In contemporary India, the rise of Hindutva—a right-wing ethno-nationalist ideology that equates Indian identity with Hindu cultural and religious primacy—has reshaped the political and social landscape. Promulgated by organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hindutva often manifests as an exclusionary force, marginalizing religious minorities, particularly Muslims, and flattening the pluralistic fabric of...
The Deficit of Karuna in India and Empathy in America
In recent years, two parallel narratives have emerged in India and the United States, each reflecting a troubling erosion of compassion in the socio-political spheres of these nations. In India, the rise of the Hindu right wing has been accompanied by a perceived deficit of karuna—the Sanskrit term for compassion, rooted in empathy and kindness toward all beings. In...
When Politics Drives Religion
I think hate politics is a form of civil war. It is a targeted marginalization of one section of citizens by those who enjoy hegemony. Under such conditions a community or section of citizenry is demonized and rendered second order citizenry using media and propaganda for political ends. It is one sided war raged by the ruling benches that...
The Republic of Hurt Sentiments and Secularism
Are we Indians disposed to easily being hurt? Indians are predisposed to claim hurt sentiment is said to be first elaborated by the law member of the East India Company , Thomas Babington Macaulay in his draft note on Indian penal code of 1837. In framing the chapter of the penal code on offences related to religion and caste,...
Neocolonialism and Hindu Rashtra
It appears that India is still haunted by modernity, colonialism and coloniality. The modern world as well as modern India is a co-invention of the colonizer and the colonized. Colonization was based on the what Anibal Quijano termed coloniality of power. Coloniality of power produced power differential that is viewed as colonial difference by Quijano. Colonial difference justified colonization...
Smart City and Democratic Governance
It is thought that a smart city enhances the quality of human life. This is why they are looked upon as smart ‘ livable spaces’. It is thought that a smart city will boost economic development , make services available without any hassles and improve citizens wellbeing. The smart polis reminds us of Aristotle’s Polis. Plato would not accept...
Between Closed and Unclosed Discourse
With Rahul Gandhi openly declaring that the fight of Congress in India as not simply with BJP and RSS but one that includes the Indian State, the BJP seemed to have acquired more ammunition to change to political discourse to the supposed treason of Rahul against the Indian state. In order to resist the discursive subject positions offered by...
Denegating the RSS-BJP Effect
By denying the 15th August 1947 as the independence day of our country, the RSS chief has broken the ‘We’ of our country. He has put our nation under erasure. Hence, we have the challenge to denegate his negation. Maybe Jacques Derrida might offer us ways to understand and respond to it. Denegation is not Hegelian anti-thesis. It is...
Can doing Ambedkar put BJP out of Fashion?
The controversial speech of the home mister Amit Shah has stirred feelings of anger among the Dalits. We can notice how people have demonstrated their pain and anger against the derogatory remarks of the H M. Congress and the opposition have already demanded apology and resignation of the H M. While the ruling BJP has tried to come out...
The Regimes of Time
We experience time as a regime. It imposes its discipline on us. A regime of time regiments time. It breaks time into past, present and the future. This regimentation of time also regiments or divides us. As we are at the threshold of a new year 2025 , it would be important to explore how we negotiate the borders...
