Vikas Pathak

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US visuals show that while liberalism may be wounded, conservatism is dead

Conservatism is just a slogan. It is non-existent today more than ever. It means nothing to those who constitute a new right, which claims to think of the nation but doesn't make it clear that the new nation -- that it still doesn't understand --will be built on the debris of the nation that is.

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A year of challenges, 2020 draws to a close

On balance, 2020 had India and the world facing multiple problems. It remains to be seen whether 2021 can usher in a new era of hope.

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If Owaisi rises, so will Hindutva

The message of the AIMIM’s politics is not lost on anyone. It is seen as a Muslim-only party that seeks to veer Muslims away from multi-religious parties and offers fence-sitting Hindus a ‘reason’ to join the Hindutva bandwagon with their co-religionists.

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Decoding the multiple possibilities Bihar offers in polls 2020

The results of the upcoming Bihar polls depend on whether Nitish Kumar’s larger caste coalitions hold or cave in to the RJD, whether the Congress and the left are able to come anywhere close to their ally RJD on their seats, and the extent to which the LJP can damage the JD (U). Individually, the BJP and RJD seem to be the engines of the NDA and Mahagathbandhan, respectively.

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At 25, Shah Rukh Khan’s DDLJ should be remembered as a voice of conservatism

DDLJ’s Raj Malhotra is Hindi cinema’s most powerful representative voice of conservatism: he embodies a combination of the market as an NRI, and tradition, as a patriarchal family man.

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Making sense of the political legacy of Ram Vilas Paswan

A unique strength of Paswan that was talked about in political and journalistic circles was his acute sense of which way the wind was blowing.

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Adityanath’s UP takes dystopian turn, spawns multiple fault lines

While the government seeks to create a new normal by trying to curb all dissent, the Adityanath regime is now beginning to alienate multiple communities in the state.

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The Babri mosque verdict has political implications beyond courts of law

The world of the social media, which is inhabited by authentic as well as fake accounts, began to interpret the verdict as a moment of victory for Hindutva over those claiming to cherish a secular India.

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Making sense of the absence of Ram Madhav from the BJP’s office-bearers’ list

The jury is still out on where Madhav heads from here, but even those who believe he has been demoted and has suffered a setback don’t count him out just yet.

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Is the BJP losing control over a triumphant Hindutva?

The UP Jat Mahasabha’s objections to renaming Agra’s Mughal museum after Maratha king Shivaji borrow Hindutva tropes but use them against the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.