Rumbles of a Lonely Mammoth

In 2012, I had written out a wish list for BJP India, asking them amongst other things, to focus on development and deciding on a PM candidate [full blog reproduced here ]. The most striking thing about the wish list was that, much of it actually found its way into BJPs 2014 electoral strategy. Don't misunderstand me - am not saying I am all that important. Merely that my thoughts must have found strong resonance across a wider electorate - and BJP had listened to voices on the ground. Listening to voices on the ground and social media (SM) had paid off handsomely for BJP in 2014. So, here is the unsolicited wish list for BJP's 2019 manifesto. Hopefully, some of it would resonate with the larger population. 1. Talk about and act on #Core issues. If nothing else, talk about legal discrimination in education sector and in religious matters [Art 25 - 30, and Amendment 93]. I don't want to elaborate on these issues - since none other than the MoS HRD, Dr. Satyapal Singh

This was a post I wrote, way back in 2012. A particularly nasty comment to BJP IT cell on Twitter, led to them asking what I think should be done - and I thought I will become part of something constructive. Hence, in all my starry eyed liberalism, I wrote this post in 2012. It is interesting to see how far I have moved in 6 years hence. 1. Define your core competency: Sorry guys, Hindutva as a core competency has lost its vote gathering value. I still remember when BJP attempted the rath yatra a few years ago (not the 1990's one) - and how it flopped. How I wished I could just bury my head in the sand and just forget your existence. Please, pretty please, don't repeat something like that. A Ram mandir at Ayodhya might matter to probably a few million people. But that would barely make up 1% of the population. Today, a good four lane road leading to a mandir / masjid / market is more appealing to an average Indian than the destination itself. Be the facilitator, but don't

This week witnessed the arrogance and fall of a missionary who wanted to introduce "Jesus" and "Gospel", in the face of an isolated and legally protected tribe. Chau, an American missionary [or should I say, zealot], tried to take the gospel to a group of highly secluded and protected tribals in Andaman Nicobar islands. The tribe, Sentinalese, are known to be one of the oldest surviving isolated tribed outside Africa. They are thought to have settled in A/N Islands, about 60,000 years ago. They are protected tribe, and the competent authorities consider them at a risk of extinction. They are likely to be highly vulnerable to normal pathogens that today's modern humans carry on their person. This zealot, Chau, bribed his way into the island, breaking several rules and laws along the way, and died at the hands of the tribe - after refusing to heed repeated warnings. The reaction of most civilized people is one of utter horror and disbelief. Words such as &quo