When the Babri Masjid was demolished by the Hindutvavadis, I was the president of the Sahitya Akademi in Delhi. I tried to encourage everybody across the country to discuss Gora. This work is critical to my study of Hindutva. I urge the readers, to study Gora in order to understand my brief thoughts on it.

One dreams of the well-being of mankind, a green earth and a clear sky. A dream of Gandhi’s ahimsa. A dream where man works for a living, uses the benefits of science wisely and makes sure the environment is not destroyed. Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj envisaged such an India. Modi’s victory is in direct opposition to that dream. His triumph has moved

Godse’s final speech should be compared with Modi’s fervent words of patriotism. When Godse could find no other way to put an end to Gandhi’s all-powerful influence in the country, he killed him. The Congress, which somehow managed to obtain nuclear friendship with the United States, allowed Savarkar plus Modi to occupy the space vacated by Gandhi.

Evil might not be in the heart of the jungle, of anarchy, but at the core of a theory of control or sovereignty as embodied in the nation state.

The unity that Gandhi desired was one in which everyone retained their faith, preserved their own unique cultures and accepted ahimsa. Unity comes naturally to those who live in harmony despite their differences.

A brutalized Modi worshipping a miniature picture of Gandhi is a travesty – just as justifying the pogrom in Gujarat as an act of valour becomes a travesty of the ethical act. Gandhi, not bothered about a sentimental past, challenges the pettiness of present practices. All he wants is the everydayness of good conduct.

Nehru is critical of Hind Swaraj. In a letter that Gandhi writes to this dear disciple of his in 1945, here is what he says: ‘You are going to be the leader of independent India. But you don’t seem to have read my Hind Swaraj.’ Nehru’s affectionate and respectful reply was, ‘I read it long ago. I do not agree with your views. India’s villages are

An examination of how Napoleonism gives rise to the desire for nation building, evident in the histories of every country, allows us to understand why Gandhi and Tagore were opposed to the idea of nationhood. Our belief in nationalism leads to a loss of our everyday morality. Raskolnikov couldn’t help the presence of this everyday morality in his

While Savarkar’s writing stems from a heightened emotional state, Gandhi’s passes through the sieve of introspection. Deliberation is not a characteristic of modern civilization. The visual media thinks in a rush of relentlessly moving images. It is quite natural then for present-day Savarkarites to think that Gandhi’s writing, which looked for the