Inner Metamorphosis

As we near the prana prathistha of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, the usual suspects are wailing hoarsely and unabatedly. It’s pointless to argue with those wearing ideological blinkers.  However, for the sake of fence-sitters and believers, I would like to respond to some of the rhetoric doing rounds.  BJP has strategically placed the inaugural date to win Elections 2024.  An observation so brilliant that even a school kid can guess that!  Everything a political party does is motivated by the desire to win elections. They build roads, infrastructure, and public facilities for this very reason. They promise subsidies, and free bus transport (eg, Karnataka and Telangana) to win elections.  Are you going to condemn these welfare schemes just because they’re politically motivated? Are you going to stop using roads built by a party you dislike?  BJP is dividing the nation for political gains. It’s the other way round. People used BJP to achieve their goal of Ram Mandir...

Even those not particular about following political speeches were moved to tears listening to the now famous ” Yes, we can! ” victory speech by Barack Obama in 2008.  I remember having printed copies of the speech and distributing them to my study-circle.   US had come a long way since abolition of slavery, since Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement and the final nail on the racial coffin was the election of a black to the topmost position in the nation. Since, any further criticism on the continuing poor treatment of blacks is rebuffed with: “How can you talk about racism any longer, when a black man is the president, the most powerful human being on earth?”   At least this is how legitimate concerns about the enduring racial discrimination are papered down, feels author Richard Crasta. In his latest offering The Many Faces of Barack Obama and Race in America: An Immigrant's View the author of the path-breaking Impressing the Whites: The New Internationa...

To sum up the story so far: Rohan Murthy, son of ‘Infosys’ Narayan Murthy, spearheading Murty Classical Library, an initiative to translate 500 volumes of traditional Indian literature into English, has refused to consider removal of Sheldon Pollock as the mentor and chief editor of the project. Rohan Murthy with Sheldon Pollock "It is quite rich to sit in the peanut gallery, pass comments and throw empty shells at those who are actually rolling their sleeves up and working on the ground," said Rohan of those 132 academicians and intellectuals petitioning them to reconsider their decision.  Many Hindus do not grasp the enormity of what’s at stake here and join the chorus to brand any indigenous attempt to question West’s stranglehold on Hindu academics as Hindu chauvinism (or is it Hindu nationalism of late?). Intellectual Colonialism One of Rajiv Malhotra ’s important points again comes to fore: other religions are “defined” by their practition...

In a debate the one who frames the rules wins it (atleast in public perception) irrespective of the merit in his argument. It’s probable that such a person has little logic to back him, yet by spinning the course in his favour, he has half-defeated his opponent as the latter has to play by rules set by him. For example, if an interview with Bill Clinton focusses only on his extra-marital affair, any viewer cannot escape the impression that he is a sex-maniac. On the contrary, if he is interviewed on various policies during his tenure in office such as foreign affairs, corporate affairs etc the viewer gets a more wholesome perspective about his overall legacy. This is why media plays a pivotal role in shaping public discourse. And the narrative is set by asking a particular set of questions, and not necessarily by providing their answers. We’ll get back to this a little later after discussing election strategies of various political parties. Current Election Strategy ...

The recent  controversy  on Vande Mataram isn’t about whether singing/ respecting it alone makes one patriotic, as many pseudo-secularists would want us to believe. Of course, respect cannot be imposed. And in a free country, anybody can decline to sing a particular song - however revered - because of any number of reasons, reasonable or not. Briefly the opposition to Vande Mataram hinges on: The song worships the nation as Mother India and Goddess Durga. First, it goes against the basic Islamic tenet of Allah being the only worshipable entity. Second, it worships an idolized form of India, again against Islamic tenets where idolatry is strictly prohibited. Third, with its allusion to Hindu symbols more than explicit, it personifies Hindu cultural nationalism and doesn’t strike an emotive chord with Muslims. The poem appears in Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel  Anandamath , which calls for Hindu nationalism to uproot...

The Karnataka elections episode offers valuable lessons for BJP. It’s a now or never for BJP to recover its confidence and give a spirited performance in 2014. Below-mentioned are few observations of mine & constructive criticism of BJP's approach written partly in open-letter format. Encourage Internal democracy The larger point of removing Yeddyurappa wasn’t whether it was a wise decision or not. The real question is more basic: WHO removed Yeddyurappa? Was it the decision taken by Karnataka BJP Unit or was it imposed by its Delhi High Command? From what we understand, the Delhi High Command unilaterally took the decision without consulting the state unit. Thus, it was its Delhi based leaders, some of whom cannot even win an election on their own, who decided to throw out a genuinely elected leader responsible for overthrowing decades-long Congress rule. BJP should understand that unlike Congress, where dynasty acts as binding glue for divisive forces, it ca...

So Narendra Modi does it again – winning on development plank for the 3 rd consecutive time. There were apprehensions among certain sections that he may repeat a Chandrababu Naidu – who bit the dust despite huge media hype on the contrary. But it was Modi all the way (to Delhi?).   Of course, the usual suspects were interpreting this as depletion of his mass-appeal (one seat less than last elections).  Nonetheless a victory capturing 2/3 of the seats permits only one interpretation – the people of Gujarat have reposed their faith in Modi. Period! Narendra Modi in a curious fashion represents the antithesis of Nehru and Nehruvian-establishment nurtured leadership. Nehru’s Idea of India Given the carefully calibrated image of Jawaharlal Nehru, many Indians worship him as the paragon of democracy & liberty. Unfortunately, with media & academic centres infiltrated by Socialists/Communists, we are deprived of learning the alternative perspectives. ...