In the charged arena of Indian politics, data has become a powerful weapon in the struggle for control. On August 7, 2025, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a key figure in the Indian National Congress, held a press conference presenting meticulously curated data alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections....
The Speaking Data: Rahul Gandhi’s Allegations of Electoral Manipulation and the Echoes of Truth
Data is not merely numbers or statistics confined to spreadsheets; it has a social and political life, wearing human faces that tell stories of trust, betrayal, and democratic integrity. In early August 2025, Congress Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ignited a firestorm in Indian politics by releasing what he called an “atom bomb” of evidence, accusing the Election Commission...
The Growing Preference for Roman Script in Writing Hindi
The use of Roman script to write Hindi, often termed “Roman Hindi” or “Hinglish,” has become increasingly popular, particularly in digital and informal communication. This trend is evident in social media platforms like X, where users frequently employ Roman Hindi for its convenience, accessibility, and alignment with modern communication habits. By examining specific posts on X, we can understand...
Provincializing Hindu Nationalism
The concept of “provincializing” Hindu nationalism, inspired by Dipesh Chakrabarty’s seminal work Provincializing Europe (2000), seeks to interrogate the universalizing claims of Hindu nationalist ideology while situating it within the specific historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts of postcolonial India. Hindu nationalism, often articulated through the ideology of Hindutva, presents itself as a universal framework for Indian identity, rooted in...
Language Wars in India: Resistance is Not Treason, Imposition Is Anti-National
India’s rich tapestry of languages and cultures has long been a source of pride, yet it has also been a battleground for linguistic conflicts. The imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking regions like Maharashtra and South India, as well as the enforcement of the Nagri (Devanagari) script on Goans who use the Roman script, has sparked fierce resistance. This...
(M)olitics in India–An Ideological Spectacle around Modi?
In the pulsating chaos of Indian democracy, politics has undergone a peculiar metamorphosis, a transformation so profound that it demands a new term: (M)olitics . This is not merely politics modified but Modi-eized, a term that captures the ideological alchemy of PM Narendra Modi’s hegemony, where the political is sublimated into a spectacle of moliticks—a tick-like parasitic attachment to...
Why “Secularism” and “Socialism” Must Remain in the Preamble
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has recently called for the removal of the words “secularism” and “socialism” from the preamble of the Indian Constitution, igniting a contentious debate. Some frame this demand around the historical context of their inclusion—during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency in 1976—suggesting they were political impositions. However, this perspective misses the core issue: these terms are not...
The MODI Syndrome: A Lens on India’s Political Illusion
In a scathing critique of contemporary Indian politics, journalist Sagarika Ghose has coined the term “MODI Syndrome” to describe what she perceives as a troubling approach to governance. The acronym MODI—standing for Misinformation, Opacity, Distraction, and Incompetence—offers a framework to analyze the strategies that, according to critics, have come to define the current administration’s playbook. Far from aligning with...
Loyalty or Dissent and its Costs for Goa
On June 18, 2025, Goa’s Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude was unceremoniously dropped from the state cabinet, a decision that coincided with Goa Revolution Day—a symbolic irony not lost on observers. The move came barely three weeks after Gaude publicly alleged corruption in the Department of Tribal Welfare, a portfolio directly overseen by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Gaude’s...
Contesting Oversimplification of Decolonial Theory and Counterposing Decolonial Goan-ness
Decolonial theory, as articulated by scholars like Walter D. Mignolo and applied in contexts like J. Sai Deepak’s India That Is Bharat, has gained traction as a framework for challenging Eurocentric knowledge systems and colonial legacies. However, its application, particularly in Deepak’s work, raises critical concerns about essentialism, historical oversimplification, and its co-optation by exclusionary nationalist agendas. Furthermore, Mignolo’s...
