Shaming BJP voters is an exercise in self-defeat

When critics of BJP transform into critics of those who vote for BJP, they hurt their own cause BJP’s recent triumph in Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Uttarakhand and maiden victory in Manipur is vexing a section of political historians and scientists. Till now, this Left-liberal persuasion mainly focused on assailing the ideological proponents of what they […]

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Should Hijab be allowed in Karnataka’s classrooms? No. Respect secular institutions

Following protests over some pre-university colleges disallowing students from wearing the hijab and saffron shawls to class, the Karnataka government has dug in its heels, saying it has powers under Section 133 (2) of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983 to give a school the right to prescribe a compulsory uniform style of attire. The clarification […]

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There’s no blame in shifting the flame: Moving the Amar Jawan Jyoti to the National War Memorial better reflects the Republic’s self-image

Millions of Indians watched the poignant ceremony that saw officers in full ceremonial regalia undertaking the solemn and symbolic merger. But even as the epochal moment was playing out a rancorous protest erupted behind the scenes. More than one critic of the Modi-led NDA acerbically observed that a “power drunk” Prime Minister, after toying with […]

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Has India turned into a barricade nation? The Kafkaesque instrumentality desensitises commuters and forces them to bow to the state

Most often you don’t even see them until it is too late. Each year several hundred commuters all over India crash into haphazardly deployed clunky rectangular frames of wrought iron mesh and girders also known as police barricades. Each mangled mishap victim ends up as yet another nameless and faceless statistic notched up to state […]

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Kisan netas have hubris, BJP didn’t: Why did GoI really repeal farm laws, how do we assess farmer leaders and is protest politics going to cost India?

Protesting farmers, who’ve been holding a blockade around India’s capital for a year-and-a-half, are in a state of delirium after succeeding in getting the NDA to rollback the three contentious farm laws – but they are going nowhere. Emboldened, they are now on the hunt for more. They will continue their agitation till they get […]

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What if Dalits want Team India to take the knee? BCCI should never have genuflected at the altar of woke gesture politics in the first place

After dancing along the jagged precipice of cultural “wokery” the Indian cricket team is back on its feet again. Aside from the forgettable opening game against Pakistan in all its subsequent encounters at the T20 World Cup, it did not “take the knee” in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s wise to have […]

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