Kalyanaraman
Politics

How Modi avoided India Shining by not being Vajpayee

So the BJP and Modi were indeed afraid of India Shining redux and determined to not let history repeat itself. In the normal course, this election would have resulted in a defeat of the BJP and regime change. But the shenanigans the government unleashed ensured the BJP can still come back to...

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Vajpayee
Politics

Is the BJP scared of India Shining redux?

India Shining, the nation may be, but the BJP's election campaigns still take no prisoners. Anything goes is their style and substance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attacks on the opposition may seem stretched but they are deliberate. From saying Muslims, who have been shown to be among the...

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Music

Listen to T M Krishna — for his singing and speaking

I hope T M Krishna does get to give his Sangita Kalanidhi oration. These speeches have not been momentous, barring a few times. One can recall Balasaraswati’s 1973 speech that, in and of itself, seemed typical. But, just by recounting her formative years and her influences, she subtly drove...

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T M Krishna
Politics

A sengol from TN to launch new political conquests?

The sengol (royal sceptre) is yet another masterstroke by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reassert the idea of an Indian nation in which Tamil Nadu is an integral but unique part of it. By having the non-brahmin adheenams participating in the ritual, it dents any Dravidianist critique that the...

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Sengol