation day (Dusshera) has now become an event, watched with interest. The speech itself has a long tradition within the organisation, which all its affiliated (anushangik) bodies look upon as a guiding light. This year … Continue reading Will Lynching in Bharat Be Called Vaddh? →
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 →
One should not dismiss the odious statements from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its Sangh Parivar, and say that they are spewing venom.
( This article would appear in the coming issue of ‘Think India Quarterly’) (Photo Courtesy : jansatta) ..Kovind acknowledged that “the key to India’s success is its diversity” and “our diversity is the core that makes us so unique” and ended his speech with a call to build an egalitarian society as “envisioned by … Continue reading Deendayal Upadhyaya : BJP’s ‘Gandhi’ !
At some point during the Khalistan movement, I came across a brief news item about a constable of the Punjab Police killed by Delhi Police personnel. The two teams had completed their interrogation of a suspected militant. Whose job was it to clean up the blood? Disagreement, a scuffle, a killing. Legitimized brutality; the stench … Continue reading Eid in solidarity, united against Hindu Rashtra
