bjp

How Modi pipped Advani for the ‘Pradhan Sevak’ prize

It is hard to have escaped the mania our fellow citizens seemed to have been gripped by recently, on the first of the so-called Janata Curfews. Those impressed by Narendra Modi’s ‘humble’ words being heeded by millions could do well to ask why the man chose not to use his popularity to stem the ‘riots’ that rattled the capital this year. The answer, for those not blinded by chauvinism, is rather simple – he’s a product of an organisation that wants a man just like him as our prime [...]

Remember, Remember, the 6th of December

Remember, Remember, the 6th of December, the axes, the hammers, that would dismember a mosque and a nation that has since then - only walked on embers. - Akhil Katyal Indian democracy has seen multiple black dots in its 70 years of history. From emergency declared by Indira Gandhi to 2002 Gujarat riots, one event that stands out in this period is the demolition of Babri Masjid. On 6th December 1992, thousands of Kar Sevaks mobilized by Hindu outfits like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya S[...]

Reading Lenin by Vijay Prashad

In March this year, after winning the Tripura assembly elections, BJP cadres demolished the statue of Vladimir llyich Lenin in the Belonia town in south Tripura. Lenin was not only a supporter of worker-peasant movements but also a supporter of anti-colonial struggles. 'Liberation of all colonies' and 'liberation of all dependent, oppressed and unequal nations' was at the heart of the programme of the Bolshevik Party. The statue demolition galvanized the farmers in the Kisan Long March organi[...]

Activist Arrests in India Are Part of a Dangerous Global Trend to Stifle Dissent

On Tuesday morning, the police from the Indian city of Pune (in the state of Maharashtra) raided the homes of lawyers and social activists across India and arrested five of them. Many of them are not household names around the world, since they are people who work silently on behalf of the poor and oppressed in a country where half the population does not eat sufficiently. Their names are Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Varavara Rao. What unites these peop[...]

In the land called hunger

As the kisan rally marched into Mumbai, all eyes were on one man, the CPI(M) MLA from Surgana and Kalwan constituencies. He organised the potable water and food packets. He sent messages to party colleagues in Mumbai and Delhi. Above all, he egged on the 35,000 peasants through personal example, he walked shoulder to shoulder with them. And the peasants marched with him, they trusted him.          Comrade Jiva Gavit Even when the peasants walked through Mumbai at midnight (so as not t[...]