Articles

This will no doubt come as a shock to the advocates of secularism in India . Dawkins’ statement is a frank confession of how far from being devoid of ‘religion’, secularism has always been an intimate twin of Christianity. The term "secularism" was first used by the agnostic (not ‘atheist’) British writer George Jacob Holyoake [...]

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) was not just an empty poll promise made in the heat of elections. Less than a week into office, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), under the guidance of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), has initiated an ambitious project to rehabilitate people who [...]

What appears is not and what does not, is” This ancient saying aptly describes the Indian political scenario. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) claims to be secular but just peel a few layers and you will find that it is steeped deep in communalism. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), on the other hand, [...]

‘What was predictable, but entirely missed by Modi’s strident critics, is that the excessive and intemperate demonisation of Modi allowed him to assume his own metaphor — the underdog, the martyr, the marginalised,’ says Dr Aseem Shukla. As the newly anointed Prime Minister Narendra Modi ascended the steps of India’s Parliament for the first time [...]

The artist Anish Kapoor was one of the signatories to banning Narendra Modi from Britain. Yet his attack on the now prime minister of India was extreme even by the standards of those who opposed Modi. It was fanatical, venomous and very psychologically imbalanced. On BBC Newsnight on 16 May 2014 Kapoor said Modi was [...]

After the Hindu victory with Narendra Modi’s accession to power, what we now have to guard against, is that, instead of an intelligent pro-Hindu policy with lasting positive effects, counterproductive feel-good policies are enacted. From a distance, Modi seems bright enough to ward off these tendencies, but much depends on the people he will surround himself with. At any [...]

The election of Narendra Modi as the choice for millions in the world’s largest democracy is a bit galling to those whose concept of ‘democratic’ resembles Lenin’s armed force against the elected government of Alexander Kerensky in revolutionary Russia. Yet even before Modi’s election in what proved to be a pivotal moment in Indian democracy [...]

Narendra Modi’s victory needs to be understood beyond the two commonly heard positions we have heard these past few months leading up to the election. Critics of Mr. Modi’s saw his rise as the march of Hindu nationalist fascism and the inevitable death of secularism in India. Supporters of Mr. Modi saw his rise as [...]

In March 2005, the United States denied a visa to Gujarat’s chief minister, Narendra Modi, now the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate in next year’s Indian elections. The visa was denied because of Mr. Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat that left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Muslims. But it [...]

A day after a religious leader, Swami Adhokshjanand Devtirath announced to campaign against Narendra Modi in Varanasi, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati today claimed that he is the recognised Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Govardhan Math in Puri and has not made any statement against any candidate.“To gain politically, a person named Adhokshjanand, supported by some political parties, claiming [...]