Suhas Palshikar

Following the result of the Gujarat assembly elections, the print media has witnessed a slew of write-ups by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries trumpeting the party’s victory and explaining how its indefatigable leadership and deep organisational roots contributed to that victory. Though...

The most crucial issue is whether, in their reincarnations, parties can substantially give up on the characteristics inherited from the time of their foundation. The example of the Shiv Sena suggests that moderation and normalisation do take place but the predominant tendency is to convert notoriety into normal.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal invoking the spirit of “quit India” is characteristic of his larger politics beyond merely electoral successes. The opposition, in contrast, is clueless about both electoral strategy and the politics to counter the new regime. Given the adverse effects the Modi regime is likely to have on democracy, the opposition’s lack of political instinct is all the more saddening.

June is the month to remember the “emergency” for lessons that we never learned. Of late, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in the forefront of memorialising it while the Congress party usually feigns amnesia on this count. But as a society and as a democracy, we refuse to go beyond the...