Today even those who support Prime Minister Modi feel there is a certain sense of listlessness in this government. What is it intending to achieve? This is not easy to say, notes Aakar Patel.
Lokmanya Tilak lived a life replete with contradictions, although he modified many of his positions later in life.
The way the Bahraich riot has played out should worry the BJP. The party has emboldened Hindu youngsters to such an extent that its MLAs feel the need to go to the police against their party members. Is this what the BJP wants, asks Jyoti Punwani.
The biggest challenge will be to convert his regime into a coalition of minds. But given the fact that he is instinctively an authoritarian leader and supporter of the hard Hindutva line, the survival of his government will depend on his ability to balance between his heart and mind, between instinct and pragmatism, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Uttar Pradesh BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, sources said, and is believed to have briefed him on a host of issues related to the party's organisational matters in the politically crucial state.
'If you look at the average age of all our candidates, you will notice that their average age is between 35 and 40. It is a kind of revolution that the MNS is bringing in Maharashtra.'
'Another term for the government under the prime minister would likely be a step forward on the path to Hindu Rashtra.' 'No question of going back or any slowing down.'
Earning goodwill of the people of Jammu & Kashmir was necessary before such a move, the former prime minister said.
In the third and final part of the interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Subhash Gatade, author of Godse's Children -- Hindutva Terror In India, says that we should be wary of the majoritarian mindset which dominates what is known as civil society of our country.
In this three-part interview with rediff.com, Gatade discusses why many cases remain unsolved and adds that the job of the investigating agency has been highly unsatisfactory.
In this three-part interview with rediff.com, Gatade discusses why many cases remain unsolved and adds that the job of the investigating agency has been highly unsatisfactory.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday met ministers from the state at his residence in Lucknow to discuss the upcoming assembly bypolls in 10 constituencies.
The Sena has repeatedly said that its choice for the the highest office is the RSS chief.
The climate for 'doing business' remains forbidding, taxtortion is still rife, corruption at state and district levels has increased, oil prices remain extortive with high taxation, and the continued red tape has kept the enterprise system as stifled as before, points out Debashis Basu.
The ASI's role in marshalling dubious evidence in support of the existence of a Ram temple at Ayodhya is the right occasion to assess its activities as a handmaiden of Hindutva, says Omar Khalidi
The Bill to amend the Wakf Act, 1995, will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation.
A day after senior BJP leader L K Advani spoke of an "inclusive Hindutva", RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said Hindutva believes in peaceful co-existence of all communities.
'Under the more strident Modi version of Hindutva, Nehru has almost become a contemporary political figure.' 'The ruling party knows that without total erasure and distortion of Nehru, their fantasies will always be wobbly.'
Those who continue to think that the 2024 election will see the BJP pursuing a more militant line are being alarmist, argues Rajeev Mantri. The BJP, Mantri believes, is not about to shoot itself in the foot. If anything, he says, the BJP may be more inclined to push a harder secularism.
A revealing excerpt from Rahul Shivshankar and Siddhartha Talya's book, Modi & India: 2024 and the Battle for Bharat.
The Bajrang Dal said Qatar giving nationality to painter M F Husain was a "win" for Hindutva forces and those who "insult" Hindu religion have no place in the country.
Against the backdrop of the party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP leaders discussed at a 'Chintan Baithak' as to what extent its ideology, particularly with regard to Hindutva, should be practised to boost its electoral prospects.
'Modi's image has no takers among the masses.'
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Expressing serious concern over "two distinct voices" that have emerged "louder" after the Gujarat election, the prime minister said Hindutva was being projected by "some people in a narrow, rigid and extremist manner."
'His way of communication is different than the first yatra.' 'Maybe his anger and frustration stems from the fact that no one is asking hard questions to the government and he is trying to do that.'
'He should not come to Kerala and fight against the CPI which is an integral part of the INDIA alliance'
BJP leaders say one thing at their brainstorming session and another outside, The Sena chief said.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The lively convention, organised in New Delhi, announced of a long list of plans for practical action to be taken to galvanise the struggle against communal fascism.
Expressing serious concern over "two distinct voices" that have emerged "louder" after the Gujarat election, the prime minister said Hindutva was being projected by "some people in a narrow, rigid and extremist manner."
"We will not go into the larger debate as to what is Hindutva or what is its meaning. We will not re-consider the 1995 judgment and also not examine Hindutva or religion at this stage," a seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said.
'Don't be surprised if the Census forms come with a caste box.' 'I will be surprised if it doesn't. It will be a point conceded to Rahul Gandhi and his allies,' asserts Shekhar Gupta. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'I would think that India faces less damage from opinions voiced overseas compared to the damage it suffers if the right to free speech of its citizens is curtailed in the name of image management,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
'A decade ago, even though the sentiment might have been felt in large parts of the media, it was not expressed.' 'There was a reserve and there was a culture that adhered to the principles expressed in the Constitution,' observes Aakar Patel.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party would oppose the Centre's move to bring a bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards, and accused the BJP of trying to snatch the rights of Muslims.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
The programme named -- 'Revisiting Gandhi' -- was organised at Modern College in association with Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Shops owned by Muslims were shut for half a day in solidarity with the family of Hiremath and to condemn the dastardly act that shook the twin city of Hubballi-Dharwad.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'...but subjecting our heritage to rigorous evidence-based understanding.'
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