I AND MY WORDS

Three disparate events have occurred that seem disconnected on the surface but should worry us all. Arshdeep Singh , the left arm bowler representing India in the Asia Cup cricket tournament, was subject to information and psychological warfare of the worst kind. A vilification campaign was run from across the border, positing him as a Khalistani cricketer. Unfortunately, in the current simmering environment, there were quite a few people who walked right into the trap set. What was absolutely appalling was also the fact that popular reference intermediaries like Wikipedia were caught flashing such narratives.  Questions on accountability apart, the narrative setting effort was considerable, with known anti-India baiters inside India also trying to talk the same language as these elements of anarchy, clearly betraying signs of a well orchestrated intelligence operation. There has been a desperate effort for a while across the section to show all Sikhs as enemies of the state, which...

  Sri Aurobindo at the Bengal National College in 1907 (courtesy Sri Aurobindo Institute ) 15th August is celebrated as India’s Independence Day. It is also the birth date on the Gregorian calendar of one of India’s most celebrated children, a man who left an imprint in the temporal and spiritual worlds in a way few have. That child of Bharat Mata, of Shakti, was Aurobindo Ghosh. Dr. Karan Singh, a scholar on Indian philosophy, had written an interesting book about Aurobindo Ghosh many moons ago, calling him the ‘Prophet’ of Indian Nationalism. The choice of terminology seems rather problematic to this day, but perhaps one can forgive it for the intent it wishes to highlight - that the sleeping spirit of the nation, when it needed a jolt, a thousand watt powerful lightning strike, had the opportune man to do it in the form of Aurobindo Ghosh.  For a man who had grown up in England, Sri Aurobindo’s fierce spirit of nationalism had a remarkable quality to it. While Dr. Karan Sin...

Courtesy: Indiatimes Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)’s Simranjit Singh Mann asked for the removal of Bhagat Singh’s portrait from the museum at the Darbar Sahib, calling him a terrorist, and sent shockwaves through the political landscape of Punjab.  However, this is not the first time that he has raised this demand, but the shock value this time is higher given that now he is a Member of Parliament from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat.  Criticism has come from every party, with people asking him to stop insulting the image of Bhagat Singh and his role in the freedom struggle. What is interesting though is the silence of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on the entire matter. The youth wing of Mann’s SAD(A) has actually shared a letter with the SGPC to support their demand. In this letter, Bhagat Singh claimed that he was an atheist. That is definitely true; in fact, one of his most famous essays, “ Why I am an Atheist ” is a major lighthouse for the Marxists of Ind...

Popular Front of India's Pamphlet Spreading Radicalism (courtesy: ANI ) (Warning - Long Read) News cycles this week are claiming to be horrified about the Popular Front of India (PFI) being caught training people in dealing with weapons and its pamphlet for making India an Islamic nation by 2047. However, those who have followed the organization know very well that there is nothing new about this. I had in the wake of the Delhi Riots of 2020 pointed out the troublesome body that is PFI. The very umbrella of a radical ideology, the disturbing signs about the origanization have been all too clear for the observers. In this long essay, written and published in different parts in 2020 and now compiled for the first time, I present my observations of that time, which have only been further reaffirmed. There is only one solution - ban the organization. Unlike the mistakes made at the time of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the intelligence network is far more equipped and...