Those who disagree politically not anti-national, are not enemies, but adversaries: Advani

By A Representative
In a sharply-worded critique of those at the top leadership in the BJP, party stalwart LK Advani, who has been "disowned" by his junior colleagues, has said that the party's conception of Indian nationalism "never regarded those who disagree ... politically as anti-national”.
The comment comes amidst efforts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah to paint the opposition, especially the Congress, during the current Lok Sabha poll campaign as anti-national.
In a blog he released ahead of the BJP's foundation day, April 6, Advani insists, "The party has been committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level." He adds, "The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Right from its inception, the BJP has never regarded those who disagree with us politically as our enemies, but only as our adversaries."
Advani says, "The guiding principle of my life has been ‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last'," claiming, "And in all situations, I have tried to adhere to this principle and will continue to do so."
He continues, "Defense of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the party and in the larger national setting,has been the proud hallmark of the BJP", contending , "BJP has always been in the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness and robustness of all our democratic institutions, including the media."
Recalling that the "heroic struggle against the Emergency rule" was meant to uphold India's democratic values, he says, "All of us should collectively strive to strengthen the democratic edifice of India."
According to him, "True, elections are a festival of democracy. But they are also an occasion for honest introspection by all the stakeholders in Indian democracy – political parties, mass media, authorities conducting the election process and, above all, the electorate."

Swaminarayan, untouchability and the 'we are not Hindu' argument

By Rajiv Shah Following my blog on why the Eiffel Tower authorities should take all the blame for giving in to the Swaminarayan sadhus ’ bizarre demand to “invisibilise” women, including its female staff, during their visit to the internationally renowned Paris tourist centre on September 5, an interesting comment by one of the top academics drew my attention to something I vaguely knew about one of India’s most powerful and richest religious sects.

From margins to microphones: The rise of Dalit hip-hop in India

By Tersina Maria Toppo* A protest does not always arrive as a slogan shouted from a street corner. Sometimes, it arrives on a beat. A microphone replaces the megaphone, a music video becomes a public square, and the smartphone becomes the space where a history once pushed to the margins is narrated, debated, and shared.

Xi Jinping’s visit to USA: Recognition that China can't be contained?

By Vijay Prashad President Xi Jinping’s forthcoming visit to the United States must be understood as more than an encounter between two heads of state, but it must be seen as an encounter between two possible futures. In one future, the United States imposes a spiral of confrontation against China. Trade disputes harden into economic warfare, then economic warfare intensifies into technological blockades, technological blockades produce military encirclement, and finally military encirclement creates incidents, and incidents the danger of becoming an unimaginable war.

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