Fervent, unfazed, undeterred
Before his lonely and confined death on June 23, 1957 at the age of 52, in then faraway Srinagar – then Governor of West Bengal H.C. Mookerjee describing Syama Prasad’s death had said, ‘what has added to the poignancy of our grief is that he died in detention, while still …
Delving beyond the surface
One of the observations that BJP President Amit Shah made last week while addressing intellectuals and eminent citizens during his tour of Chattisgarh, was that the Congress was a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for seeing freedom through and that it had no single binding ideological thread. Shah had also observed …
Self-defeating arguments
The CPI(M) and its politbureau-centric leaders some of whom are nearly out of job within the party itself like comrade Prakash Karat have recently wished that the Indian army ‘suffer irreparable damage’ in its operation against terrorists in the Valley and against those whose work is to facilitate, aid, abet …
Modi’s compelling narrative
So dominant, so focused, and so compelling has been the India narrative that Narendra Modi has succeeded in generating, in the last three years, that it is continuously and ceaselessly occupying centre stage in all our debates and discussions. The Indian dream, the Indian growth story, the Indian civilisational dimensions, …
New India – Reflections
As one increasingly heard and followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially from November, when he made one of his most “disruptionist” announcements of demonetisation, one could not but help recall the words of deep prescience that Dr S Radhakrishnan, philosopher, statesman and former President of India, spoke in the Constituent …
Renewing ancient links
On a recent visit to Myanmar, I called on Daw Than Than Nu, daughter of the first Prime Minister of Myanmar, the legendary U Nu. I had carried along with me a collage of photographs of U Nu with Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, from the time when Dr. Mookerjee, as …
Radiating a powerful message
On April 25, BJP national president Amit Shah started his fifteen days ‘vistarak’ sojourn from the non-descript but historic Naxalbari village in north Bengal. Shah declared that he was one among 3 lakh 68 thousand workers who have pledged to dedicate 15 full days for the party. There were two …
Looking back into history
While honouring the descendants of those who had participated in the Paika Revolt of 1817 in Bhubaneswar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a very pertinent observation. He said that the narrative built around the struggle for India’s freedom had been limited to a few episodes and a few families while …
Pillar of strength & stability
The recent terror crackdown in Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dispensation continues to demonstrate her determination to cleanse the system of the poison that has long plagued Bangladeshi society and polity and had become especially acute in the last few years. Hasina’s persistence with the War Crime Trials, despite …
Scaling greater heights
On April 6, the BJP completed 37 years of its founding. 37 years of ceaseless sustenance and progression for an intellectual and political movement is indeed striking and in its 34th year, in 2014, when the BJP reached its peak, it demonstrated that it had entered its phase of robust …
The notion of ‘Bharatiyata’
Comrade Brinda Karat of “Dum Dum Dawai” fame, like her comrades and other co-ideologues, has started pontificating on nation, nationalism, culture, and the RSS. A favourite pastime for fascists is to indulge in trying to delineate, describe, and articulate issues about which they know precious little. Such obfuscation helps in …
The Indian communist
On a just concluded trip to Vietnam, I found myself repeatedly asking this question: what is it that makes Indian communists so disdainful of their motherland? Why is it that such a breed of mother-hating communists – cadres and leaders – are unique to India. The Indian communist and their …
Cong needs multiple surgeries
Stunned by the electoral verdict in Uttar Pradesh and other states in the just concluded Assembly polls, some political parties and their top leadership have lost balance and perspective. The rejection of their fear-inducing narrative, of their tales of division and of their overall myth has been so decisive that …
Who is the “Intolerant Indian”?
Who is the “intolerant Indian”? The intolerant Indian is one who cheers and showers plaudits on terrorists, whose sole aim, ideological and religious, is to break India and damage her democratic structure and spirit. The intolerant Indian is one who celebrates when ordinary Indian soldiers are mowed down by fanatical …