Hindutva

BJP's innovative attempts at forging a new national identity

Constructing a shared national identity is the typical challenge of pluralistic societies like India. However, the definition of Indianness is changing of late

Prove Savarkar apologised, late Hindutva ideologue's grandson tells Rahul

The grandson of late Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar has sought action against Rahul Gandhi for his comments and also challenged the Congress leader to show documents that prove he had apologised to the British. Gandhi's "My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone" remark has drawn fire from BJP. The former Congress chief made this remark while addressing a press conference after being disqualified from Lok Sabha. Calling such comments childish, Savarkar's grandson Ranjit Savarkar on Monday said, "Rahul Gandhi is saying he won't apologise as he isn't Savarkar. I challenge him to show documents that prove Savarkar apologised". "Using the names of patriots to promote politics is wrong and deplorable. Action must be taken," Savarkar said.

Arvind Kejriwal's radical transformation

Kejriwal may have shrewdly given up his secular positions, but he is no Hindutva hero. He has simply been able to sense which way the wind is blowing

Shivraj Patil's remarks another attempt by Congress to insult Hindutva: BJP

The BJP on Friday stepped up its attack against the Congress over its leader and former home minister Shivraj Patil's claim that Bhagavad Gita also spoke of jihad, saying that this is one more attempt by the opposition party to smear Hindutva. BJP national spokesperson Prem Shukla alleged that the Congress has long been involved in the conspiracy to "insult Hindu, Hindutva and Hindustan" and Patil's remarks are yet another chapter towards this. Congress leaders in the past have drawn a parallel between Hindutva with terror organisations like Boko Haram and Taliban, he alleged. Former Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and P Chidambaram had spoken about "saffron terror", he said. Gita is the philosophy of humanity, Shukla asserted. Patil on Thursday claimed that the concept of jihad was not just in Islam but also in Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture, and Christianity. Attacking the Congress, the BJP also accused it of playing vote bank politics. Speaking at the launch of Congress

Empowerment of Dalits at the core of Hindutva thought: BJP leader Paswan

Empowerment of Dalits is at the core of Hindutva thought and the Indian Constitution, a senior BJP leader has said, noting that significant progress has been made towards their empowerment in the 75 years of India's Independence. Though discrimination is talked about more in relation to the Dalits, it is important to know how the empowerment of the Dalits is at the core of Hindutva thought and the Indian constitution, BJP spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan said addressing the first edition of "Indic Dialogue" in New Jersey on Thursday. Paswan, who is currently touring the US, addressed an audience in Silicon Valley as well as Los Angeles on a "Dalit Bahujan Solidarity Network". His interactions with the Indian diaspora at the Dalit, Bahujan and Hindutva event in Los Angeles and San Jose on Policies of inclusivity and diversity of the Government of India were covered at Foundation for India and Indian Diasporic Studies (FIIDS) at Fremont in California. Assistant Professor of teaching

Prohibitory orders in Shivamogga city over Savarkar, Tipu Sultan flex row

As part of 76th Independence Day celebrations, one group had tried to tie Savarkar's flex to high mast light pole at the circle, to which other group objected and wanted to install Tipu Sultan's flex

Hindi, Hindu sans Hindutva

A fascinating account shows how much of the maverick writer and polymath's thinking was rooted in cosmopolitanism

Admit that you revolted to be safe from probe agencies: Raut to Sena rebels

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, "The rebel group should stop saying that they switched sides because Shiv Sena gave up Hindutva. Why malign Hindutva unnecessarily?"

Supreme Court to hear in October first week pleas on Gyanvapi mosque

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will await the Varanasi district judge's decision on the Gyanvapi mosque committee's application raising objections to the maintainability of the civil suit

Prime Minister Modi's outreach to pasmanda Muslims: A strategic pause?

The invention of "pasmanda Muslims plus Hindutva" also serves to confuse and destabilise an Opposition still trapped in its old political rhetoric

BJP supported us for Hindutva position, development agenda: Maha CM Shinde

Shinde said Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him to take the state forward, take it towards development and take forward development works

Three questions on Maharashtra

One brilliant move might enable you to snatch away power from the strongest. But it takes eternal vigilance-and smarts-to keep it. This is where the Thackerays proved to be a disaster

22 rebel MLAs came to Sena from NCP, they can't talk about Hindutva: Raut

Raut said, "The rebel MLAs supporting Eknath Shinde are saying their cause is to protect the Hindutva envisaged by party founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shinde hails Hindutva's victory as SC stays disqualification of rebel MLAs

After the SC's order, it is more likely that the rebel MLAs will now push for a floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly to prove the minority of the ruling MVA alliance

New Bharatiya Janata Party's troubled road ahead

The BJP will find it extremely difficult to calibrate the utterances of its loudmouths so as not to hurt Muslim sentiment and maintain good relations with the Muslim world

LSE alumna Nupur Sharma has always been firebrand votary of Hindutva

She first shot into the limelight as a student leader with RSS-affiliated ABV when she was elected the president of the Delhi University Students Union in 2008.

Autonomous Hindutva could devour both India and the Bharatiya Janata Party

In a formally secular India, religion indeed seems to have become the opium of the people, a mass distraction from the transformative social agenda that the country needs

Best of BS Opinion: Ukraine's hidden weapon, Political free-riding & more

Here are the top BS Opinion articles of the day

The free rider problem of Hindutva

Political free-riding happens everywhere because even though people don't actively espouse a cause, they don't disapprove of it enough either

Gyanvapi mosque: The situation in Varanasi portends a replay of 1992

This is a reminder of the lesson that the most effective tool for mass mobilisation in India is to march against the minorities