More and more people becoming aware of the language and grammar of the apologists is the only way to defeat their nefarious designs. And, this is the need of the hour. Else, apologists masquerading as academics or rights activists or even celebrities and authors may create a smokescreen of narratives, which may lead to blunting of response of the Government against perpetrators of terrorism. Hence, while cracking down on terrorists, an iron-willed action is needed against the terror sympathisers as ..

Speed is good if it is regulated in a manner that it does not become the cause of an accident. Scale is fine if it does not lead to compromise with quality. When the leaders talk of ‘speed and scale’ in the same breath, then they must ensure that both the concepts together yield positive results only for the Indian society, and the negative aspects are taken care of in a well-rounded manner. Else, the economic bloom may wilt because of lack of quality in, and moral degeneration of, the human resource ..

First they manufactured tured distorted history of India as that of defeats and subjugation. Then, they peddled fake narratives. Then, they used a blend of distorted history and fake narratives to sow an inferiority complex among Indians. Then, they glorified the invaders and colonialists by attributing credit of everything good and great in India to them. Then, they started sowing seeds of discord in society by attaching the labels of castes and religion to even the great Indian warriors and saints ..

Cultural Marxism’ is the intellectual elaboration of a ‘will-to-destroy’ as it pertains to traditional cultural and societal bastions. Karl Marx had a will-to-destruction, and ‘The Communist Manifesto’ is a handbook for the destruction of whatever remained in this late epoch of the West of the organic bonds such as family, marriage, faith and the pre-capitalist attachment to village, church, and land. Rather than decrying the destruction of these organic bonds, Marx regarded them as ‘bourgeois’ institution..

Whether or not the USAID provided funds for ‘voter turnout’ in India, it certainly funded several projects in India since 1951. Despite this, if the recent data coming out about USAID’s presence in India is shrouded only in trading of political charges, a comprehensive look at the impact of the foreign institutions like the USAID on the Indian collective thinking and governance may not be assessed, thereby drowning the likelihood of shaping of the Indian response to foreign funding in petty politics...

The word ‘life’ reflects a set of values with positive attributes relating to physical, mental, spiritual, social, cultural health. Whereas, the word ‘lifestyle’ has become synonymous with access to several things enabled only by economic aspect in one’s lifespan. Unfortunately, in the era of consumerism, many of the youngsters tend to misinterpret lifestyle as the core value of life. Such a skewed thinking often leads one to the path of broken relationships, fear of introspection, and following superficia..

Several announcements clearly fall in the category of freebies or doles. Still, there appears to be a sinister competition among the political parties in this regard. There was a time when the freebies were viewed as something bad and harmful to the progress of the country. That does not appear to be the case now. More saddening is the fact that the people of Delhi, who have voted for the AAP’s previous promises previously, do not appear to realise that doles also come at a cost. ..

Understanding the battle of narratives helps in knowing if something is authentic or not. As various ideologies, political, socio-cultural identities are competing for space, a lot is being invested in this battle these days. Though the attempt of those peddling false narratives has not succeeded beyond creating ripples for a while, its presentation in an easy-to-consume format creates favourable perception in favour of an entity. False or fake narratives pose greater danger in the future than now. ..

There is a difference between ‘scoring marks’ in academics and ‘making a mark’ in life. The ‘marks’ have become so important in today’s patternised education system that it is minting more individuals laced with judgments and opinions than those with equipment of conceptual clarity. The ‘Marks-ism’ is focussing more on creating an army of clones than on allowing space for growth of independent-minded leaders. It is creating a social system that accords more importance to tags than to merit...

High scores in limited subjects, opportunities in limited domains, awareness restricted to social media without application of the sense of verification, reading confined to trends, ideas tied to narrow identities, learning shackled to popular opinion, are all the signs of humanity leading life in silos of compromise. Though the world around appears to be buzzing with activity, serious lack of well-calibrated purpose is only adding to the noise in which saner voices and those engaged in meaningful ..

There is a difference between freedom and licentiousness. While freedom comes with responsibilities, licentiousness treats all kinds of responsibilities as a burden -- or even coercion. Those trying to create an atmosphere wherein a boy or a girl feels ‘unsure’ about own gender, and wherein a male or a female is made to feel insecure about identifying as a male or a female as per the natural biological arrangement, are practising licentiousness. Preaching of ‘genderfluidity’ and ‘genderflux’ is aimed ..

It is sad that the people of India, that is, Bharat, need to be reminded of holding fast to the Constitutional methods of achieving their social and economic objectives. Many Indians, including those claiming to be the ardent followers of ‘Bharat Ratna’ Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thoughts, have forgotten what he had said 75 years ago. He had cautioned against the use of unconstitutional methods, hero worship in politics, and had called castes as anti-national. The most unfortunate part of today’s discourse ..

THESE days, there is stark polarisation of political viewpoints, with no room for grey areas. Everything is either black or white, with no other shade in picture. “If you are not with us, you are against us,” is the sentiment ruling the minds of the so-called ‘loyal’ workers of various political parties. But, what many are glorifying as ‘loyalty’ is actually ‘surrender’ -- a political surrender. The political surrender has far greater evil ramifications that have seeds of disrupting social harmony ..

A COLLECTION of good individual practices forms societal norms that aim at larger collective interest. However, a growing collection of undesirable individual practices forms a trend that eventually takes the shape of social surrender. Just as cultural surrender has far-reaching consequences, the social surrender has ugly potential to lead the society towards anarchist behaviour that threatens the interests of everyone in the country. Social and technological surrender poses the risk of destabilising ..

THE news of ‘auction’ of the position of Sarpanch in various villages in Gurdaspur, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Bathinda districts in Punjab have triggered a row in the country about the legal and ethical outcomes of such a step taken by villagers there. But, there is more to the story. Legitimate and illegitimate ‘auctions’ are becoming a norm in the country, which has a rich tradition of democratic, social, and cultural values. One may ask if ‘auctions’ are really becoming a norm in India? Though the ..

OFTEN, one comes across various indices and ratings that project India in poor light. Suddenly, some indices change the tone and place India among the fastest growing economies. Soon, such a good rating in the sphere of economy is followed by a poor rating of India in terms of freedom, democracy, social equality etc. The keen readers of such ratings realise that the countries placed above India in some of the ratings have failed miserably, but India has been shining like a bright star. But, new ratings ..

 By KARTIK LOKHANDE :  People firmly rooted in commitment to the cause of India will never fall prey to attempts of the adversaries to create social, political, ideological, cultural, educational, economic, and belief dysphoria. They will never ..