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Is Hindu Rashtra Unnecessary? India Became Hindu Raj in 1947

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Is Hindu Rashtra Unnecessary? India Became Hindu Raj in 1947

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By: Saeed Naqvi

How indistinguishable the Congress ideologically is from the BJP was the theme of the main edit page article written by French scholars Christophe Jaffrelot and Gilles Verniers in the Indian Express on October 5.

The editor grasped the heart of the matter and gave it an apt headline: Congress and the BJP, “Tweedledum and Tweedledee”. The Jaffrelot-Verniers duet have, for their laboratory, focused on Gujarat – on how principal leaders have swung from one side to the other, repeatedly, like trapeze artistes in a circus.

I suspect this is the beginning of a wider research because the Tweedledum-Tweedledee image is applicable to all regions wherever there is some Congress presence. In most places it looks like the BJP’s B team, and has conceded spaces to it for that very reason.

In recent decades there have been two distinct postures the Congress has struck towards the BJP. In Madhya Pradesh, under the leadership of Arjun Singh and Digvijay Singh, the party has taken the BJP head on. There was no other force to combat.

In Kerala, particularly under K. Karunakaran’s chief ministership, the party turned to the Sangh Parivar, whenever help was required for electoral battle with the Left Front. In fact Karunakaran was a master at ambidextrous politics. On one occasion in Kozhikode he maneuvered the Congress, BJP and Muslim League on the same side to defeat CPM’s T.K. Hamza.

Is Hindu Rashtra Unnecessary? India Became Hindu Raj in 1947 - 1What has been the result of the Congress grappling with Hindutva in Bhopal or flirting with it in Thiruvanthapauram?

State and district level Muslim congress leaders I met last week in Indore, Dhar and Mandu painted a dismal picture of their circumstance. Their party’s high command in New Delhi or Bhopal took them for granted. “TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor applies to us” Mohammad Kamran, youth Congress leader lamented. When a Muslim majority village was gutted, no “senior” (for which read “Hindu”) congress leader turned up to inquire.

Circumstances in Rajasthan are similar. When 10 Muslims were shot dead by policemen in Gopalgarh in 2011, an hour’s drive from Delhi, neither Rahul Gandhi nor Home Minister, P. Chidambaram considered it worth their while to visit despite several delegations imploring them to do so. This was the first instance in the country of police firing inside a mosque.

In Kerala, the frequent Congress dependence on sectarian groups has had the effect of slowly opening the door just enough for Hindutva forces to make a bid for replacing the Congress. That this process has been slow is attributable to the state’s distinct and enlightened social structure.

This did not deter Karunakaran from his efforts to “Brahminize” Rajiv Gandhi who, in his perception, would not graduate from the ranks of the “Baba log” without persistent “ang pradarshan” or ritual prayers at the Krishna temple in Guruvayur. Whether Rajiv transited to becoming a Brahmin or even a Hindu is less than clear. What is certain is that he developed a taste for Guruvayur’s famous rice and milk pudding, payasam, large quantities of which were made available for his extended family’s New Year celebrations at Lakshadweep islands.

Rajiv Gandhi’s unprecedented victory in the December 1984 elections (404 seats in House of 514) was interpreted as Hindu consolidation in response to minority communalism which had resulted in Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Even the party, treasurer, Sitaram Kesari, non communal to his finger tips, interpreted the mandate in majoritarian terms.

In 1986, V.N. Gadgil, among the more enlightened General Secretaries of the Congress, told me in great confidence: “the feeling is widespread among Hindus, that Muslims were being appeased.”

This thinking guided subsequent Congress actions, making it just as indistinguishable from the BJP as Jeffrelot and Verniers found it in Gujarat. How “appeased” the Muslims were became clear in the Sachar Committee report on their social-economic conditions during sixty years of Congress rule. They had, in their social status, tumbled below the lowest Dalits.

Ranganath Misra Commission’s recommendations to help Muslims out of the plight described by Sachar Committee, was placed on the shelf where it gathers dust to this day.

Srikrishna Commission which named politicians directly involved in Mumbai riots of 1992-93 in which 900 people (majority of them Muslims) were killed and their shops and houses gutted, has remained secret.

It would require amnesia of a very high order to heap all the credit for the brazen saffronization at Naendra Modi’s door. It would require magic or miracle to have advanced the Hindutva cause with such rapidity in three years. Frankly, the ground has been prepared over the past 70 years.

We must not forget, the Hindu Mahasabha, RSS, Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad and elements in the Congress were quite “indistinguishable” one from the other all along.

The founder of the Hindu Mahasabha, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was a four time President of the Congress. His vision of India would not have been very different from that of the Banaras Hindu University which he founded.

Rajeshwar Dayal, the first Home Secretary of UP, in his memoirs, A Life of Our Times, mentions an astonishing story about Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, UP’s first Chief Minister and RSS supremo Guru Golwalkar. The RSS chief was found with a trunk load of incriminating evidence of extensive plans for communal violence in Western UP. The Chief Minister however enabled him to escape.

It all leads to the inescapable conclusion, argued in my book “Being The Other: The Muslim in India”. Having accepted Mountbatten’s June 3, 1947, plan for the Partition of India, Congress de facto accepted the Two-Nation theory while publicly arguing against it. Dissembling was essential to keep Kashmir. On August 15, 1947, India seamlessly glided from British Raj to Hindu Raj. It could have been named Hindustan (just as the other country was called Pakistan). With Hindu at the helm a more honest bargain on sharing power would have been possible. The painful process of a second distillation for a Hindu Rashtra could have been avoided.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Parliament Monsoon Session 2026: Anti-paper leak Bill to be introduced in Lok Sabha today

The Lok Sabha will introduce and consider the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, proposing stricter punishment, fast-track courts and stronger safeguards against paper leaks.

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July 27, 2026

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The Lok Sabha is set to take up the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 for consideration and passage on Monday as the Centre moves to tighten laws against paper leaks and examination-related fraud.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will seek the House’s permission to introduce the Bill before moving it for consideration and passing during the day’s legislative business.

The proceedings of the Lok Sabha are scheduled to begin at 11 am with the Question Hour, during which ministers will respond to listed oral questions.

Bill proposes stricter action against paper leaks

The proposed amendment aims to strengthen transparency and integrity in the public examination system through stricter legal provisions while safeguarding the interests of students.

Among its major provisions are:

  • Imprisonment of up to 10 years for those found guilty.
  • A fine of up to Rs.10 crore.
  • Confiscation of assets of convicted offenders.
  • A mechanism to ensure verdicts in such cases are delivered within three months through fast-track courts.

The proposed changes follow the Union Cabinet’s approval of the legislation and related measures aimed at tackling paper leaks and examination fraud with stricter punishment and expedited trials.

Supreme Court judges amendment Bill also on agenda

Apart from the anti-paper leak legislation, the Lok Sabha is also scheduled to consider the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will move the Bill for consideration. It seeks to further amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.

Ministers to present implementation reports

Several Union ministers are also expected to place statements before the House on the implementation of recommendations made by various Parliamentary Standing Committees.

Among them:

  • Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will present an update on recommendations related to the Ministry of Tourism.
  • Jayant Chaudhary will report on recommendations concerning the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
  • Pankaj Chaudhary will table a statement on recommendations relating to the Ministry of Finance.
  • Suresh Gopi will present implementation updates on recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas.

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Who are the experts in Nandan Nilekani-led PM Modi’s exam reform task force?

PM Modi has constituted a six-member task force led by Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms for the National Testing Agency. Here’s a look at the experts on the panel.

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July 27, 2026

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Following the announcement of a high-powered task force to reform India’s examination system, the Centre has brought together experts from technology, space research, intelligence, education, cybersecurity and logistics to recommend structural changes for the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The panel, led by Infosys co-founder and technology expert Nandan Nilekani, was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned amid nationwide protests over the alleged NEET paper leak.

In a video message shared on social media, the Prime Minister said the government aims to make examinations more reliable, transparent and technology-driven. He said the task force would submit recommendations to improve the credibility of upcoming examinations at the earliest.

Nandan Nilekani to lead the panel

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys, will head the task force. Widely recognised for leading the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and playing a key role in the development of Aadhaar, Nilekani is expected to contribute his expertise in technology, digital infrastructure and data security to the examination reform process.

Former ISRO chief S Somanath

Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath, an aerospace engineer, is also part of the panel. During his tenure, ISRO successfully carried out the Chandrayaan-3 mission. His experience in executing complex, high-precision missions is expected to help strengthen quality control and multi-layered verification processes in examinations.

Former IB director Tapan Deka

Former Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Kumar Deka has been included for his experience in intelligence and security. A former IPS officer with a postgraduate degree in Physics, he is expected to provide inputs on strengthening intelligence gathering and cyber monitoring to curb organised examination fraud and paper leak networks.

IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti

V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, is another member of the panel. A computer science academic, he has led initiatives related to microprocessor development and information security at the institute. His expertise is expected to support measures aimed at enhancing cybersecurity and protecting examination software and digital infrastructure.

Former Education Secretary Anita Karwal

Former Education Secretary Anita Karwal brings administrative and academic policy experience to the task force. A retired IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, she is expected to contribute recommendations on examination policies, answer-key mechanisms, evaluation standards and improvements in the functioning of examination centres.

Logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena

Retired bureaucrat Amrit Lal Meena, who previously served as Bihar’s Chief Secretary and as Special Secretary (Logistics) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, completes the six-member panel. His expertise in supply chain management is expected to help strengthen the secure printing, storage and transportation of question papers through tamper-resistant logistics systems.

The multidisciplinary panel has been tasked with recommending structural reforms aimed at improving transparency, security and reliability in India’s examination system.

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Amit Shah praises Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, says Nation above post

Amit Shah hailed Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union Education Minister, saying BJP places the nation and students above any position while highlighting the government’s commitment to examination reforms.

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1 day ago

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July 26, 2026

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Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday praised Dharmendra Pradhan’s decision to step down as Union Education Minister, saying the move reflected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s commitment to placing the nation and students above any political position.

In a post on X, Shah said that for BJP workers, the country, its youth and students are more important than any office. He described Pradhan’s resignation as an example of the party’s guiding principle of prioritising national interest over personal ambition.

Shah highlights government’s focus on exam reforms

Amit Shah said the Narendra Modi-led government respects the sentiments of students and remains committed to strengthening the examination system following concerns over alleged paper leaks.

He said the Centre has introduced strict measures to ensure severe punishment for those involved in examination paper leaks and expressed confidence that these steps would deliver justice to students who cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

Praises Pradhan’s work as Education Minister

Recalling Dharmendra Pradhan’s tenure, Shah highlighted several initiatives undertaken during his time in the Education Ministry. He credited Pradhan with helping implement the National Education Policy (NEP), expanding PM SHRI schools, promoting digital education, strengthening skill development and improving coordination between industry and academic institutions.

Shah also said Pradhan worked towards making examinations more inclusive and student-centric, adding that his tenure reflected his commitment to the vision of a developed India.

Resignation follows NEET controversy

Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation comes amid nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and growing demands for accountability.

The resignation has triggered political reactions across party lines. While opposition parties have described the development as a result of sustained student protests, BJP leaders have projected it as an example of accountability and commitment to national interest.

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