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20 Feb, 2016

A battle for India’s soul – Arab News

This is not a debate about nationalism, Kashmiri separatism or the independent thinking spaces that great universities like JNU represent. What is unfolding, from Hyderabad to Delhi, is a battle for India’s soul. It is not enough for the BJP to capture the reins of power in the name of universally appealing slogans like development and fighting corruption. The saffron clan knows it cannot succeed in reining in the independent spirit of the country unless it takes control of its universities and colleges, think tanks, research centers and the media. It has already infiltrated most of them. Most university vice-chancellors picked up by the government are fellow travelers. School curricula are being entirely rewritten through the jaundiced Hindutva prism, in order to raise generations of Indians on a diet of hate and intolerance. Institutions like Indian Council of Historical Research, widely respected for their scholarship, are now headed by RSS men.

Read the rest: A battle for India’s soul | Arab News