Governance and Indian Nationalism (GAIN)

In May 2020, India and China faced the worst ever military face-off at Galwan Valley, Hot springs, Gogra and Pangong  region in Ladakh. With the loss of 20 Indian soldiers and 43 Chinese soldiers, the Galwan valley clash was the bloodiest of all.  Growing tensions between India and China not only shook the geo-political relations across the world but it also led to the build up of hostile domestic sentiment against China's arrogance. As a result, calls for #BoycottChina grew louder and louder with each passing day.      Rising anti-China public sentiment compelled government to take some policy level measures such as stricter FDI norms for countries sharing the border with India. While this may restrict Chinese investments to certain extent, it isn't enough to neutralize the influence of China in Indian market. Recently, People's Bank of China raised its stakes in HDFC bank to more than 1% and later also invested in ICICI Bank through the FPI route. Although the...

BJP leader and eminent economist, Dr Subramanian Swamy, invited as a Chief Speaker at a recent webinar of TiE on "Making India Succeed", spoke at length on India's existing challenges and viable solutions to address these challenges. However, Dr Swamy categorically focused on three major areas, which will help to improve India's world status and restore the country's past glory.  These are explained below: Improve the state of Economy Abolish income tax to boost consumption and savings among households. Bring down interest rates on business loans up to the level of 6% p.a for MSMEs. Increase interest rate on FDs to 9% per annum to facilitate higher savings from households.  Build roads to connect all villages with nearby towns. This will improve connectivity, reduce unemployment, increase purchasing power and spur demand. Social Revolution Indians must start believing in themselves as belonging to the same ancestral tree and identify themselves as prod...

Since India's independence, the Church has directly or indirectly influenced the electoral process in our country. During hey days of Congress, Church's role was relatively subtle in comparison to its present day involvement. It seems  BJP's  recent electoral successes have ruffled the ministries of Church.  Without doubt, the rise in public outcry by Church over threat to secularism and random acts of vandalism stems from growing influence of Hindutva in India. As a result, since 2014, different churches across India have been issuing letters (or fatwas) to their followers and warning them about the grave threat to secularism due to rise in Hindu nationalism. Following are some of the examples of Church's growing interference during elections: In December 2015, the Archbishop of Faridabad-Delhi Syro Malabar Church, Kuriakose Bharani Kulangara in a letter, wrote that victory of Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is a victory of secular forces over sectarian forces In November 201...

  श्री भगवानुवाच अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे। गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः।।2.11।। Meaning: You are grieving for those who do not need your grief. You speak the language of a learned man however, learned people never grieve for deceased and alive. Explanation: Krishna wants to convey to Arjuna that Bhishma and Dronacharya are such great souls that they do not deserve to be grieved. While Arjuna talks like a learned & self-realized person, he also exhibits foolishness in expressing grief for such great souls. Because learned and self-realized man never grieves for those who have left the material world and for those who are still alive.  Through his talk, Arjuna sounds like a knowledgeable and learned person, however, his sadness over possible loss of Bhishma and Dronacharya uncovers his soft corner for both. It is here, Krishna wants to highlight that self-realized persons understand that death is never a final destination. Moreover, grea...

Karan Johar's latest presentation 'Gunjan Saxena' has once again reinforced the anti-national credentials of the producer. Despite Johar's declining public image, he is shamelessly pursuing the anti-national agenda with such movies. Karan Johar, it seems, has broken all barriers to achieve his avaricious goals while pleasing his masters across the border.  Bollywood has become full of trash, where producers like Karan Johar defecate their worthless ideas through movies, which is later termed as creative freedom. On several occasions, this rogue filmmaker has flamboyantly exhibited his miserable ideas on the big screen. In the movie 'Gunjan Saxena', deliberate attempts have been made to malign the reputation of prestigious institutions like Indian Air force (IAF).    A devious and dangerous game is being played to fool the audience, when a hot topic is picked up to present a theme that is anti-climax. In Gunjan Saxena too, the story of valour and patr...

Maldives, a small island nation in the southwest of India and Sri Lanka, consists of 1,200 islands and is spread over 35,000 square miles in Arabian sea. The island country witnessed fresh wind of change when political reformer, Mohammad Nasheed, won elections in 2008.  However, China's growing influence in Maldives led to the ouster of Nasheed in 2012. Later in 2013, Abdallah Yameen took control of Maldives government through Chinese support. Under Yameen's leadership, Maldives began to develop closer ties with China and Saudi Arabia. Dr Swamy with former Maldives President, Mohammad Nasheed   In 2018, a political crisis erupted in Maldives when Yameen hinted at delaying elections and arrested opposition leaders. Apparently, China's influence was creating a bigger political crisis at the Island nation.  China had already invested heavily in the infrastructure, trade and energy sectors of Maldives and was hopeful to induct Yemen in its Belt road initiative (BR...

According to Sanatan Dharma, since time immemorial, whenever the world witnesses degradation of culture, in terms of morals and values, Bhagwan Vishnu takes birth in human form or any other living form. The form chosen by Vishnu depends on the prevailing circumstances and consequent need of mother earth. For example, the first Avatar of Matsya (Fish) was chosen because Bhagwan Vishnu had to get back 'Vedas' hidden at the bottom of the ocean by Hriyanksh. Till now, Bhagwan Vishnu has taken nine different avatars in different eras to restore balance on earth. From Matsya, Kurma, Varah, Narsinh to Vaman, Parshuram, Rama, Krishna and Buddha, with each Avatar born with a specific purpose. For example, Shri Ram's objective was to finish off demons first and then slay the most powerful demon (Rakhshas) Ravana. Shri Krishna's most important goal was to impart Bhagwad Gita's gyan. In present times, Vishnu's tenth incarnation as Kalki is expected to manifest anytime soon....