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The Importance of Jaswant Singh

By on August 18, 2009 in Aside, Desi Pundit

Let’s stop whitewashing our history

Jaswant Singh’s new biography of Muhammad Ali Jinnah has quite predictably raised political hackles. The Congress which has long forgotten the distinction between the Nehru-Gandhi family and India has raised questions about Mr Singh’s nationalism. BJP, a party which has never shown much fondness for intellectual pursuits, has disassociated it self ”completely” from Jaswant Singh’s book with some leaders even demanding ”action” against the author.

But what is particularly disappointing is the response from the media. Barring some honorable exceptions–Karan Thapar’s interview with Jaswant Singh was particularly well done–the majority seems to view the book from the prism of current Indian politics. Or worse, question why BJP leaders are obsessed with Jinnah. Sample this comment from CNN-IBN’s National affairs’ editor,

This BJP craze for Jinnah is ridiculous. Why deify a partitionist when Maulana Azad harboured little ambition and worked for a united India?[link]

For one, Jaswant Singh has clearly stated that he has written his book as an Indian concerned about one of the most important events in modern Indian history (Not to mention that BJP is most embarrassed about Jinnah). For another, true history can never only be about the ”good guy”–it must involve those who shape history whether we like their politics or not. In that respect, Jinnah was definitely one of the most important and influential figures of Indian history.

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Taking a Break

By on April 5, 2009 in Aside

Bad timing but..

Pressing academic commitments mean this blog will be silent for the next three months though this silence may be punctuated by very occasional posts. Regular service is expected to resume from the first week of July.

You can however continue to follow Retributions on Twitter–it is expected to be updated at least for the next couple of months.

See you all on the other side. Be good.

Guest Post: A 10 Point Agenda for BJP

By on March 11, 2009 in Aside, Current Affairs, Desi Pundit, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Media/BlogWatch, Politics, Religion, Security

Towards a better polity

By Harsh Gupta

The BJP is the only party which can be both truly nationalist and truly liberal – and while it has many defects it is much closer to those ideals, compared to other parties. The other parties are pseudo-secular and throwback leftists- these communal socialists believe in vote banks and socially engineered populism to cling to power.

Agendas must be both principled, yet practical politically and policy-wise. In that cautiously optimistic spirit, I propose a 10-point agenda for the BJP (this agenda is partially a result of discussions with INI fellows, but I am responsible for the final document and it it does not indict any of them)

1. On governance the BJP must support, as a principle, smaller states and more power to local governments. Residents of Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh have received better governance since their states’ creation, and so will residents of a future Telengana, parts of a further trifurcated UP, and so on. Also, states must be incentivized to allow direct mayoral elections for cities, and more financial powers for panchayats.

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Happy New Year!

By on December 31, 2008 in Aside

May it bring good tidings

Retributions wishes all its readers a very happy and prosperous new year.

Keep readings. And as The Acorn would say, thanks for helping with my education.

p.s In case you have not noticed, Retributions is now on Twitter too. Hop on for gyan in small doses. Subscribe or follow via  sidebar.

Pragati’s Print Edition

By on October 26, 2008 in Aside

Tell us

We have been contemplating taking Pragati to the next level–a print edition. In order to make our model sustainable, we need more information. Help us by answering this simple online survey. If you have already answered the survey as a subscriber to Pragati’s digital edition, then please don’t do it again. Please feel free to forward the link to friends/relatives/acquaintainces or anyone whom you consider a potential subscriber to Pragati’s print edition.

Tell us here.

Dear Amit Varma

By on August 19, 2008 in Aside, Current Affairs, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Media/BlogWatch, Public Policy, Religion, Security

A question of power

Echoing Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, Amit Varma asks,

  1. 1] Frame an argument, or even your position on the subject, that states why Kashmir should remain part of India.
  2. 2] Then replace the word ‘India’ with ‘the British empire’, and ‘Kashmir’ with ‘India’.[link]

Now, the secession argument is terribly complex. Taken to its logical conclusion, what stops Malviya Nagar or Andheri from declaring independence? Or indeed, an individual to declare himself as a republic of one and refuse to abide by the law? But leaving aside such issues, lets tackle the larger question.

Aiyar, and by extension Varma, display a classic misunderstanding of imperialism: The fundamental logic behind imperialism is the same which has underlined geo-politics since ages and continues to do so: Power. Imperialism was never an end by it self but merely an exercise in advancing national interest by using the instrument of military conquest. In that respect, it was no different from Alexander’s wars or the Mughal empire or any of the great empires of world history. Unfortunately, much of modern discourse has focused on outward symbols of imperialism–White Man’s burden for example–while ignoring its manifest logic. India was colonized simply because Indian people were unable to protect themselves. And when the British left India, it was simply because the cost of ruling India outweighed the benefits. The struggle between Indians and the British may have been couched in lofty moral terms but at its heart it was a power struggle.

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Happy Independence Day

By on August 14, 2008 in Aside

India turns 61

A very happy independence to all readers of this blog.

p.s I am back from the rather extended work and travel related break. Regular blogging resumes from tomorrow.

Blogging and Mainstream Media

By on April 1, 2008 in Aside

A War of Ideas

The Indian media’s reaction to blogging has been marked by two divergent trends. On one hand, almost all major Indian media houses-especially television channels-have embraced blogging by hosting blogs on their site while many top journalists utilize popular blogging platform like Blogspot and WordPress. No doubt, some of the blogs are merely a place holder for columns-nevertheless, a few of them, at least, carry genuinely interesting articles.

Despite this reluctant embrace, the mainstream media remains unapologetically hostile to blogging as an independent concept. Columnists in the Times of India and Outlook have dismissed blogging as a passing fad; a giant talking shop for people who have little knowledge about real India and who seem perpetually on the offensive. Leading media luminaries as Barkha Dutt have made sweeping generalizations about bloggers as if they are monolithic voice with no disagreements or divergence of views. While bloggers would be the first to accept the importance and relevance of mainstream media (MSM), it would be hard to find an Indian journalist who would praise-even in the passing-bloggers.

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