All Opposition parties are trying to differentiate Hinduism from Hindutva in the hope of weaning Hindu voters away from Hindutva. But this narrative plays into the BJP's hands, demoralises Muslim voters and other suffering minorities, and limits space for new ideas that can counter Hindutva successfully.
Freedom Gazette
Indians have often tried to convince themselves that India remains a largely tolerant and secular country. But several surveys and polls have proved that much of India remains conservative, undemocratic and intolerant. Liberal parties must build grassroots presence to change this reality.
Unlike dynastic politicians in the North, Jharkhand's Hemant Soren and Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin managed to win recent state elections. By doing so, they busted the myth that Indian politics is now turning against dynasty politics. And the reason they succeeded was ideological honesty and clarity.
The root of the India-Pakistan conundrum does not lie in the two countries’ inability to determine a permanent territorial boundary. Instead, the cause of perpetual conflict between India and Pakistan goes all the way back to the inception of the two countries as sovereign and independent states.
Despite widespread condemnation, caste continues to be a factor everywhere in India today, in our quotidian lives. Even our choices of abuse are casteist and we think it is harmless or innocuous as we have modernised as a society. Caste continues to persist through the lived experiences of people.
When European far-right parties won elections in 2017, they might have benefited from the refugee crises ravaging the continent. But since then, they have become far more savvy and intelligent and have used the media and the internet to popularise ideas that were previously considered unacceptable.
The president and the governors should transcend politics. The president must be allowed to prepare his own address to Parliament, rather than behave as a spokesperson for the prime minister. Governors must act as independent links between the Union and states rather than as partisan appointees.
In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, Mohamed Zeeshan spoke with Chris Kremidas-Courtney, a former NATO and U.S. Army veteran of 32 years and a senior fellow at the Brussels-based Friends of Europe. Chris spoke about the Ukraine conflict, how we got here, and what the war means for the world.
India's military ties with Russia are already suffering. But in addition, India's fence-sitting in Ukraine proves to Russia that it is not as reliable an ally as China, and to the West that it is not an ally at all. India ought to look within for what it stands for and what it hopes to achieve with its foreign influence.
While Biden has made significant progress towards revitalising America's commitment to multilateral institutions, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan left many U.S. allies feeling blindsided and betrayed. Coordinating with allies will be key if Biden wants to counter China and Russia.