It is an ambitious vision. But the path to it should be pragmatic. In today’s context the path should mean leaner government, ease of doing business, greater investments, massive employment generation and greater integration with the global economy, not just as a beneficiary, but as a contributor. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about Atmanirbhar […]
Traditionally power and strength are associated with size of a nation. The conventional wisdom is that bigger and more populous nations will be stronger and powerful. Conversely, smallness is equated with weakness. The smaller a nation is, the weaker its role and influence would be, it is surmised. Author R. James Breiding challenges this conventional […]
Israel is a country that fascinates many. A tiny Jewish island surrounded by largely hostile and many times bigger Arab countries, Israel has defied conventional understanding of statecraft to emerge as one of the developed, strong and courageous nations kindling a romantic imagination about the uniqueness of its people, and the government. I have been […]
Part 1: On the night of August 14-15, 1947, when India was celebrating its independence, the architect of the independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi was not among the revellers. When his protégé Jawahar Lal Nehru was making that epochal speech about ‘India’s tryst with destiny’, and the ministers of his new cabinet were taking the oath […]
Damnatio Memoriae is a Latin phrase roughly meaning ‘erasing bad memory’. Although the phrase came into vogue much later, the practice dated back to the Greek and Roman periods in the European history. Erection of statues, not of men of God or of wisdom, but of power was a practice prevalent during those times. At […]
Ayodhya represents a shared sentiment of sacredness, not merely because of its association with Ram, but also because of the value system it represents. Every nation has its sacred spaces and every religion its sacred places. Culture determines the sacredness of physical and metaphysical spaces. Cultures are the soul of nations. Nations create their sacred […]
The long-suppressed soul of the Indian nation finds utterance in the form of these two historical symbols of Hindu faith. It was a struggle of five centuries. Hindus never accepted Babur’s commander Mir Baqi’s vandalism of the temple at the sacred site in Ayodhya, considered the birthplace of Bhagwan Ram. As happened in parts of […]
The people of J&K do not want violence. Terror is down. A nationalist, pro-development leadership is emerging Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Srinagar in May 2018. It was Ramzan and the Union home ministry had announced a unilateral ceasefire in the state. The prime minister was there to inaugurate several development projects. “My appeal to […]
With rising authoritarianism and a crisis of democracy, the world needs new ideas. Can India show the way? Weak minds discuss people; average minds discuss events; strong minds discuss ideas,” said Greek philosopher Socrates. People and events dominate public discourse because they matter to the bread and butter issues of the people. But then, as […]
It has been almost one year since Jammu and Kashmir lost the special status granted to it by Articles 370 and 35A. National general secretary of BJP Ram Madhav tells Bhavna Vij-Aurora that the abrogation of Article 370 has led to “strengthening of the voices of India” in the youngest Union territory. It has also exposed local political leaders […]
