Tag: thinking about fascism

Ashwani Kumar: Lakhimpur Kheri Tells Us It's Time to Rescue a Democracy in Retreat / Bharat Bhushan – Lakhimpur: A threat to both BJP and farmers' leaders

This is a moment of reckoning for a nation scarred. The unspeakable tragedy in Lakhimpur Kheri has wounded the nation’s sensitivity to its core. The 30-second video vividly depicting the gruesome murder of innocent citizens by a bunch of goons sheltered by ‘netas‘ drunk on power has once again exposed the fault-lines of our politics and a… Read More Ashwani Kumar: Lakhimpur Kheri Tells Us It's Time to Rescue a Democracy in Retreat / Bharat Bhushan – Lakhimpur: A threat to both BJP and farmers' leaders

Dilip

Prominent Kashmiri Pandit businessman shot dead in Srinagar

NB: Another heinous crime committed in communal hatred. The cold-blooded murder of defenceless people to make a political point is pure fascism. DS Makhan Lal Bindroo, owner of a prominent Srinagar pharmacy, was shot dead by suspected militants on Tuesday, inside his business premises at Iqbal Park here, police said. Bindroo, 68, was shot by… Read More Prominent Kashmiri Pandit businessman shot dead in Srinagar

Dilip

Mukul Kesavan: Photobombing death and the banality of evil / Evil, framed. By SLAVENKA DRAKULIĆ

NB: India’s Prime Minister has warned the world of the threat of ‘regressive thinking.’ The  rhetorical artistry of our Great Leader is indeed admirable; although I think his camp-followers will miss the irony. The article below describes what can happen in India in the name of politically correct nationalism. And here’s another: A Grateful Nation. We… Read More Mukul Kesavan: Photobombing death and the banality of evil / Evil, framed. By SLAVENKA DRAKULIĆ

Dilip

Javed Anand: On RSS reassurances to Muslims, deeds matter more than words

NB: To this forthright letter, I would like to add just one point. What exactly is the reasoning behind all this verbiage about DNA? Does it follow that people with ‘the same DNA’ must think alike, or love one another, or even belong to the same ‘Nation’? Sometimes even twins don’t have the same DNA.… Read More Javed Anand: On RSS reassurances to Muslims, deeds matter more than words

Dilip

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

Dilip

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