Articles by: S K Arun Murthi

Nathu(ram) Killing a Rambhakt: A Symbol of Attack on the Benign Form of Nationalism by its Malign Form

Nathu(ram) Killing a Rambhakt: A Symbol of Attack on the Benign Form of Nationalism by its Malign Form

In her recent fortnightly column for The WIRE, the senior journalist Pamela Philipose, questions ‘[w]hat accounts for the scale of such violence that accretes around a festival meant to celebrate Lord Ram, regarded …as Maryada Purushottam, as the embodiment of the perfect man? What accounts for this willful destruction of maryada (dignity, peace), year after year, during a festival meant[Read More…]

by — 11/04/2023 — Comments are Disabled — India
The Modi Masala that Makes the Brand Modi: Half Truths, Lies, Deceptions and Storytelling

The Modi Masala that Makes the Brand Modi: Half Truths, Lies, Deceptions and Storytelling

Recently, I received a video (YouTube shorts), on WhatsApp, of a comical portrayal of a scene where Rahul Gandhi is peeping from behind to see how Narendra Modi prepares tea. Rahul Gandhi is curious to know, in this video, what masala (spices) Modi adds to the tea that makes people consuming his tea come back again and again. Modi tells[Read More…]

by — 13/02/2023 — Comments are Disabled — India
Violence, Thy Name Is Hindutva: Raam ka Naam Badnaam Na Karo

Violence, Thy Name Is Hindutva: Raam ka Naam Badnaam Na Karo

It is shockingly painful and disconcerting to note that on the occasion of Ram Navami (April 10) there was widespread violence that the Hindutvavadis indulged in some of the states. This violence, as Praveen Swami sharply and rightly remarks in his thought provoking article, “[t]o the Neo-Hindutva gang members… isn’t a means to an end. Rather, it is the end in[Read More…]

by — 26/04/2022 — Comments are Disabled — India