2014

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
The contours of the rift within the BJP are becoming clear. It is not a mere Advani versus Modi or an ‘old-versus-new’ battle but has an ideological edge, too, which needs to be taken note of. A Bihar BJP leader, Giriraj Singh, said at an election meeting at Deoghar in Jharkhand on April 19 that those opposing Narendra Modi are looking to Pakistan. Such people will have place only in Pakistan and not in India. ‘After the general election those opposing Modi will have to (…)

by Daya Varma, Vinod Mubayi
The 2014 parliamentary elections are more critical for the future of India than any other in the past. A victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, would not only end the Congress domination of Indian politics, it would set in motion a new culture and reverse the secular foundations of India.
There are many factors for the decline of the influence of the Congress but none has played as big a role as its denunciation by the block of Communist (…)

Not very many people—living outside Gujarat—know that Narendra Modi, the Parivar’s ‘PM in waiting’, also happens to be a ‘passionate writer, poet and a lover of culture.’ and how ‘[d]espite his busy, .. schedule,.. devotes time to ..writing, interacting with people on social media etc.’ (www.narendramodi.in) We are also told that he has been writing ‘since he was young’.
Let me admit at the outset that this poor pen-pusher was rather unaware of Modi’s writing prowess apart from one of his (…)

by Murzban Jal
Every rise of fascism bears witness to a failed revolution.
Walter Benjamin
Now in your own interest and in the interest of this great country you must learn to listen and to read what we say. A people who refuse to listen to new questions and learn new answers will perish and not prosper.
Kancha Ilaiah
Whose sentiments are really being hurt? Are we going to stagnate as a culture that continuously touches the feet of intolerance?
Stephen Alter
Fascism and the (…)

by Sanjay Mishra
Introduction
For all its promise of cleansing the Indian politics of corruption—a tall order by any yardstick given the gargantuan and deep-rooted corruption in Indian politics—and for all its boastful tom-tom of its ephemeral, 49-day governance in Delhi being the best ever by any state government in post-independence India, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), ever since its dream electoral debut in Delhi, has been dogged by one controversy after another. This is not to brush (…)

Never before in post-independence India have political forces, which are a front for an organisation committed to creating a Hindu Rashtra, made as strong a bid for power as in the coming elections. These forces are led by a person who presided over a pogrom against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 and has never expressed any contrition over his role in that ghastly incident. And they enjoy the backing of the most powerful corporate houses in the country. The prospect of this alliance of corporate (…)

communication
It was extremely distressing to read in newspapers today that 14 persons, including seven members of a polling team, were killed in landmine blasts triggered by Maoists in Chhattisgarh on April 12. These election-time attacks are extremely shocking as elections, despite several problems, are an essential part of democracy.
This letter is also a request to you to reconsider your methods and strategies so that a broader unity of Left forces can be established for peaceful (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
in the midst of a general election, it is obviously unfair to predict who or which party is going to emerge victorious or be in a position to form the next government. This is doubly true in a situation facing us today in which no party can claim to win outright the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha. The absence of a ‘wave’ or a definite issue round which the election campaign has centred makes all forecasts mere guesswork. However, there are certain trends which are (…)

If psephological gurus are right then there are prudent reasons behind Mamata Banerjee’s recent political postures. In spite of the drubbing she has received from Anna Hazare, it may be a distinct possibility that her Trinamul Congress (TMC) may turn out to be one of the deciding players in the formation of the next Union Cabinet after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha election. Although the “gale of change” which had brought Mamata to power in West Bengal in 2011 has certainly ebbed a bit, (…)

India is halfway through the Lok Sabha election process. Two factors have come to the fore so far: caste and money. I am dismayed about caste. I had imagined that in some 67 years since independence, the nation would have matured enough not to be swayed by baser instincts. Lately, religion has been inducted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The appeal in the name of religion in the fifties was understandable because the country had been partitioned on the basis of religion in August (…)