AS droves of intellectuals began returning their state awards to protest the growing culture of intolerance across India, I exulted to Prof Romila Thapar: “You’ve lit a prairie fire.” She messaged back “No.” It was the outrage at what was happening that had triggered the outcry. If she believed she had little to do with the surge of awakening she was wrong. It was in October last year that a very worried audience was glued to every word of a seminal address. To question or not to question, that is the question? Prof Thapar’s exhortation to India’s weak-kneed intellectuals was direct and urgent. Speak up or we all perish. After starting the fire, her modesty today doesn’t fit. People were expressing their outrage because they were outraged! Does that make sense? If outrage alone could bring about desired change, then nobody would need Lenin or Gramsci or Rosa Luxemburg I muttered to myself. On the other hand, an alternate scenario lurking in India warns us that unguided popular anger could produce a Robespierre too, perhaps dressed as a Hardik Patel, who knows. There is a real worry here despite the dominant left’s pursuit of last week’s mayoral elections in West Bengal. Remember this was the time when a popular prairie fire had begun. Just marvel at the communists’ bad sense of timing. A Bengali Marxist hero, former state finance minister Asim Dasgupta, was among the leading lights required to contest mayoral elections last week — he from the Salt Lake City where he lost. In Kerala, the party is lauding saint and social reformer Narayana Guru’s secular legacy to woo a low-caste community that holds the balance in the next assembly elections. An alternate scenario lurking in India warns us that unguided popular anger could produce a Robespierre. Across the road from the left’s pulpit, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a neo-liberal academic was suddenly berating Modi. His force of logic and candid appeal against Hindutva’s innate fascism had the flavour of an old page from the...

An ascendant Hindu nationalist group wants minority Muslims and Christians to accept that India is a nation of Hindus, and is pushing some of them to convert. An election in the volatile state of West Bengal has become a prime target in its game plan. The group's strategy: To spread its Hindu-first ideology to all corners of India by propelling the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power in as many states as possible. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) provided the foot soldiers in last year's landslide general election victory by Modi, who joined the movement in his youth. Winning states like West Bengal, outside the ruling party's traditional strongholds, would give Modi greater control over the upper house of parliament, which would put him in a better position to push through key policies. The game plan of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in the minority in the upper house, is to govern 20 of India's 31 regional legislative assemblies over the next four years, top party sources said. It currently controls or shares power in 11. Interviews with more than two dozen RSS and BJP officials and rare access to closed RSS meetings reveal a two-stage strategy — electoral victory at the national level, which has been achieved in the lower house of parliament, followed by similar success at the state level. "We would want the BJP to win all the state elections because only then can significant social, political and cultural changes take place in this country," RSS Joint General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale told Reuters. "The 2014 election victory should be seen as the starting point of a long term mission." Policy influence What also emerges is the impact the RSS is having on government rhetoric and decisions. Once scorned as a right-wing fringe group, the RSS is the ideological parent of the BJP. The Modi government has appointed RSS sympathisers to prominent positions in recent months. This includes the chairman of the Film and Television...

An ascendant Hindu nationalist group wants minority Muslims and Christians to accept that India is a nation of Hindus, and is pushing some of them to convert. An election in the volatile state of West Bengal has become a prime target in its game plan. The group's strategy: To spread its Hindu-first ideology to all corners of India by propelling the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power in as many states as possible. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) provided the foot soldiers in last year's landslide general election victory by Modi, who joined the movement in his youth. Winning states like West Bengal, outside the ruling party's traditional strongholds, would give Modi greater control over the upper house of parliament, which would put him in a better position to push through key policies. The game plan of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in the minority in the upper house, is to govern 20 of India's 31 regional legislative assemblies over the next four years, top party sources said. It currently controls or shares power in 11. Interviews with more than two dozen RSS and BJP officials and rare access to closed RSS meetings reveal a two-stage strategy — electoral victory at the national level, which has been achieved in the lower house of parliament, followed by similar success at the state level. "We would want the BJP to win all the state elections because only then can significant social, political and cultural changes take place in this country," RSS Joint General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale told Reuters. "The 2014 election victory should be seen as the starting point of a long term mission." Policy influence What also emerges is the impact the RSS is having on government rhetoric and decisions. Once scorned as a right-wing fringe group, the RSS is the ideological parent of the BJP. The Modi government has appointed RSS sympathisers to prominent positions in recent months. This includes the chairman of the Film and Television...

An ascendant Hindu nationalist group wants minority Muslims and Christians to accept that India is a nation of Hindus, and is pushing some of them to convert. An election in the volatile state of West Bengal has become a prime target in its game plan. The group's strategy: To spread its Hindu-first ideology to all corners of India by propelling the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power in as many states as possible. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) provided the foot soldiers in last year's landslide general election victory by Modi, who joined the movement in his youth. Winning states like West Bengal, outside the ruling party's traditional strongholds, would give Modi greater control over the upper house of parliament, which would put him in a better position to push through key policies. The game plan of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in the minority in the upper house, is to govern 20 of India's 31 regional legislative assemblies over the next four years, top party sources said. It currently controls or shares power in 11. Interviews with more than two dozen RSS and BJP officials and rare access to closed RSS meetings reveal a two-stage strategy — electoral victory at the national level, which has been achieved in the lower house of parliament, followed by similar success at the state level. "We would want the BJP to win all the state elections because only then can significant social, political and cultural changes take place in this country," RSS Joint General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale told Reuters. "The 2014 election victory should be seen as the starting point of a long term mission." Policy influence What also emerges is the impact the RSS is having on government rhetoric and decisions. Once scorned as a right-wing fringe group, the RSS is the ideological parent of the BJP. The Modi government has appointed RSS sympathisers to prominent positions in recent months. This includes the chairman of the Film and Television...

The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) has aired two syndicated radio programs titled “Constituency Hour” on Sunday, October 11, 2015; one each at Karachi and Sargodha as a part of its advocacy campaign for improving the standards of democratic governance at constituency level. The program involves the respective MPs of these constituencies in the radio shows and connects their constituents with them through a dialogue on the local issues. The programs were complemented by field based research stories - radio reports - produced by the CRSS reporters with the community members in these areas. The program in Karachi was fifth in the series with Ms. Naila Munir, MPA, RSW-155, Women Reserve Seat, Karachi as guest MP. The discussions revolved around the key issues of poor sewerage system, lack of play grounds and recreational opportunities, load shedding and cleanliness in the target constituency. The guest MPA, however believed that the Local Government System can prove extremely effective in resolving many of these issues. The sixth Constituency Hour in Sargodha hosted Dr. Nadia Aziz, PP-34, Sargodha-VII as guest MP. The program mainly discussed the issues of poor sewerage system and clean drinking water. Both the guest MPs expressed their firm resolve to stand up to the expectation of their respective constituents and solve the reported problems where possible. As part of this series, the CRSS has so far aired 28 syndicated radio programs covering a wide range of local issues and governance challenges being faced by the citizens of the five selected districts. The endeavors aim to connect the constituents of the target areas with their MPs through a dialogue on their issues and ensure citizen’s active political participation as a measure of enhancing standards of democratic governance at the constituency level. Supported by the IRI, the CRSS Constituency Hour radio campaign includes five live radio programs per month; one each in Mardan, Chardsadda,...

Top diplomat and moderator of a discussion at the launch of Khurshid Kasuri’s book in Mumbai said on Monday, that members of the Hindu right-wing Shiv Sena smeared black paint on his face to protest the book launch. Sudheendra Kulkarni, who is scheduled to moderate a discussion at the launch of Pakistan’s former foreign minister’s book Neither a Hawk, nor a Dove, said the incident took place in his car when he was en route to his office. The Shiv Sena had previously warned that officials at the Nehru Planetarium, the venue of the book launch, to cancel the function, otherwise the event would be disrupted. Despite the threats, Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, has assured ‘total security’ for the event. “For all foreigners, diplomats or foreign dignitaries who are allowed on a proper visa in our country, it’s the responsibility of our government to provide them security. Hence Mr Kasuri and the programme will be provided total security,” he said. “But this does not mean that we endorse all his views. No anti-India propaganda will be tolerated through any such programme, and if found so (sic), the organisers would be held responsible,” he added. However, just last week, in spite of assurances from Fadnavis, a concert by Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali was cancelled by the organisers following threats by the Shiv Sena. Maharashtra’s BJP spokesperson, Madhav Bhandari, said, “The party will look into the incident and take appropriate action against those involved.” Further, Kulkarni, in a press conference accompanied by Khurshid Kasuri, extended welcome to Kasuri and vowed that the book launch would go on as scheduled. This article originally appeared on The Times of India  

Top diplomat and moderator of a discussion at the launch of Khurshid Kasuri’s book in Mumbai said on Monday, that members of the Hindu right-wing Shiv Sena smeared black paint on his face to protest the book launch. Sudheendra Kulkarni, who is scheduled to moderate a discussion at the launch of Pakistan’s former foreign minister’s book Neither a Hawk, nor a Dove, said the incident took place in his car when he was en route to his office. The Shiv Sena had previously warned that officials at the Nehru Planetarium, the venue of the book launch, to cancel the function, otherwise the event would be disrupted. Despite the threats, Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, has assured ‘total security’ for the event. “For all foreigners, diplomats or foreign dignitaries who are allowed on a proper visa in our country, it’s the responsibility of our government to provide them security. Hence Mr Kasuri and the programme will be provided total security,” he said. “But this does not mean that we endorse all his views. No anti-India propaganda will be tolerated through any such programme, and if found so (sic), the organisers would be held responsible,” he added. However, just last week, in spite of assurances from Fadnavis, a concert by Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali was cancelled by the organisers following threats by the Shiv Sena. Maharashtra’s BJP spokesperson, Madhav Bhandari, said, “The party will look into the incident and take appropriate action against those involved.” Further, Kulkarni, in a press conference accompanied by Khurshid Kasuri, extended welcome to Kasuri and vowed that the book launch would go on as scheduled. This article originally appeared on The Times of India