The First Step Towards De-mythifying Nehru
When he had just been two years in office, Prime Minister Nehru once wrote to a close colleague expressing a view which would, 15 years later, in a sense define the decadent political legacy he would eventually leave behind. “I have repeatedly made a mess of things, but, I hope, …
REFRESHING VIEW FROM PRISM OF INDIAN ETHOS
A batch of students at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, prepared a detailed report on ‘Governance and Policy for Ganga Rejuvenation’. It was a laudable effort When a number of ‘Ivy League’ universities in the West and their academic cartels are …
OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
India’s civilisational message and approach to civilisations of Central Asia has been one of true partnership, respect for and enrichment of diversities and the perpetuation of essential civilisational identities. Modi’s Central Asia focus is an occasion to cement such a relationship Central Asia, which was always central to civilisational India …
Why Syama Prasad Mookerjee Is Relevant Today
One of the starkest manifestations of the Nehruvian consensus has been the marginalisation, in our national discourse, of non-Nehruvian or non-Congress leaders, both of thought and of politics. These were the leaders who challenged Nehru’s political methods and direction; the ones who dared to evolve an alternative framework for national …
WHEN CIVILISED FREEDOM DIED
So intricately designed is the miasma of deception or so complete has been the control of the system by the intellectual cheerleaders of those who carried out the Emergency, that its history was hardly ever taught. It is essential to introduce a study on the Emergency June 25 to June …
All About Yoga and the Civilisational Debate
Historian H G Rawlinson made a crucial observation in his study on Indian historical studies (1931) which not only continues to remain relevant in the current academic and civilisational discourse in India, but also seeks redress. “Under the system in vogue in most Indian universities,” observed Rawlinson, “the student knows …
OPENING ANCESTRAL TREASURE TROVE
When one talks of Indianising education, one fundamentally argues for recovering that harvest of the past and for re-stating it authentically in the present context through a rejection of insular modernity It is the effects of a prolonged exposure to a non-Indianised education system which sees a volume on the Makers …
Modi at 365 : The re-emergence of India as a Civilizational state
No other Government in post-independent India’s history has faced as much scrutiny in its first year in office as has or is facing the Narendra Modi led Government. Perhaps Atal Behari Vajpayee’s NDA I faced a similar scrutiny in its first year but yet that came nowhere near to what …
ON THE FRINGE, UNFAIRLY, FOR LONG
It is indeed a deeply ironical reality that the idea of India, which is referred to ad nauseam, has actually been a deeply selective idea of India which has thrived on marginalising those whose thoughts, actions or views did not conform to a certain ideological pattern or worldview A significant …
India of the Ages is Rising, Signalling a New Twilight
The last one year since May 2014 has been a year of profound shift. Through a steady and sure movement forward, India’s rise as a civilisational state has begun. The advent of an epochal shift brings about the generation of ideas, of concepts, visions and actions that have defining capacities. …
DOUSING IMAGINED CONFLAGRATIONS
Given its woeful record of standing by the oppressed, it’s rather impertinent of the US to issue a report on religious freedom across the globe, that is used to browbeat other nations. Pretending to put out fires in other lands, when one’s own fields are ablaze, isn’t a good idea …
What’s Wrong With Modi Speaking On Sanskrit In Berlin?
Those who question Prime Minister’s motive in talking about Sanskrit in a nation which discovered the glory of this language 200 years ago are promoters of political charlatanism. In his 1922 treatise, “Our Educational Problem”, Ghadar revolutionary and thinker Lala Hardayal dedicated a whole chapter to discussing the issue of “Sanskrit versus …
Re-Examining The Patel-Bose Relationship
Historical documents reveal that between Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel, it was the latter who sought, to provide assistance to Bose’s family and INA soldiers, and to preserve the legacy of the INA after Bose’s alleged death. In his moving biography of Sardar Patel, The Sardar of India, historian PN Chopra, perhaps …
Mamata Banerjee & Her Fascist Politics In West Bengal
The contours of a Fascist political system in West Bengal are fast crystallizing under Mamata Banerjee . What remains to be seen is when such a system poses a final challenge to Mamata Banerjee herself and to her degenerative brand of politics. It is difficult to say whether the periodic …