'...Modi's emphatic victory in the 2014 elections was widely attributed to his having focused on the agenda of economic modernization - that is to say, the need to nourish technological innovation, to make manufacturing viable again, to create better infrastructure, and to improve transparency and efficiency in government. Those loyal to the BJP and Hindutva had, of course, voted for him.
'From all accounts, Superintendent of Police Pankaj Choudhary played a stellar role in ensuring that three deliberately crafted incidents of violence in Nainwa and Khanpur in Bundi district, Rajasthan, didn’t turn into a bloody communal riot. Among the measures he took was to arrest 11 activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.
'Welcoming RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks on construction of a Ram temple during his lifetime, the Shiv Sena Saturday said he should announce a date for its commencement, reported Press Trust of India. “We welcome the stand taken by Mohan Bhagwat on the issue. He should now announce a date for the commencement of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya to give an impetus to the issue….
'Renowned historian Ramchandra Guha on Saturday said he believes that the government at the Centre led by Narendra Modi is the most "anti-intellectual" the country ever had and is manifested in the appointments it had made in various educational and cultural institutions.
'A day after Mohan Bhagwat said he was confident of seeing the Ram Temple built in his lifetime, the RSS chief, in a series of tweets on Thursday, urged society to prepare the ground for it. “The temple will be built within my lifetime… We need to plan it carefully… (we need) a good mix of ‘josh’ and ‘hosh’,” Bhagwat had said in Kolkata on Wednesday. While he said that the Ram Temple could be built anywhere, Bhagwat added that Ayodhya was the birthplace of Ram. “Just as terrorists attacked the twin towers of World Trade Centre in the US because it was their economic centre.
'The BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha election of 2014 was the result of a strategy that concentrated single-mindedly on building up Narendra Modi as a national leader who could salvage India from what the media projected as the mess created by the Congress Party during the previous three or four years. That regime was marred by corruption scandals and a pervasive sense that Manmohan Singh had failed to rein in corrupt ministers and allies.
'Former Maharashtra inspector general of police SM Mushrif on Thursday described the activists of RSS as 'India's number one terrorist organisation'. Mushrif was quoted saying at an event in Kolkata: “RSS activists have been chargesheeted in at least 13 cases of terror acts in which RDX has been used. If organisations like Bajrang Dal are taken into the account, then the number of such cases goes up to 17.”
'Ongoing efforts to give legitimacy and legal sanction to hate speech has taken another step forward with Subramanian Swamy’s case coming up for a hearing before the Supreme Court. A case of hate speech was filed against Subramanian Swamy for his book on 'Terrorism in India' under Sections 153A of the Indian Penal Code. Dr Swamy has challenged the constitutionality of the sections of the IPC dealing with hate speech, saying they curtail free speech...
The leader: 12 December is the 143rd birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue BS Moonje. He was the mentor of KB Hedgewar and helped him shape the RSS.
The outfit: Moonje founded the Central Hindu Miltary Education Society which runs the Bhonsala Military School in Nashik. The School was named in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blasts.
More in the story: What is the BJP's view of Moonje? Why associating with Moonje's outfit can harm the BJP? What was Moonje's association with Benito Mussolini?
'Delhi University’s Sanskrit department and the RSS-backed Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN) will be holding a seminar on November 24 to discuss the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry’s ‘New Education Policy-2015’. The seminar, whose final report will be sent to HRD minister Smriti Irani, will also have educationist Dinanath Batra delivering the keynote lecture on changes required in education.
