Tag: Subramanian Swamy

More than ever before, the Indian nation and its nationalism are defined by Brahminism today. Many of us found this latest slogan from Modi quite distasteful and callous, referring as it did to a section of society engaged as security persons or chowkidars – a class of heavily underpaid people, exploited by making them work long hours and with little or no dignity in their work. Notwithstanding the entirely ridiculous campaign invoking chowkidars by the learned prime minister, – through which the government wants to salvage its image of patronising big capital and abetting the escape from India of other cronies – Swamy has been quite honest and sincere. He doesn’t hide his Brahminism the way his party does. In fact, when he says he ‘cannot be a chowkidar’ given his Brahminical divinity, the joke is actually on the government who cannot even counter Swamy’s utterances because his is the divine truth that actually informs their everyday politics: the politics of brutalizing Dalits, Adivasis and religious minorities as ordained by the nation conceived by Brahminism. What Subramanian Swamy said was in continuance of the action and statements of the likes of Bandaru Dattatreya, whose interference led to the institutional oppression of Rohith Vemula resulting in his death. The government is yet to come clean on this. This is the outcome of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) ideological model of India being a ‘Hindu rashtra’ (nation), while what they actually mean is an India structured on the principles of Brahminism. How else to characterise Rahul Gandhi’s numerous temple visits and the dumbstruck efforts of leaders like Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, who never confront the hydra-headed face of the RSS cultural model ideologically. It is the battle to rescue politics itself, for if not done now, we will soon have a political system which will be bereft of any politics, let alone the politics of social justice.

The president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Amit Shah, accused the archbishop of trying to divide people on the basis of religion. "I personally believe that no one should say things like this, for a religious person to make such comments cannot be accepted and appreciated," Shah said. A top party lawmaker, Subramanian Swamy, demanded the scrapping of diplomatic ties with the Vatican because of the archbishop's remarks. And your subscription makes it possible. Subscribe today for only $12.99 $7.99 per month Archbishop Anil Couto, in a May 8 letter sent to New Delhi's Catholic churches, urged members to pray for democracy and for marginalized people ahead of national elections next year. Christians make up just 2 percent of India's population, which is overwhelmingly Hindu but has a sizable Muslim minority. Church leaders normally avoid getting too deeply involved in politics. The archbishop's letter angered Hindu nationalists as it came at a time when Modi and his party are preparing for next year's national polls. Alphons, India's tourism minister and a BJP leader, said the archbishop's comments were unfair and that "godmen" should stay away from politics.