Inner Metamorphosis

In India any form of Hindu assertion or defence is quickly labelled as being pro-Hindutva. Indeed, the term ‘Hindutva’ is clearly used in pejorative sense in media, and many youngsters who unquestioningly consume the left-liberal dominated media propaganda are prompt to affix this tag who anyone who attempts to defend Hinduism and criticize other religions. What exactly is Hindutva? Hindutva is Persian-cum-Sanskrit neologism meaning “Hinduness” or “Hindu identity”, born in late 19 th century and credited to Savarkar. Hindutva is a political movement, which argues that India is the “homeland” of Hindus, and defines ‘Hindus’ as those who consider India as their motherland, fatherland and holyland. Note that the definition is purely in cultural terms which include Indic religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. But this surely clashes with the two Abrahamic religions, Christianity and Islam, for whose followers, the holyland lies outside of India. To put it rather bluntly, Hindutv...

Chetan Bhagat’s (CB) recent column created a furore, chiefly because of his audacity to speak for Muslim community and what many people conflate with his support for Narendra Modi’s Prime Ministerial ambitions.   But what interested me most - and what this post would focus on - is questioning of his literary merit (or lack of it). Many journalists ridicule CB’s style of writing and his oversimplistic portrayals of characters sans nuance or sophistication. But I suspect this has more to do with the fact that his readers alone far outnumber the combined readers of many journalists - a point that many don’t appear capable of digesting. No takers for layman’s language! When Tulsidas rewrote Ramayana in Avadhi (a local contemporary dialect then), many conservative sections of society came down heavily upon him for defiling the sanctity of a much revered epic (originally written in Sanskrit). When Quran was first translated in Urdu (by Shah Abdul Qadir in 1798), it faced...

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 popular cinema in India generally indulges in mindless plots punctuated by songs, action & comic sequences which cling to the narrative simply because they are put on.  Such movies, irrespective of their commercial outcome, lack the harmony and connection to forcefully create an impression among audience. K. Viswanath , a pan-Indian filmmaker whose (major) works incidentally happen to be in Telugu, is among the handful of Indian directors whose works (less than 25 films) created memorable characters that would stand the test of time. Weaving stories centred on a passionate protagonist against the larger context of preserving Indian arts and culture, Viswanath churned out masterpieces year after year until, much like Sankara Sastry’s story, his era was eclipsed by rise of “commercial cinema”. Born in generation that never saw his movies in theatres, my introduction to his movies was with explicit knowledge about his repute. But expectations notwithstanding, I w...

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...