Narendra Modi

Published on 20th March, 2018, on theprint.in . Rahul Gandhi identifies his party, INC, with the Pandavas and ‘truth’, and Modi’s party (BJP) with the Kauravas and ‘power’. The Pandava/Kaurava binary is Hindu and mythological, aimed at the ‘Bharat’ vote bank, while the truth/power binary is standard western Left liberal, aimed at the ‘India’ vote bank. One can imagine, before the 2014 elections, Modi saying something similar – he, the meritorious outsider, fighting against the entitled prince. Every one imagines themselves to be Arjuna when reading the Gita! Everyone insists they are fighting for dharma, which continues to be mistranslated as righteousness. The binary divide, ..

Published on 21st November, 2016, on scroll.in. Modern liberalism believes in equality as well as diversity. And that is the problem, for equality is the very opposite of diversity. When Indian, British and American voters are choosing Narendra Modi, Brexit and Donald Trump, many commentators feel the voters are rejecting the virtue of equality that informs the Idea of India, the European Union and the US Constitution and are seeking to return to old inequalities. But what the voters are simply rejecting is homogeneity, the dark side of equality. The same is true when the Arab Spring fails. For the doctrine of equality in the ..