Was Gandhi ‘Hindian’? The redefining of India
5 years, 2 months ago

Was Gandhi ‘Hindian’? The redefining of India

Deccan Chronicle  

The controversy over a statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Manchester in northwest England is further confirmation of the official determination to redefine India. Gandhi had already been subjected to what the American scholar, Richard Fox, called “ideological hijacking” when Deen Dayal Upadhyaya borrowed terms like sarvodaya, swadeshi and gram swaraj for his political programme which the Jan Sangh adopted and is now the Bharatiya Janata Party’s creed. Ostentatious devotion to Lord Ram assures the gods that never mind the farmers’ suicides and the incarceration of dissenters in Kashmir, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi preside over a true “ram rajya”. As David Cameron’s chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, whom the wheel of political fortune has reduced to editing the Russian-owned free Evening Standard, described Philip Jackson’s bronze Gandhi outside the Houses of Parliament in London as “a lasting and fitting tribute to his memory in Britain”. Some weeks after the installation, a prominent English life peer with an interest in Indian affairs and highly placed friends in New Delhi asked me at a dinner party in St. John’s Wood in London what I thought of “the Gandhi statue”.

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History of this topic

‘…tarnish India's image’: Dhankhar's jab at Rahul Gandhi
1 year, 9 months ago

‘…tarnish India's image’: Dhankhar's jab at Rahul Gandhi

Hindustan Times  

Launching a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi for his controversial ‘democracy under attack’ speech in London, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said it is hurtful when people try to bring down a ‘rising India’ in a country abroad. Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Dhankhar said, "It is painful when some people among us try …

Rahul Gandhi’s London diatribe, Khalistani assaults and the politics of India’s subversion by Anglo-Americans
1 year, 9 months ago

Rahul Gandhi’s London diatribe, Khalistani assaults and the politics of India’s subversion by Anglo-Americans

Firstpost  

Rahul Gandhi’s denunciation in London of Indian democracy and its governing institutions is much more significant and consequential than the outrage among Indians suggests. To defend Rahul Gandhi’s extraordinary outbursts in London, one Congress spokesperson cited Modi’s alleged criticism of India abroad, when he apparently suggested Indians were ashamed to be born in their country. The denunciation of India’s basic …

A note from Pakistan: Why Gandhi matters beyond India’s borders
5 years, 3 months ago

A note from Pakistan: Why Gandhi matters beyond India’s borders

Hindustan Times  

Nation-states write their own histories. Both these figures – celebrated and decorated as they are with portraits everywhere – are irrelevant in today’s subcontinent This is what makes Gandhi a unique figure beyond the precincts of Indian national imagination. Watch: The Mahatma of Sabarmati Ashram | Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary The last time I met Mushirul Hasan, the celebrated historian …

Gandhi’s legacy being ‘forgotten’ amid rise of far right in India
5 years, 3 months ago

Gandhi’s legacy being ‘forgotten’ amid rise of far right in India

Al Jazeera  

At New Delhi’s Gandhi Smriti, a poignant memorial site on the spot where India‘s revered freedom fighter, Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated in 1948, visitors, noticeably more foreign than Indian, line up sombrely to offer homage. “Perhaps we have become a more consumerist and divisive society far removed from Gandhi’s teachings that such a world icon is neglected in his birthplace,” …

Learning to become a political activist
5 years, 3 months ago

Learning to become a political activist

Hindustan Times  

Gandhi recovering after being beaten up by a fellow Indian who felt that Gandhi had made a wrong compromise with South African officials, 1908 MK Gandhi’s 100th birth anniversary in 1969 was celebrated in South Africa at a time when the apartheid state ruled strong: significant black political organisations in the country were banned or forced into inactivity and individuals …

Seventy-one years later, Gandhi’s influence in India diminishes
5 years, 11 months ago

Seventy-one years later, Gandhi’s influence in India diminishes

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. On a mild winter day, Mohandas K Gandhi, more …

'Every institution Sardar Patel helped build is being smashed,' tweets Rahul Gandhi after Narendra Modi unveils Statue of Unity
6 years, 2 months ago

'Every institution Sardar Patel helped build is being smashed,' tweets Rahul Gandhi after Narendra Modi unveils Statue of Unity

Firstpost  

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘Statue of Unity’ of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in Gujarat. New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the government of “treason”, saying there was a “systematic destruction” of institutions that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had helped build. His remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘Statue of …

‘Shiv bhakts’ would have needed visa to visit Somnath, PM Modi takes a jibe at Rahul Gandhi
6 years, 2 months ago

‘Shiv bhakts’ would have needed visa to visit Somnath, PM Modi takes a jibe at Rahul Gandhi

Op India  

While inaugurating the world’s tallest statue, Statue of Unity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a jibe on Congress President Rahul Gandhi and said had it not been for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, ‘Shiv Bhakts’ would have needed a visa to visit Somnath. Junagadh, one of the most important states comprising of the Kathiawar region was ruled by Muhammad Mahabat Khanji …

Modi unveils towering statue of India’s independence leader
6 years, 2 months ago

Modi unveils towering statue of India’s independence leader

Al Jazeera  

The $430m Statue of Unity is being seen as PM Narendra Modi’s bid to undermine rivals in Nehru-Gandhi family. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a 182-metre statue, the world’s tallest, to honour Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the country’s founding fathers and its first home minister. Patel’s legacy has been frequently used by Modi to undermine his chief …

The apotheosis of Gandhi: A political project
6 years, 5 months ago

The apotheosis of Gandhi: A political project

Op India  

There is one particular song about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi that never fails to make me laugh with derision. The song titled ‘Sabarmati ke Sant’ isn’t merely a gross overestimation of Gandhi’s contribution but a massive disrespect to every freedom fighter who contributed to India’s struggle for Independence. Here is a portion of the lyrics: “धरती पे लड़ी तूने अजब ढब …

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