Much has been made of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi‘s powers and prowess, real and perceived. His drumbeaters talk of his “tough”, “assertive”, “decisive” leadership; his “no-nonsense”, “zero-tolerance” “take no …
B. Raman, former additional secretary, and director of the Institute of Topical Studies, Madras, in Outlook: In the Hindu diaspora in the West, more young people admire Narendra Modi than …
Swapan Dasgupta in The Telegraph, Calcutta: “In Gujarat, the media were neither disinterested observers nor merely biased against Narendra Modi; they were an active participant. From disseminating ridiculous stories about …
PRITAM SENGUPTA writes from New Delhi: Narendra Modi‘s victory has deep-frozen the political discourse. The pseudo-nationalists are acting as if the kingdom is already theirs—for keeps. And the pseudo-secularists are …
The branding of the “English media” as “elitist, pseudo-secular, left-wing, liberal, disconnected, rootless, pro-Muslim, anti-Hindu, pro-Congress, anti-BJP”—as if the English media is one animal; as if all of us receive …
The phrase “Hindu nationalist” has almost always prefaced western media reports of the BJP, and it is no different despite Narendra Modi‘s sensational, conversation-stopping hat-trick. But it is not just …
Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express: “Incumbents can’t win, they said. Narendra Modi proved them wrong. Sonia Gandhi has acquired a new aggression, they said. Modi cut her down …
Sheela Bhatt, managing editor (national affairs), rediff.com, and one of the few journalists who predicted the Gujarat elections accurately, on the strange symbiosis between the media and Narendra Modi: “In …
The Jnanpith Award-winning Kannada writer U.R. Anantha Murthy completed 75 years of age yesterday. At an interaction held at the Central College in Bangalore, he articulated his position on a …
Gujarat has been the great Hindutva laboratory, and there are many who have articulated the belief that the “Gujarat Model”—a combination of muscular cultural nationalism and unstoppable China-like economic growth—can …
K.N. Govindacharya it was, who famously termed Atal Behari Vajpayee as the mukhota (the mask) in 1995. The insinuation was that Lal Krishna Advani was the real power behind the …
The decision of the BJP to declare L.K. Advani as its prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections is at once baffling and amusing. For starters, it is still …
Yogendra Yadav of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in The Indian Express: “Democracy is taking revenge on Narendra Modi. This election may well be the long …
Vir Sanghvi in The Hindustan Times: “The conventional view of Narendra Modi is that he is a Hindutva hero. It is true that he represents an aggressive brand of Hindu …
Coomi Kapoor in The Indian Express: “If Narendra Modi succeeds in pulling through despite the wide spectrum of forces ranged against him, the BJP may not necessarily be the gainer. …
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