Tag: thinking about fascism

Javed Akhtar says he is as opposed to Muslim fundamentalists as he is to Hindu extremism

Noted film personality Javed Akhtar says he is as opposed to Muslim fundamentalists as he is to Hindu extremism, noting that he has even received death threats from Muslims because of his outspokenness. Defending his recent interview in which he drew parallels between the Taliban and Hindu extremists, he said Hindus are the most decent and… Read More Javed Akhtar says he is as opposed to Muslim fundamentalists as he is to Hindu extremism

Dilip

Hannah Ellis-Petersen: Death threats sent to participants of US conference on Hindu nationalism

An academic conference in the US addressing Hindu nationalism is being targeted by rightwing Hindu groups, which have sent death threats to participants and forced several scholars to withdraw. The conference, titled Dismantling Global Hindutva, which is co-sponsored by more than 53 universities including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Berkeley, the University of Chicago, the University… Read More Hannah Ellis-Petersen: Death threats sent to participants of US conference on Hindu nationalism

Dilip

NIVEDITA MENON: If Hindutva is dismantled, whom will it harm?

An upcoming conference in the USA, “Dismantling Global Hindutva”, organized by Indians in the USA, most of whom are legally “Hindus”, and supported by over 40 US universities, has provoked the ire of the Hindu Rashtravaadis there as well as in India. Conflating Hindutva with Hinduism is the first step. Based on this, the Hindu… Read More NIVEDITA MENON: If Hindutva is dismantled, whom will it harm?

Dilip

Apoorvanand; Gauhar Raza: The bully that is destroying India’s academic culture

The withdrawal of Dr Hari Singh Gour University in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, from an international seminar on “Cultural and Linguistic Hurdles in the Achievement of Scientific Temper” due to bullying by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the local police must not be treated lightly. The university had approved the topic, the collaboration and the speakers,… Read More Apoorvanand; Gauhar Raza: The bully that is destroying India’s academic culture

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Samar Halarnkar: The lights begin to wink out in India’s democracy

Too many Indians are happy to dismiss news of the gathering darkness, shrug at falsehood and bigotry, and be narcoticised into believing all is well.    On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government sent tax raiders, escorted by police with automatic weapons, to the offices of a feisty news channel, Bharat Samachar, and India’s… Read More Samar Halarnkar: The lights begin to wink out in India’s democracy

Dilip

Former Civil Servants Bemoan 'Complete Breakdown' of Governance in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi: A group of former civil servants has written an open letter condemning the ‘complete breakdown’ of governance and blatant violation of the rule of law in Uttar Pradesh, saying the Yogi Adityanath government has “ushered in a model of governance which swerves further and further away from the values of the constitution and… Read More Former Civil Servants Bemoan 'Complete Breakdown' of Governance in Uttar Pradesh

Dilip

"I will probably die" – Express Editorial on Stan Swamy // A Requiem for Father Stan Swamy: Justice of the Supreme Court (Retd) Madan Lokur

“If justice perishes, human life on earth has lost its meaning” – Immanuel Kant “Once crime was as solitary as a cry of protest; now it is as universal as science. Yesterday it was put on trial; today it determines the law” – Albert Camus The death of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy in judicial custody Monday brings… Read More "I will probably die" – Express Editorial on Stan Swamy // A Requiem for Father Stan Swamy: Justice of the Supreme Court (Retd) Madan Lokur

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Peter Ronald deSouza: The Intrinsic Limits of Hindutva as an Ideology of the Indian State

NB: This is an instructive article: members of the establishment who retain the slightest capacity to think rationally beyond their career interests, should read it carefully. I have argued elsewhere that ideologies have an inbuilt tendency toward implosion: the process whereby prevailing doctrines of political hegemony fail to maintain the minimal coherence required for self-perpetuation, and… Read More Peter Ronald deSouza: The Intrinsic Limits of Hindutva as an Ideology of the Indian State

Dilip

Oxford University’s South Asian Studies Programme’s comments on Venkat Dhulipala

First posted September 12, 2018 I will open this comment with an anecdote. Some months ago, whilst exercising in the gym I visit, the senior trainer was talking politics with someone. He is a friendly individual and I normally do not converse whilst exercising. He happens to be an admirer of Narendra Modi. On this… Read More Oxford University’s South Asian Studies Programme’s comments on Venkat Dhulipala

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