Silence on Preamble words good
An assurance to this extent was given in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha by the Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghawal. It felt good to hear that the government has not initiated any legal or Constitutional process to remove the words from the Preamble, though RSS general Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale clarified in their official publication that these two terms were added to the Preamble during the Emergency.
Dr T Ramadas,Visakhapatnam
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India Today
26 minutes ago
- India Today
Why Modi feels the need to demolish Nehru
Narendra Modi has always been a consummate performer: give him a stage, a mike, and a captive audience and the prime minister will more often than not be a showstopper. For 102 minutes in the Lok Sabha this week, Mr Modi was doing what he relishes most: talking about himself in third person while relentlessly targeting the speech may have been a tad too long, but since the prime minister speaks so rarely in Parliament, few will grudge him the extra air time. And yet, while Modi punched hard at his critics on the government's handling of Operation Sindoor, there was a familiar name from the past that kept recurring throughout the speech. On 14 occasions, the prime minister referred to the 'sins' of one of his predecessors, Jawaharlal Nehru. Which leads one to ask: what explains Modi's Nehru fixation?advertisementNehru died in May 1964 when Modi was in his early teens. Since then, India has had 13 different prime ministers, including Modi himself. The prime minister's first tryst with politics was in the Indira Gandhi era. It was, after all, the fight against the Emergency as a student activist in 1975 that kickstarted his political career. If there is any past prime minister Modi should feel aggrieved with, it ought to be Indira who arrested him and many hundreds of RSS swayamsevaks in the Emergency years. So, why is Indira so rarely the object of his derision while Nehru almost always is? Firstly, it must be emphasised that Nehru was unarguably the most committed 'secular' prime minister the country has seen. For him, a non-discriminatory, vigilant secularism was an article of faith, core to his wider political thought system. The fervent desire to ensure that India never became a 'Hindu Rashtra' or a 'Hindu Pakistan' meant that he often tangled with Hindutva forces, making every effort to marginalise, even ostracise them. The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse only firmed up his resolve to challenge Hindu communalism at every juncture, seeing it as fundamentally antithetical to his idea of a plural, multi-religious the RSS then, Nehru was the prime 'enemy', someone who they viscerally hated at an ideological and political level. By contrast, Indira Gandhi was a leader who the RSS felt they could engage with and even secretly admired for her staunch 'nationalistic' credentials, which in her later years was also embellished with a distinct 'soft Hindu' Modi, who grew up in the womb of the Sangh Parivar, Nehru was inevitably always seen as a villainous figure who had tried to crush the saffron brotherhood. One of the most influential figures in shaping Modi's political beliefs is the RSS's longest-serving chief, MS Golwalkar, better known as 2008, Modi authored a book titled Jyotipunj (Beams of Light) in which he retold the biographies of 16 RSS men who had inspired him. Pride of place was given to Guru Golwalkar who was compared to Buddha, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Through his long tenure as RSS sarsanghchalak from 1940 to 1973, Golwalkar saw Nehru as his principal adversary, as someone who was preventing Hindutva from gaining wider acceptability. In 1952, the RSS journal Organiser even wrote that 'Nehru would live to regret the failure of universal adult franchise in India'. When the Guru could have such deep animus to India's first prime minister, could his ardent follower be far behind?advertisementThe second reason for the acrimonious Modi versus Nehru battle must lie with the Congress party itself. Post Nehru's demise, the Congress party effectively elevated Nehru into a demi-god rather than a democratically elected leader of post-Independence India. It meant that there was a hagiographic narrative built around Nehru which prevented a serious debate on the achievements and mistakes of a prime ministerial tenure stretching 17 long years. Preventing a more critical analysis of Nehru in the Congress era – be it on socialism or his Kashmir and China policies -- meant that the BJP seized on the opportunity once in power to systematically undermine the Nehruvian legacy at every raises a third contentious issue: the rise of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. The post-Nehru Congress has been principally shaped by the dominance of dynastical politics, revolving around a single family. It was Indira Gandhi who made the party a family inheritance and yet somehow Nehru is accused of being the progenitor of the 'dynastical' principle when the reality is that it was Lal Bahadur Shastri who was his chosen historian Ram Guha writes, 'The actions of his descendants have deeply damaged Nehru's reputation.' Not only was Nehru engraved in statues, his name was etched in public consciousness by a renaming spree that focused on him and other Gandhi-Nehru family members. A Right to Information query in 2013 pointed out that over 450 schemes, building projects and institutions were named after three family members: Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi. Once again, this blind adoration, bordering on outright chamchagiri, has given a Modi-led BJP an opportunity to target Nehru through the actions of his leads one to make a final key point on Modi's Nehru fixation. For a larger-than-life prime minister who only last year saw himself as a 'non-biological God', Nehru alone stands between him and a yearning to be recognised as India's greatest prime minister. Having only just surpassed Indira Gandhi as the prime minister with the longest continuous tenure in office, only Nehru remains between Modi and an impressive statistical this isn't just about a record-breaking numbers game. Modi needs to ceaselessly focus on Nehru to convince his followers that he is the first prime minister to totally break away from the Nehruvian idea of India and reshape and build a 'new' India based on principles which the RSS is fiercely aligned the RSS looks to glorify a civilisational past and ancient Hindu scriptures, Nehru was seeking to build a modern society based on reason and science. To shatter the Nehruvian monopoly over ideas, Modi needs to demolish the man himself. The only way to do that is to attack every decision that Nehru took, be it on foreign policy or on the domestic front. Then, be it dismantling the Planning Commission or now suspending the Indus Water Treaty, the larger aim is clear: downsize Nehru by highlighting his flaws and negating his many achievements. In the process, Modi and his cheerleaders are making a cardinal mistake: the more you slander Nehru with half-truths and lies, the more he comes alive in the public Amidst the recent 'retirement' at 75 years buzz, I asked a BJP leader when, if ever, Prime Minister Modi might consider giving up the chair. 'Not till 2031 at least,' was the response. Why? 'Because that's the year Modi will overtake Nehru to become India's longest-serving PM!'(Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior journalist and author. His latest book is 2024: The Election That Surprised India)- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Narendra Modi
News18
39 minutes ago
- News18
Bangladesh Outfit Backed By Turkish NGO Was Behind Anti-India Map: Jaishankar In Parliament
Last Updated: Jaishankar's written statement came in response to a question in Rajya Sabha by Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has told the Parliament that the Centre has taken note of an Islamic group in Dhaka — Saltanat-e-Bangla — which published a map of 'Greater Bangladesh" and included parts of India. The Minister said that the group is backed by a Turkish NGO, identified as the 'Turkish Youth Federation". Jaishankar's written answer came in response to a starred question by Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala in the Rajya Sabha. He said that the map in question was displayed at Dhaka University. 'The Government has taken note of reports that an Islamist group in Dhaka called the 'Saltanat-e-Bangla', backed by a Turkish NGO called the 'Turkish Youth Federation', has put out a map of the so-called 'Greater Bangladesh' that includes parts of India. The map was displayed in the Dhaka University," a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs quoted the Minister as saying. Jaishankar said that the government is closely monitoring the developments having implications for national security and is taking necessary steps to safeguard it. 'The Government of Bangladesh fact-checker platform, 'BanglaFact', claimed that there is no evidence of 'Saltanat-e-Bangla' operating in Bangladesh. It further clarified that the 'map' was displayed at a historical exhibition in reference to the so-called earlier Bengal Sultanate," the statement said. More to follow… view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Founded by Savarkar, revived by Godse's niece: Abhinav Bharat ‘vindicated', hails Malegaon acquittals
Originally floated by freedom fighter V D Savarkar in 1904 to carry out an armed struggle against the British and revived in post-Independence India, the Abhinav Bharat hit the headlines almost two decades ago after some of its members, including Lt Col Prasad Purohit, were accused of masterminding the 2008 Malegaon blasts. On Thursday, as a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court acquitted all the accused in the case, Milind Joshirao, a Pune resident who claims to be the organisation's head, said false allegations had been levelled against the outfit and the term 'saffron terror' was coined. 'The judgment shows that all allegations against Abhinav Bharat and Hindus arrested in the bomb blast case were false,' he said, hailing the verdict. Savarkar, also a Hindutva ideologue, had dissolved Abhinav Bharat in 1952, saying there was no need for an armed struggle in independent India and urged the youth to join the defence forces to serve the country. It was revived only in 2006 in Raigad by his brother Narayan's daughter-in-law Himani Savarkar, along with a group of historians, intellectuals, and activists. Himani, who later became the President of the revived organisation, is the daughter of Gopal Godse, the elder brother of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse. According to Himani, Abhinav Bharat, which was registered as a Trust on February 9, 2007, was revived to 'generate a sense of patriotism among youth,' create awareness on social issues and apprise them about 'injustice being meted out against Hindus'. The organisation aimed to fulfil its aims through lectures, discussions and seminars in colleges and public platforms within and outside Maharashtra. According to investigators who probed the Malegaon blasts, the Abhinav Bharat was an 'organised crime syndicate' whose members had been active since 2003. It was alleged that Lt Col Purohit, who was accused of procuring explosives from Kashmir for the attack, played a key part in the organisation's revival. Investigators also claimed that the Abhinav Bharat wanted to 'turn India into a Hindu Rashtra called Aryavart and place a government-in-exile' as its members were 'dissatisfied with the Constitution'. Its members were also accused of planning to train people in guerrilla warfare to eliminate people who opposed a Hindu Rashtra. 'It is unfortunate that an organisation undertaking constructive activities for society was harassed,' Purohit said after the verdict. Maharashtra ATS chargesheet claimed that Himani, in her statement, mentioned that Purohit discussed the Malegaon location during a meeting in Bhopal for taking revenge against Muslims. However, in a January 2009 interaction with The Indian Express she denied making any such mention in her statement during the probe. She passed away in 2015. Her son Satyaki Savarkar said his mother 'suffered a lot due to this case as false narratives of saffron terrorism were propagated'. Another acquitted member of the Abhinav Bharat, Ajay Rahirkar, was the treasurer of the organisation at the time of his arrest in 2008. Investigators alleged that Rahikar's house in Erandwane of Pune served as the 'head office' of Abhinav Bharat. However, Rahikar's advocate Nitin Apte said the body is a registered Trust and was not banned by the government. Joshirao, whom the NIA declared hostile, said though Abhinav Bharat was branded as an extremist outfit and its documents were seized, it continued to work in the 'national interest'. 'I had told the court on record how I was threatened by ATS officers to implicate RSS leaders and (Uttar Pradesh CM) Yogi Adityanath,' he said.
