{"id":1395,"date":"2019-01-13T02:04:33","date_gmt":"2019-01-13T02:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1395"},"modified":"2020-12-20T00:08:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T18:38:09","slug":"defeat-modis-idea-of-india-reclaim-nehrus-idea-of-india-aravindan-kannaiyan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1395","title":{"rendered":"Defeat Modi\u2019s Idea of India, Reclaim Nehru\u2019s Idea of India"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhither do we go from here\u201d, asked Jawaharlal Nehru, on the eve of India\u2019s freedom, and answered that the nation needed to \u201ccreate social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is that idea of India that is now hijacked and perverted by a man who occupies the office once graced by Jawaharlal Nehru. Elections have consequences. Elections are about choices. India faces a stark choice this year and this is a battle for the soul of India where defeating Modi is less important than defeating Modi\u2019s idea of India.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Idea of India\u2019:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sunil Khilnani\u2019s \u2018The idea of India\u2019, from which I\u2019ve liberally borrowed the phrase in my essay so far, outlines the crucial role of elections in India.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any modern democracy elections are part of a larger set of rules and practices designed to authorize the state, but in India they are carrying the entire burden of society\u2019s aspirations to control its opportunities\u2026.This expansion of elections to fill the entire space of democratic politics has altered how political parties now muster support\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity identities, in the form of caste and religion, as groups struggle to construct majorities that can rule at the Centre. But the fact that such identities were less significant for four decades after independence, and then surged into national politics, only shows how much they are creations of modern politics, not residues of the past\u201d.<\/p>\n

The politics of divisiveness that we see today can be traced to recent happenings, specifically the blood soaked ‘rath yaatra’ of Lal Krishna Advani in the heartland of India. Pursuing electoral gains to take the BJP from a paltry 2 seats to proximity of prime ministership, Advani reached into poisonous armory of Golwalkar and Savarkar.<\/p>\n

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When India became a free and sovereign state there existed no national model in human history as parallel or precedence. It was left to Nehru\u2019s genius to fashion an idea of India.<\/p>\n

\u201cNehru saw cultures as overlapping forms of activity that had commerce with one another, mutually altering and reshaping each other. India was a society, either of liberal individuals nor of exclusive communities or nationalities but of interconnected differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLanguage and religion, those elementary markers that are generally used to ease any awkwardness of fit between individual and nation\u201d, were not, \u201cadopted as an effortless badge of Indianness\u201d.<\/p>\n

After a very acrimonious debate Hindi was recognized as an \u2018official\u2019  but not \u2018national\u2019 language along with a dozen other languages. \u201cNo attempt was made to impose a single or uniform \u2018Indian\u2019 identity\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe BJP\u2019s definition of Indian nationalism\u201d, writes Khilnani, \u201cwas precisely the contrary of Nehru\u2019s. It explicitly declared allegiance to the Savarkarite idea of Hindutva\u201d. BJP\u2019s goal is to \u201cefface all the signs of non-Hinduness\u201d. Analyze the discourses on culture and heritage today by BJP sympathizers, particularly by Brahmin led cultural organizations, you\u2019d see that non-Hindu cultural contributions are forgotten or not mentioned.<\/p>\n

Nehru Era and the Nehru Difference:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

To be a bhakt, the only litmus test is heaping dirt on Nehru with complete disregard of facts. Let\u2019s take a very short tour of Nehru\u2019s 17 years.<\/p>\n

Yasmeen Khan\u2019s \u201cGreat Partition\u201d sums up an epochal event, the gravity of which is little understood by many Indians today. Cross migration of millions of human beings doubled the populations of cities crushing the labor markets in localities and busting the budgets of state governments, not to mention the religious rancor that accompanied.<\/p>\n

Ornit Shani\u2019s \u201cHow India became democratic: Citizenship and the making of the universal franchise\u201d tells a gripping tale of how India conducted the largest democratic exercise. It was a simple bureaucrat who identified the gargantuan problem of generating electoral rolls based on universal suffrage. From 35 million eligible voters as per the Government of India act in 1935 the electoral rolls quadrupled to 173 million. Consider the cost and complexity of making many states, even princely states, pay for that. Add to that creating a new constitution that fashioned a liberal democracy in a soil where nothing like that had existed. Pakistan failed on this. India is a liberal democracy, not because it had a Hindu majority, but because it had Indians who were larger than their religion and caste.<\/p>\n

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Every institution that Modi\u2019s economic team relies upon today can be traced to the Nehru era when Mahalanobis, amongst many, many international experts, helped create and put the nation of a sound fiscal footing. Only illiterates and demagogues will scream \u2018socialism\u2019.<\/p>\n

The internal reorganization of a country of the size and heterogeneity like India would\u2019ve crippled any European country and yet that too happened. Amidst such carnage there were dreams too. 5 Indian Institutes of Technology, 2 Indian Institutes of Management, 14 Regional Engineering Colleges that dotted the country, an All India Institute of Medicine and an Atomic Energy Commission.<\/p>\n

Historian Irfan Habib\u2019s column, \u201cScience as solution\u201d traces the contributions of Nehru in establishing scientific institutions in India. \u201cBhatnagar became the first head of the CSIR and through his proximity to Nehru he was able to establish a network of 22 \u201cnational laboratories\u201d under the CSIR between 1948 and 1958.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA 22-member committee was set up under Sir Nalini Ranjan Sarkar and its report was used as a blueprint to launch the prestigious network of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The first IIT was set up just three years after Independence in 1950 at the site of the Hijli Detention Camp near Kharagpur in West Bengal\u201d.  “It was also during the last two years of his tenure that the first steps were taken to launch India into the electronics and space era\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sir Nalini Ranjan Sarkar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Standing on Nehru\u2019s shoulders Modi and his minions are trumpeting about Mangalyaan and missions to mars. The real rot is in how India\u2019s academia and science establishments are under siege by the religious right wing. The annual Indian Science Congresses make headlines every year for the outrageously nonsensical claims like ancient India having perfected In-Vitro Fertilization and missile technologies. There is an insidious attempt to make unsubstantiated connections between Hindu rituals, Hinduism, and science. An IIT publication happily asserted the intellectual superiority of Brahmins. Speakers like Rajiv Malhotra are invited to well attended lectures at IITs.<\/p>\n

Did Nehru do it all single-handedly? Of course not. But here was a man with whom a Homi Bhabha would correspond on first name basis and a Vikram Sarabhai would share a banter Nehru was a magnet for talent and genius and such talent he attracted were always for the betterment of the country and not his personal glory.<\/p>\n

Were mistakes made? Indeed they were. C.V. Raman jeered at the National Laboratories as \u2018Nehru-Bhatnagar\u2019 creations. Meghnad Saha crossed swords in the parliament. Better attention could\u2019ve been paid to elementary education.<\/p>\n

Did Nehru leave behind a unified and better India? Absolutely yes. Indians lived longer. Survived wars by pugnacious neighbors. The country had institutions in every sphere to continue building the future. Nehru was India\u2019s Jefferson and Washington rolled into one. He breathed his last thinking that he had \u201cmiles to go before he slept and promises to keep\u201d.<\/p>\n

Narendra Modi\u2019s Record of Broken Promises and Incompetence:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

If \u2018Mr. Clean\u2019 was the slogan for Rajiv Gandhi and then V.P. Singh, \u2018competency\u2019 was Narendra Modi\u2019s calling card. Manmohan had won, after a long time, a second consecutive election but squandered it amidst scandals. Fed up with Congress after a decade long stretch the Indian voter gave Narendra Modi an absolute majority. A feat for any party after nearly 30 years of coalition governments.<\/p>\n

Fools, it is said, rush where angels fear to tread and Modi, armed with a majority, rushed where even fools feared to tread. Surmising that the world will be riveted on the American presidential election in 2016 Modi announced that he was withdrawing Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currencies from circulation and called the program, \u2018demonetization\u2019. These currencies were 86% of India\u2019s circulation. The rationale, Indians were told, was to flush out black money, a canker at the heart of Indian economy. To call the execution \u2018botched\u2019 is like saying the Americans botched the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n

No country with a modern economy and a liberal democracy would\u2019ve dared to inflict such pain on its own citizenry but then Modi will rush where fools hesitate. Princeton alumnus and Harvard Economist Gita Gopinath summed up, \u201cI don’t think I know a single macro-economist who thinks that this was a good idea\u201d. The Reserve Bank of India finally confessed that almost all the so called black money coolly entered the financial system. In any country with an accountability the leader would apologize, in the least.<\/p>\n

A proper accounting of the effects of demonetization, including the several dead in its wake, is yet to be done. While rosy data about increase in tax revenue is touted as success that the measure killed GDP for more than a quarter leaving very vulnerable millions unemployed is forgotten by the newly arrogant middle and upper middle class that form the bulwark of Modi\u2019s bloc. The demonetization effort was done after Modi had confessed that his much touted promise of bringing back thousands of crores stashed in Swiss banks back to India. Bottom line, the war against black money killed honest tax payers and put millions of them under duress and achieved nothing against the stated objective.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy: Sify.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new initiative to issue health insurance to the poor a program, dubbed Modicare, (officially, \u2018Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan). Supposed to cover 10 crore families the program\u2019s funding, currently pegged at cost of Rs 6000-8000 crores, has a current budget allocation ranging from Rs 2000-Rs 1500 crores.<\/p>\n

In a column titled \u201cIndia\u2019s prime minister focuses too much on appearances\u201d The Economist eviscerated Modi\u2019s foibles on policy front. \u201cMr Modi triumphantly declared the GST a \u201cgood and simple tax\u201d. But he did not listen to his own advisers\u2019 suggestions on how to make it so. He plumped for six rates instead of three, burying small businesses in paperwork and allowing politics to seep into the rules\u201d.<\/p>\n

Manohar Parikkar, sitting defense minister, was sent to Goa as chief minister candidate to allure representatives and to engineer a horse trading in Goa to form a BJP government. Economist wrote, \u201cThe finance minister, for whom making the GST work was apparently not a full-time job, took on the role of defense minister as well for the next six months\u2014a period of tension with both China and Pakistan. In other words, a government that prides itself on its muscular nationalism left defense policy rudderless amid rows with its main military rivals, simply to retain power in a state with just 0.1% of the population”<\/p>\n

The Economist then aptly concluded, \u201cIn fact, the BJP is not that interested in policy. It offers voters mainly distraction. The new government in Uttar Pradesh, for example, has painted buildings and buses saffron\u2014a shade associated with Hinduism\u201d.<\/p>\n

After harassing every hapless citizen to link every bank account to an Aadhar number, a citizen identification number, now the government has done a turn about. I know how my mother ran from pillar to post to get that done. Modi makes Marie Antoinette look more empathetic.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that Aadhar and GST, two much vaunted programs of Modi, were actually set in flight by the previous Congress regime. Modi\u2019s signal contribution was botching the execution.<\/p>\n

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The flight of talent from economic policy making is a story by itself. After free-market leaning economists Arvind Panagariya and Jagadish Bhagwati flocked to the policy making bodies they were followed by Raghuram Rajan who joined as governor of Reserve Bank of India. Today, Arvind Panaagiriya, Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanian have left. Raja\u2019s successor Urjit Patel resigned when Modi sought to use the RBI as his personal piggy bank to spread largesse. Gita Gopinath, a WSJ article says, is persona non-grata because of her criticism of demonetization. Unlike Nehru who attracted talent Modi has a singular talent to repel persons of talent and integrity.<\/p>\n

Men of science (they were mostly men at that time) flocked to Nehru. Nehru was a constant fixture at the Indian Science Congress. In Modi\u2019s era where quackery and pseudo science become science Nobel Laureate Venky Ramakrishnan literally ran out of an Indian Science Congress disgusted by the parade of quackery. Where Nehru created educational institutions of enduring merit Modi\u2019s regime handed out labels of \u2018eminent institutions\u2019 to an university that existed only on paper and rendered the very exercise a mockery. Kamaraj, an illiterate chief minister, widely praised for unleashing an education revolution in Tamil Nadu, did far better than this potentate pretender of greatness.<\/p>\n

An agrarian crises of grave magnitude and unemployment, also grave, are unfolding across India. While GDP rises it has not been matched with rise of employment. An article in Livemint sums, \u201cfarmers are earning less than what they were before\u201d . International Labor Organization estimates that India\u2019s unemployment stands at 3.5%, 18.9 million.<\/p>\n

That Modi\u2019s economic agenda is pro-free market is another myth. Disinvestment of public sector units languishes. The Flipkart-Walmart deal is yet to be approved. With the loss of foreign educated Indian economists a fear of returning to protectionist economics stalks. Notably, S. Gurumurthy, a chartered accountant, has become the deputy governor at RBI. Gurumurthy used to head the \u2018Swadeshi Jagran Manch\u2019 and rail against the liberalization of Indian economy during the Congress regimes.<\/p>\n

Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) survey pegs urban labor participation rate at 40.53% and for rural areas as 43.94%. The US labor participation rate, measured by Bureau of Labor Statistics, is  approximately 63%. Note, unlike India the US maintains robust data reporting, on a monthly basis, by government institutions. For an economy the size of India it is beyond surprising that a national institute to continuously report the data does not exist.<\/p>\n

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Data: CMIE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Data: CMIE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unemployment rate, measured by CMIE, ranges from 6.2% to 8.9%.19 million candidates applied for an exam by India\u2019s railways to fill 63,000 job openings. India\u2019s demographic advantage, millions of youngsters, is fast becoming a national nightmare from a jobs front.<\/p>\n

With a record like this only ostriches will ask anyone to vote for Modi. But all of the above are still not why I\u2019d reject Modi decisively.<\/p>\n

The Mirage of Clean Administration:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

After recent statewide elections in Karnataka threw up fractured verdict a meme was circulated by BJP supporters. The meme said, \u201cwhen BJP wins BJP forms government, When BJP does not win majority, Amit Shah forms government\u201d. Amit Shah is Modi\u2019s beloved consigliere who\u2019ll make Michael Corleone look docile. Here are Bhakti practically bragging how Amit Shah has a reputation to engineer government formations. Calling Modi\u2019s regime as corruption free is Goebbelsian propaganda.<\/p>\n

Milan Vaishnav\u2019s \u201cWhen crime pays: Money, and muscle in Indian politics\u201d is a landmark study of criminality in Indian politics. There are no saints but the BJP leads the pack. Of Lok Sabha candidates between 2004-14 the BJP had 14% candidates with serious criminal cases, CPI(M) had 12 % and Samajwadi Party had 14% and Congress had 11%. According to Reuters. nearly a third of Modi\u2019s cabinet had criminal records.<\/p>\n

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Modi and BJP eagerly embraced Gali Janardhana Reddy a mining kingpin in Bellary in Karnataka. Reddy was an accomplice to YSR Reddy of Congress in Andhra too but after YSR\u2019s death BJP proved a good home. These, without even going into the scandals involving the many relationships with the Reliance clan will show the culture of venality within BJP and that they actually outrank the Congress now.<\/p>\n

Prashant Jha has written a compelling account of the Modi magic prowess in analyzing the electoral successes of Modi. A New York Review of Books review had this nugget about Modi\u2019s Charisma:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe projects himself as the man fighting the good battle, on the side of the people, victimized by the bad guys. But while willing to fight, he also positions himself as a leader who can throw it all away, for he has no vested interests, nothing to lose. He also acknowledges the pain, but taps into the sense of righteousness, the sense of sacrifice and makes citizens feel they are participants in a great national mission, distinct from the prosaic and the banal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The review notes, comparing BJP and Congress, \u201cAt a lower level, however, there is little difference between the two parties on this score. Tellingly, they recently collaborated to insert an unobtrusive clause in the latest annual budget that has the effect of absolving both from any prior violations of rules restricting foreign political donations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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If you wondered why Modi\u2019s government has an abiding apathy to the suffering of the common man remember this, \u201c72 out of 78 ministers in Modi cabinet are crorepathis\u201d.<\/p>\n

Foreign Policy: Pragmatism, Missed Opportunities and Sly Continuity<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Walter K. Andersen and Shridhar D. Damle in \u201cRSS:A view to the inside\u201d offer an important diagnosis on Modi\u2019s approach in Sino-Indian relationship. They credit Modi for decoupling India\u2019s defense imperatives from commercial aspects in relation to China. Hence while the armies stand eyeball-to-eyeball at Doklam and as India snubs a forum led by China on question relating to border issues the commercial relationship continues unabated because Modi, the authors suggest, is dependent on China for the success of his economic prerogatives including \u2018Make in India\u2019. The authors also credit the \u201cDeng Xiaoping-Rajiv Gandhi agreement in the late 1980s\u201d for the fact that \u201cno bullet has been fired across India\u2019s border\u201d. Modi continues to honor that agreement.<\/p>\n

For all the fanfare that accompanied Modi\u2019s visits to US, the apogee of Indo-US relationships was during Manmohan-Bush era when post 9\/11 politics compelled Bush to architect, with Manmohan, the landmark nuclear deal. The Obama regime let it languish and Modi has not taken it any further. Whenever Modi visits US he meets only business leaders and mostly ignores the finest part of America, the Universities to which Indian students flock to. Modi has spent hundreds of crores in traveling to countries with little to show in return.<\/p>\n

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The Authoritarian:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

An article appeared in The Modern Review in 1937 cautioning Indians that Jawaharlal Nehru could become a fascist and he walks around like a triumphant Caesar. The column asked Indians not to \u201cspoil him by too much adulation and praise\u201d and concluded, \u201cHis conceit is already formidable. It must be checked. We want no Caesars\u201d. The author, writing under a pseudonym, was Nehru himself. As Prime Minister Nehru wrote to popular cartoonist, Keshav, \u201cdo not spare me\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the run up to the 2014 election and thereafter Modi\u2019s supporters freely floated the idea of a \u201cstrong man\u201d. Modi\u2019s supporters continuously trash the press as \u2018presstitutes\u2019. Notions of a \u2018strong state\u2019 are flippantly floated. That Modi rarely talks to the press is treated not just as a non-issue but a badge of honor. That a free press is a pillar of democracy is little understood and the assault on the press is relentless.<\/p>\n

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All of the above illustrate that a Congress or a coalition government can do pretty much the same or even marginally better but why should we implacably oppose Modi\u2019s idea of India and what, anyway, is that idea?<\/p>\n

Whose India Is It? Are Minorities Second Class Citizens?<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

America has both race tinged politics and a deep reservoir intellectual dialogue by academicians that identify and analyze such politics. A candidate\u2019s use of sly racial comments are called dog whistles. Modi will make Trump look like a kid on dog whistle politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the stump in Uttar Pradesh, Modi pledged that every town with a Muslim cemetery should also have a Hindu crematorium, and every village that got electricity in Ramadan must get it for Hindu festivals, too. He did not need to cite any particular places where such conjectural disparities actually exist. They very likely do not: Muslims in the state are generally worse off than Hindus. But the very suggestion that Muslims might be favored fell on ground fertilized by generations of Hindutva activists blaming Congress for allegedly \u201cappeasing\u201d the minority with sweeteners as part of its unseemly \u201cvote bank\u201d politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Advani peddled the phrase \u201cpseudo-secularism\u201d to allege that India\u2019s secularism was nothing but a fig leaf cover to appease minorities while holding the Hindu majority at arms length or destitute. This was and is the worst canard. Yet, no systematic fact based debunking of these claims have happened. Talk to any BJP supporter and after 5 minutes of pontificating of \u201coh we need capitalism, Nehru inflicted socialism\u201d  they\u2019d eventually reveal the true colors by saying, \u201cpseudo-secularism is the problem. We\u2019re not against minorities, we\u2019re only against preferential treatment\u201d. Then you\u2019d hear about the Haj subsidy given to Muslims, now discontinued, with full cooperation from Muslims themselves. The Haj subsidy was a continuation of a colonial era practice after Independence to make the Muslim community feel safe but it quickly devolved into nothing more than an aid for the beleaguered state run airline, Air India, the authorized airline.<\/p>\n

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Within hours of Tamil Nadu churches declaring support for the DMK alliance in forthcoming elections the news ricocheted in WhatsApp groups of BJP supporters. Never mind the fact that Tamil Nadu has caste based Hindu parties that regularly lobby political powers for concessions. Pattali Makkal Katchi, a Vanniyar outfit, literally held the state to ransom for reservation benefits. Brahmins were a big lobby for Congress pre-1967. Ironically in 1967 election, Rajagopalachari purely motivated by his desire to defeat local Congress chieftain and his rival Kamaraj, campaigned for Brahmin bashing DMK and told his fellow Brahmins, \u201cclutch your sacred thread on one hand and vote for DMK with the other hand\u201d. When Subramanian Swamy contested in Madurai, the local Brahmins association declared support for him. Though Jayalalitha was a supporter of Tamil Nadu\u2019s 69% quota reservation, a bug bear for Brahmins, the community supported her because she was Iyengar.<\/p>\n

Even in the Nehru years conversions by Christian missionaries were investigated by commissions and several states then and now have laws against conversions that have also been ratified by the Supreme Court. Those who shed tears for Hindus, who convert ,mostly from the lower castes, rarely bother to know who they are. Even a superficial reading of Colonial era history will show how far the Brahmins and other upper castes went to deny basic human rights and education to Dalits. It is a story that continues till today.<\/p>\n

In Tamil Nadu the virulent strain of anti-Brahminism that was germinated and nourished by the Dravidian parties marginalized and quite literally politically orphaned the Brahmins. That has resulted in today’s Tamil Brahmin community, with few exceptions, lining up behind BJP. In any Facebook squabble with Christians, these Hindutva Brahmins never hesitate to hurl dog-whistle insults like, \u2018rice bag converts\u2019, at Christians.<\/p>\n

In US the Trump election saw the largest divergence between voters with and without a college degree with the latter voting largely for Trump and the former voting for Hillary. Whereas in India, it is the educated class mostly holding white collar jobs that indulge in rabid hatred against minorities.<\/p>\n

Last fall, September 2018, rumors circulated that Christian evangelical groups had plagiarized Carnatic music lyrics by Thyagaraja and had songs sung by Brahmin Carnatic music singers. A torrent of vile hatred burst forth against Christians on social media, led exclusively by Brahmins who always considered Carnatic Music as their religious identity, despite the fact that they had hijacked it. The rumors of plagiarism were just that, rumors. Yet for over a month the hatred spewed forth.<\/p>\n

A vibrant Pentecostal movement is indeed causing some friction in Tamil Nadu with Churches sprouting up and use of Hindu imagery types. Photos of such images were circulated with fury and blood curdling hatred. Yet, these Hindus know very little of their own history which is replete with such examples. Appropriation and assimilation is an ancient Hindu trend actually. It is the blind hatred that\u2019s bothersome.<\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s campaign to elect Yogi Adityanath during the Uttar Pradesh state elections is instructive of the tactic. Adityanath was known for inflammatory statements and Modi\u2019s campaign gave the usual fig leaf cover to many voters who were too sheepish to admit they love Yogi for his Islamophobic rhetoric. These voters would say \u201cI\u2019m voting for economic reasons\u201d. Let\u2019s not forget that these Bhakts who tout GST as an achievement were in the hiding when BJP opposed not only GST but Rahul Gandhi\u2019s idea of a flat 18% tax.<\/p>\n

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Even if Milton Friedman were to come alive and run as Congress candidate he\u2019d not get the votes of these so called \u201cI\u2019m voting for economic agenda\u201d voters. This is where one should ponder as to why Modi is able to garner this level of support that a bigoted Vajpayee could not? Vajpayee\u2019s bigotry had it\u2019s limits. He admired Nehru and would not repeat the silly nonsensical charges that are flung at Nehru today. What does Modi give that Vajpayee did not? Unalloyed and unabashed bigotry. This is who Modi is. Would Vajpayee have mocked Sonia Gandhi for being a widow? No. Modi did.<\/p>\n

Authoritarian and fascist regimes go for the jugular in fostering divisiveness and what better way to do that than sow poison in the minds of impressionable school children? BJP governments specialize in poisoning the minds of children.<\/p>\n

Alex Traub\u2019s \u2018India\u2019s dangerous new curriculum\u2019 in New York Review of Books reviewed textbooks in Rajasthan and found, \u201cThe new textbooks promote the BJP\u2019s political program and ideology. They argue for the veracity of Vedic myths, glorify ancient and medieval Hindu rulers, recast the independence movement as a violent battle led largely by Hindu chauvinists, demand loyalty to the state, and praise the policies of the BJP prime minister, Narendra Modi. One book reduces over five centuries of rule by a diverse array of Muslim emperors to a single \u201cPeriod of Struggle\u201d and demonizes many of its leading figures.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a constant campaign to sanitize the past or to distort it and any scholarly dissent is met with a barrage of vitriol and if the dissenter happens to be a Muslim or a Christian charges of being anti-Indian will fly thick. When Irfan Habib said that the cult of treating India as a woman- god, Bharat-Mata, was a colonial era construct he was verbally lynched but he was absolutely correct and that never mattered.<\/p>\n

A feverish and ugly jingoism has taken root that becomes, often, ridiculous. Example, compelling movie theaters to play the National Anthem and mandating that everyone stand up for it. The time and energy spent by Bhakts in propagating half-truths and outright lies about India\u2019s history is matched by their ignorance of history or perversion of facts. Rajagopalachari is a darling for these Bhakts but little do they know that Rajagopalachari prohibited singing Vande Mataram in the 1930s because it made Muslims uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

In an interesting twist to the tale of Modi under his tutelage the party has become a haven for the upper caste, particularly the Brahmins. The BJP tried to woo Dalits with the slogan, \u201cJai Bhim, Jai Hind\u201d. Ambedkar\u2019s \u2018Thoughts on Pakistan\u2019 reeks of Islamophobia and is an oft cited text by BJP supporters. However, this wooing of Dalits upset the core base of upper castes. Modi, his caste not-withstanding, is a vehicle for a resurgent Brahminical Hindutva hence he cannot cross the Lakshman Rekha and offend his constitutency. BJP supporters jeers that the Congress is Khangress but it is the BJP that could be called, with justification, Brahmin Janata Party.<\/p>\n

Arun Shourie, a foot soldier for Vajpayee\u2019s bigotry, found Modi too indecent even for his revisionist tendencies and called the current regime a \u201ccongress government plus a cow\u201d. What has electing a guy like Yogi Adityanath achieve? According to Amnesty International India Today in the first 6 months of 2018 alone there have 100 deaths related to what is now called cow related lynchings. Gory incidents of lynch mobs attacking Muslims suspected of eating beef make the headlines. Things came to such a head that a HIndu cop, Subodh Singh, was killed in the town of Bulandshahr by an assailant who was allegedly a member of Bajrang Dal. The reason behind the incident was a suspicion over some cow carcasses.<\/p>\n

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Arun Shourie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Washington Post article cites statistics to say that hate crimes \u201c28 percent between 2014-2017\u201d. One gruesome incident was the murder of Alimuddin Ansari who was attacked by a mob tipped off by a Brahmin priest. The murder was broadcast on WhatsApp and watched by the victims family. WhatsApp plays a big role in not just facilitating echo chambers to spread half truths but rumors that fuel hate crimes.<\/p>\n

What is the difference between Gauri Lankesh\u2019s murder and the murder of Safdar Hashmi? Sandra Hashmi, a political activist and street playwright, was murdered by Congress goons near Delhi. Gauri Lankesh, a journalist, was murdered outside her home in Bangalore by a Hindu fundamentalist. Political violence is not new to India but Lankesh\u2019s murderer had a different motive, \u201cprotecting religion\u201d. This is a far more sinister dimension. In the wake the heinous act BJP supporters took to social media, dredged up some tweets of Lankesh, and literally hounded a murdered woman. If anyone says these are interchangeable violences they\u2019re not pretending but giving an explicit indication of their politics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The more a society secularizes itself it progresses better by harnessing diverse talent but India is regressing on that. Beyond a lack of desire to secularize the opposite tendency to rub in religious facets in everything from yoga to music is effectively pushing out sections of the populations.<\/p>\n

Rahul Gandhi is visiting temples and even claiming, quite inaccurately, that he\u2019s a Brahmin in order to convey an impression that the Congress and he are not inimical to Hinduism as Modi would have everyone to believe. This is wrong. Very wrong. This is what I mean by saying defeating or crimping Modi electorally is less important than defeating Modi\u2019s idea of India.<\/p>\n

Rahul should learn from Nehru rather than the accommodations tendencies of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.<\/p>\n

When Tamil Nadu erupted into violent protests against Hindi being imposed Nehru assured Tamils that English would continue to be the link language. For decades, Tamils have referenced that as \u201cNehru\u2019s Promise\u201d. Nehru word was promise and that promise was good enough for a people because the man who gave the word was Jawaharlal Nehru.<\/p>\n

Every time I read about the Nehru years I\u2019m always amazed at how much that one man meant to so many minorities. He was, quite literally, the last court of appeal for minorities. He was trusted. His integrity and impartiality were beyond reproach. He\u2019d chide Muslims, Muslim League and Christian Missionaries as he\u2019d hold steadfast against Hindu communalism.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Is there reason to believe that bigotry and excesses of religious fundamentalism are from a fringe element and that Modi, of only he is more emphatic, could bottle the genie? This is an argument made with no merit. Modi comes from RSS and this is his intellectual background. Modi has turned the parliamentary elections into a sort of American presidential referendum focused on his popularity and himself. Nothing in today\u2019s Sangh Parivar world happens without Modi\u2019s consent or despite his disapproval.<\/p>\n

India needs a sustained intellectual response to combat and defeat Modi\u2019s idea of India. Let us not leave it to politicians and parties and elections. It is the duty of every citizen, including someone who is not a citizen of India. India is important for the world and it behooves all of us to combat hatred. Let us reclaim Nehru\u2019s idea of India, not just for India or for today but for all humanity and for generations to come.<\/p>\n

References:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. How India became democratic: Citizenship and the making of universal franchise \u2014 Ornit Shani<\/li>\n
  2. The idea of India – Sunil Khilnani<\/li>\n
  3. When crime pays: Money and muscle in Indian politics – Milan Vaishnav<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cIndia\u2019s prime minister focuses too much on appearances\u201d – The Economist – https:\/\/www.economist.com\/leaders\/2017\/11\/02\/indias-prime-minister-focuses-too-much-on-appearances<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Narendra Modi\u2019s government is losing economists – https:\/\/qz.com\/india\/1489910\/after-rbis-urjit-patel-surjit-bhalla-quits-team-modi\/<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Gita Gopinath and India\u2019s Brain Drain – Sadand Dhume – Wall Street Journal – https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/gita-gopinath-and-indias-brain-drain-1538694599<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Foreign economists leave and protectionist India returns – https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/Politics\/utwVNKAc6O2LVruqPj072J\/Insight-As-foreign-economic-advisers-leave-a-protectioni.html<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Agrarian crisis clear & present danger for Indian economy – https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/Money\/qTyGharLfpnjuKbQ7SID0I\/Agrarian-crisis-clear–present-danger-for-Indian-economy.html<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Criminals in Modi\u2019s cabinet – https:\/\/in.reuters.com\/article\/india-politics-crime\/nearly-third-of-%20cabinet-charged-with-crimes-despite-modi-pledge-idINKCN0IU1A920141111<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. Cabinet of crorepatis – https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/news\/national\/72-out-of-78-ministers-in-modi-cabinet-are-crorepatis\/article8824043.ece<\/a><\/li>\n
  11. India\u2019s dangerous new curriculum – Alex Traub NYRB – https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/articles\/2018\/12\/06\/indias-dangerous-new-curriculum\/<\/a><\/li>\n
  12. BJP Dalit outreach irks upper castes in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan – http:\/\/www.newindianexpress.com\/nation\/2018\/sep\/04\/bjps-dalit-outreach-irks-upper-castes-in-madhya-pradesh-and-rajasthan-1867252.html<\/a><\/li>\n
  13. Why upper castes are angry with BJP – https:\/\/www.rediff.com\/news\/report\/why-upper-castes-are-angry-with-bjp-and-nitish\/20181018.htm<\/a><\/li>\n
  14. Safdar Hashmi – https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Safdar_Hashmi<\/a><\/li>\n
  15. Gauri Lankesh – https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gauri_Lankesh<\/a><\/li>\n
  16. India hate crimes on the rise – https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2018\/world\/reports-of-hate-crime-cases-have-spiked-in-india\/?utm_term=.d62211032833<\/a><\/li>\n
  17. UP tops cow related violence – https:\/\/www.indiatoday.in\/india\/story\/up-tops-the-list-for-hate-crimes-cow-related-violence-honour-killing-most-common-1287627-2018-07-17<\/a><\/li>\n
  18. History of RECs – https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_Regional_Engineering_Colleges<\/a><\/li>\n
  19. CSIR – https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Council_of_Scientific_and_Industrial_Research<\/a><\/li>\n
  20. IITs – https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indian_Institutes_of_Technology<\/a><\/li>\n
  21. https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/asia_pacific\/indias-railroads-had-63000-job-openings-19-million-people-applied\/2019\/01\/04\/77a82e94-edb3-11e8-8b47-bd0975fd6199_story.html?utm_term=.b07228ece60c<\/a><\/li>\n
  22. https:\/\/data.bls.gov\/timeseries\/lns11300000<\/a><\/li>\n
  23. https:\/\/www.cmie.com\/kommon\/bin\/sr.php?kall=warticle&dt=2018-12-04%2009:49:11&msec=930<\/a><\/li>\n
  24. https:\/\/frontline.thehindu.com\/cover-story\/science-as-solution\/article6629782.ece<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cWhither do we go from here\u201d, asked Jawaharlal Nehru, on the eve of India\u2019s freedom, and answered that the nation needed to \u201ccreate social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.\u201d It is that idea of India that is now hijacked and perverted by a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":1440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,26],"tags":[300,179,44],"class_list":["post-1395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-politics","tag-modi","tag-179","tag-44"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3304,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=3304","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":0},"title":"Western Influences on Gandhi and India\u2019s Liberation: Modi\u2019s use of Gandhi as a mask","author":"\u0b85\u0bb0\u0bb5\u0bbf\u0ba8\u0bcd\u0ba4\u0ba9\u0bcd \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0bc8\u0baf\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"26.10.19","format":false,"excerpt":"On October 2nd 2019, the 150th anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi\u2019s birth, India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised both his supporters and detractors with a pean to the Mahatma in, of all newspapers, the New York Times. Mr. Modi heads a government that is ideologically linked to organizations that inspired Gandhi\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/modi-gandhi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/modi-gandhi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/modi-gandhi.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/modi-gandhi.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=336","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":1},"title":"Pakistan, A Caution for India: Vignettes of History","author":"\u0b85\u0bb0\u0bb5\u0bbf\u0ba8\u0bcd\u0ba4\u0ba9\u0bcd \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0bc8\u0baf\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"13.08.18","format":false,"excerpt":"America and India, the world\u2019s oldest and largest democracies, are at crossroads of what it means to be a liberal and secular democracy. If liberalism as an idea is under threat in America it is the idea of secularism that is under assault in India. If an opinion is sought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/nehru_jinnah_367_20150601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/nehru_jinnah_367_20150601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/nehru_jinnah_367_20150601.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3191,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=3191","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":2},"title":"War and Ahimsa: Gandhi on Kashmir","author":"\u0ba4. \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"26.10.19","format":false,"excerpt":"Jammu and Kashmir has faced many wars, terrorism and people\u2019s protests ever since India gained independence. Today, this land is encountering another major political challenge. A state, which was given special status, has lost its special status, and moreover, has lost the status of a state, being split into two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/9234436.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/9234436.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/9234436.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/9234436.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3416,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=3416","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":3},"title":"Giving Asylum: A Dharmic Perspective","author":"B.C. \u0b85\u0ba9\u0bc0\u0bb7\u0bcd \u0b95\u0bbf\u0bb0\u0bc1\u0bb7\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd \u0ba8\u0bbe\u0baf\u0bb0\u0bcd","date":"27.12.19","format":false,"excerpt":"As a Hindu, I am proud of certain things. My country, the ancient land called Bharatha was always tolerant towards all religious and ethnic groups. In the last millenniums, persecuted masses from various corners of the world have rushed to this blessed land seeking asylum and they have never been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/20552c1c9cf3b97d67d824471c5ef7cb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/20552c1c9cf3b97d67d824471c5ef7cb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/20552c1c9cf3b97d67d824471c5ef7cb.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/20552c1c9cf3b97d67d824471c5ef7cb.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":965,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=965","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":4},"title":"Devadasis: Beyond Constructs and Contentions","author":"B.C. \u0b85\u0ba9\u0bc0\u0bb7\u0bcd \u0b95\u0bbf\u0bb0\u0bc1\u0bb7\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd \u0ba8\u0bbe\u0baf\u0bb0\u0bcd","date":"14.11.18","format":false,"excerpt":"I. The word \u201cDevadasi\u201d is one of the most contentious terms in contemporary cultural discourse.\u00a0In certain parts, the Tamil variation of the word \u201cdevadiya\u201d is an abuse and used as an alternative for the word harlot. On the other hand, in Karnataka, the Kannada variation \u201cDevadiga\u201d invokes respect and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/771px-Nautch_girls_Hyderabad_a_photo_by_Hooper_and_Western-350x350-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1777,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1777","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":5},"title":"The Ba in the Bapu (Part 3)","author":"\u0ba4. \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"17.02.19","format":false,"excerpt":"To Read: First Part :\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2018\/11\/14\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-kannan-t\/ Second Part :\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2019\/01\/13\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-part-2-kannan-t\/ (9) After a long period of personal and political transformation, the Gandhi family left South Africa in July, 1914. While the rest of the party went to India directly, Gandhi and Kasturba first went to England, along with Kallenbach, to meet Gopal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Modii-1200x589.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1395"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6609,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1395\/revisions\/6609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}