The Great Indian Political Drama - 1 (Oct 2017 - Mar 2018)

[Aditya_V]

^
But well, the argument goes back to square one and rotates in circles. Will stop here. Let the rah-rah-infalliable-Modi crowd have the last say and the last laugh. Peace.

My last on this Diwali issues.

Everybody agrees Modi is not peerfect, but he is the best choice out there and there a lot of unseen limitations out there. This everything can be done in a jiffy is unrealistic and will never happen. But 2019 is as important if not a more important election than 2014. 2014 the opponents were willing to give 1 term to discredit Modi and left a scorched earth policy. Look at the state ammunition, artillery, defense acquisitions. China was happily crossing the borders left right and centre and Pakis were sending BAT teams at thier will and fancy and expecting us to turn Siachen to them.

A lot has happened in the last 3 years but it will take 10-15 years continuous years before we can see appreciable results.

AAnd the Last thing I want is this Modi syndrome, many are good. Lets not get back to the days of Hemu were everything is dependent on the General, let us learn from the Sikhs who rallied even if thier leaders died on the Battlefield.

[Mahakala]

They're efficiently ensuring closure of tens of thousands of hindu run schools.

And its not like this is something new. This was passed in 2004. 3 years after your own govt has done nothing is not when rss should pipe up.

To be honest, my shortlist has only the three items including this. However, Smritiji was busy fighting social media battles. Javdekar saab is also on the same lines. I don't think we get anything but soundbytes from that exercise. They need to first address the minority only approach of the act.

Every thing else will fall into place within a year. Most folks outside these august forums do not have a long memory and care only about the previous budget. A populist budget is most probably in the pipeline going by the war chest they are building *low inflation, low deficits, lower borrowing rates, etc.

As I understand it from multiple posts here, even lip service would be helpful. I do not think another namami gange project will be helpful. A clear rewrite of the act will take more time. Anti corruption moves with charges etc would be ideal too. However, arrests or traction depends on the judiciary and as such, these timelines are beyond MAD control. Therefore, they are continuing to work with the dials and knobs they have within reach. Whether RTE or Diwali ordinances are part of those is the question...

Less said about Irani & Javdekar the better. Let us not forget that even without the anti-hindu provisions of RTE, it is a terrible law in itself. There have been many many articles on why it misses the whole point of educating India - focussing on what schools should have rather than learning outcomes to drive progress in edu etc. Please do not tell me that wasting 5 years in your govt with a promise of fixing things in the next 5 is any kind of excuse. Neither of them has done anything on improving basic education, the bane of current India. All they've done is meddling with IIT/IIMs. Whose bright ideas was it to give greater autonomy to IIT and IIMs? Without putting forward any kind of plan to leap forward either in primary edu or higher edu, all we've had from Irani was unnecessary drama in RS over Holi and fawning articles on Javdekar in media (Guess why?).

Even if we were going to do all this in the next term (What bloody guarantee is there that you'll even be re-elected?) talking about it right from the get go will create its own momentum and put the other side on the backfoot. Let us not forget that even the enemy has limited resources, even if greater than ours. Spreading them thin across multiple fronts and setting the agenda rather than not reaction to their pinpricks everywhere is what we should've done right from the start. We didnt. After all the brouhaha over they'll make this nation into a yindoo india, they know nothing of that sort is gonna happen despite harebrained idiocies like subtle hindi pushing. So they're not in a worse state now than 2014 despite fcra cancellations. Thank god for that atleast.

Just look at the lack of problems (relatively) from the US against us with Trump at the helm vs what we'd have had with Clinton. Same to same here also. Unless you take the attack to the opposition, you won't win. Shore up first, I agree. But you also have to show intention to hit back. That starts with talk. Haven't seen it.

[Mahakala]

Btw IIP data is out and its 4.x% now. Lets see the idiots holler now

[Marten]

Mahakala ji, I hope we do not a face to face discussion about this owing to your fearsome nature *grin. In a previous post, I agreed they must at least talk -- that statement by the RSS is the flare in the sky. Jawdekar himself is a crowd pleaser and wants to stay around. Goyal etc. are in the same mould but understand real politik. Irani was the right person to have taken it up -- in any case, she was being targeted. It is a missed opportunity indeed. There is still time though.

In my opinion, we will see more focus on visible measures such as the 3 lac students headed to Japan etc. along with tax breaks to middle class. For the poorer sections.rural India, we will hopefully see traction on RJB (Shri Ram statue itself is the start of this effort).

[Aditya_V]

One more Reminder to those no understnading the people behind the Diwali cracker ban

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 815775.ece

Refusing the plea made by three infants, who turned to the Supreme Court for relief against the air pollution caused by firecrackers during Diwali, a Bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra said: “the court cannot stop people from bursting crackers in front of their homes.”

It seems it is the same lawyer who claimed during his IT assessment that "Termites" ate all his accounting vouchers.

The court dismissed arguments made by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi to prescribe a time limit and even designate public spaces where people can burst crackers.

“Sorry. We cannot tell everybody to go to some Nehru maidan and burst crackers,” the CJI said.

Lets sit out 2019 and let others win, after all BJP= Other parties Onlee

[Schmidt]

One more Reminder to those no understnading the people behind the Diwali cracker ban

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 815775.ece

[quoteThe court dismissed arguments made by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi to prescribe a time limit and even designate public spaces where people can burst crackers.

“Sorry. We cannot tell everybody to go to some Nehru maidan and burst crackers,” the CJI said.

Lets sit out 2019 and let others win, after all BJP= Other parties Onlee
[/quote]

---------------------------------------------

They are out of power , and still got their ban ( in sale - which is pretty much a ban on crackers itself) - and won !!!

We have a supposedly pro - Hindu party in power and what do we have to show for it ??

Today a regular Aam Aadmi came on TV and blasted the BJP panelist for doing nothing. It was all in HIndi . The BJP guy muttered something about court ruling and they were not responsible for the ban. The Aam Admi retorted saying you guys promised to protect Hindus and our way of life and practices , and what are you doing about it.

The BJP guy just muttered something ( like we are thinking about it ) and vamoosed from the debate

The feeling is growing among aam junta that BJP is just all talk and no action when it comes to protecting Hindu interests

[abhijatT]

^ So what happened in these two years ?

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... s?from=mdr

NEW DELHI: The petition seeking ban on firecrackers in NCR has been pending in the Supreme Court since 2015 but the court's approach had been inconsistent on the issue. The first order to ban its sale was modified allowing limited sale and finally the ban was re-imposed this year during Diwali.

The flip-flops on the part of apex court is mainly because there is no credible and reliable study done so far by an Indian agency on adverse impact of bursting of firecrackers on environment and there are contradictory findings in the studies done by private agencies. The court, which had in 2015 turned down a plea to ban firecrackers during Diwali, had to intervene in light of alarming pollution level after 2016 Diwali and suspended all licenses of sellers of firecrackers.

"The capital was smogged into an environmental emergency of unseen proportions," court had said while justifying its interim order to ban firecrackers. It had also directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to conduct a study and file a report within three months on the harmful effects of the materials used in fireworks. The court had said that it would review its interim order after going through the report.

But CPCB failed to comply with the order and told the court that firecrackers did not come within its jurisdiction and the task should be entrusted to another government agency Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO). As the government agencies did not produce any credible and empirical study on the issue, the court was virtually forced to modify its ban order and allowed sale of firecrackers on September 12.

"What is necessary now is to correlate air pollution with the sale and bursting of fireworks in Delhi and the NCR. There is no doubt that the air we breathe gets polluted with the bursting of fireworks. The extent of air pollution caused by bursting fireworks is not clear in the absence of empirical data - it could be severe or it could be marginal, but it is there," the bench had said.

"It is astonishing that the CPCB has not conducted the study and prepared a report as directed. Apart from the fact that the CPCB has not conducted any study, even otherwise, no standards have been laid down by the CPCB which could give any indication of the acceptable and permissible limit of constituent metals or chemicals used in fireworks and released in the air, beyond which their presence would be harmful or dangerous," the court had noted..

It had appointed a high level committee consisting of representatives from CPCB, National Physical Laboratory, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, IIT Kanpur, Fire Development and Research Centre,National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and scientists from the State Pollution Control Boards to conduct a study on adverse health impact on people due to bursting fireworks during Dussehra and Diwali. The committee headed by CPCB chairman was asked to submit report ..

While reimposing 2016 order, the court said that ban order should be tested at least for one Diwali season to find out whether snapping the supply chain of firecrackers resulted in better air quality in comparison to last year situation.

"This order (2016 order) prevailed during the year but the impact and effect of this order remains to be tested on Diwali days. Going by these considerations, we are of the opinion that the judgment dated September 12, 2017 passed by this Court s ..

[Aditya_V]

People cannot take the disruption done by GST, will they be willing to take disruption in wholesale changes to Judicary, Babudom, Police etc... Other side won because they had except for 1 5 year term uninterupted power for 70 years.

But we want everything today dont we.

- SO FCRA bans is nothing
- Rearming are forces is nothing
- Giving ability to tackle crime not in our interests.

I guess the janta follow the example of people instead of fighting when the Raja ran away stood before Alahudin Khilji and expect a just rule from him

[Aditya_V]

As I see it we can we can balme just the Govt and be like this, or show the resolve and except changes of 15-20 years. The choice is the Aam Aadmi's.

Dont except the other side to Turn over and say well done, the leftists will never do that. Rather they will only try and confuse and keep fighting the
way they want to.


http://www.thetinyman.in/2012/09/bakhti ... engal.html

Abdulla went towards the complex gate where the guard stopped him. The guard informed him that, as the tradition went, he had to answer three questions before he entered the complex.

Unable to answer, Abdulla got irritated and went back to his master the general himself galloped towards the gate and ordered his men to follow him. The guard stopped Muhammad Khilji and asked him the same questions he had asked Abdulla. He calmly drew his sword and beheaded the guard.

Muhammad Khilji Bakhtiar
After the prayers were over, Bakhtiar Khilji and his troops were truly energized. The general ordered the troops to swarm the university and spare no infidels.

Thousands of monks and students were beheaded and blood flowed in streams.

Temples, Stupas, and statues were destroyed. Those who could run tried to save their lives by hiding in the library as no one inside the university was taught to be a fighter. Moreover, they had no arms and were defenseless.

The general and his men came in front of the library. An old monk came from inside and begged the general to spare at least the library.

"Books will do no harm, please do not destroy the library," begged the old monk.
Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji Destroyed Nalanda University
"Is there a copy of the Holy Quran inside?" asked the general.

"No, there is not," replied the monk.

The answer infuriated the general beyond limits. The monks had to be punished , "And if any believe not in Allah and His Messenger, We have prepared, for those who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire!"

"Then, it is settled. Burn the library," he ordered his troops as he swung his sword again, beheading the old monk.

[Aditya_V]

If victory is defined by SC order only for Delhi for sale of crackers, good luck , Lets sit it out, do deals with the INC, TMC, SP, DMK and Cpi(M). Lets see what happens to your Eber Right wing causes.

[kvjayan]

One more Reminder to those no understnading the people behind the Diwali cracker ban

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 815775.ece

Refusing the plea made by three infants, who turned to the Supreme Court for relief against the air pollution caused by firecrackers during Diwali, a Bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra said: “the court cannot stop people from bursting crackers in front of their homes.”

It seems it is the same lawyer who claimed during his IT assessment that "Termites" ate all his accounting vouchers.

The court dismissed arguments made by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi to prescribe a time limit and even designate public spaces where people can burst crackers.

“Sorry. We cannot tell everybody to go to some Nehru maidan and burst crackers,” the CJI said.

Lets sit out 2019 and let others win, after all BJP= Other parties Onlee

It is the SC which brought out the religious angle to the issue by saying "It is dangerous to infringe on common man's right to enjoy religious celebrations"!

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 815775.ece

[Sachin]

SC refuses to relax firecracker ban......
"We are pained to hear that some people are giving the order a communal colour. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a very spiritual person in in such matters," said Justice A.K. Sikri, who along with two other judges authored the October 9 ban.
....
"The court has not stopped the people from celebrating the Diwali festival."......

Today a regular Aam Aadmi came on TV and blasted the BJP panelist for doing nothing. It was all in HIndi . The BJP guy muttered something about court ruling and they were not responsible for the ban. The Aam Admi retorted saying you guys promised to protect Hindus and our way of life and practices , and what are you doing about it.

Perhaps, we at BRF should check if such incidents are happening on a regular basis. Because that may lead us to know if the "secular" gang is really working on a new trick. Diwali cracker ban is just one activity, and that too restricted to a single city. The "Aam Admi" mentioned here could be a trojan horse deliberately brought in to cause confusion and distrust. But is there a move by the "seculars" to target the majority community festivals one after other, in order to prove that the current pro-Hindu government is also equally unable to protect the Hindu rights? One good tactic to demoralise the enemy is to show-case its leadership as useless fools, or people who are not true to the cause. If Hindus in general can be led to have a feeling that BJP is not Hindu enough, that so-called Hindu unity and liking for BJP would crumble. The "seculars" can then come back to power (and ensure that no similar unity schemes ever work in India). I am aware of Jalli Kattu and Dahi Handi bans; both which was also flouted with equal vigour. Need to see how the Delhi cracker ban works out.

[Hari Seldon]

As I see it we can we can balme just the Govt and be like this, or show the resolve and except changes of 15-20 years. The choice is the Aam Aadmi's.

Not entirely true.

The onus also falls on the govt of the day to ensure that justice is done and is seen as being done.

Maybe you think Modi sarkar has done enough on that score. There are those even among Modi voters who don't. One can choose to live with that fact, on not.

Maunmohan tactics make sense for a weakling 'accidental' PM with zero base, not for one whose base actually has expectations of him - including of communication, of empathy, of trust, of accountability.

Dont except the other side to Turn over and say well done, the leftists will never do that. Rather they will only try and confuse and keep fighting the way they want to.

Thanks. And we're not 'the other side'. The leftists and islamists are vicious with those they see as turncoats. The fundamentalists will turn on their own at the first hint of suspicion. In momeen societies, daggers will literally be drawn at the faintist whiff of free thinking (== apostasy).

We're not like that and don't wanna be like that either.

It should be possible to disagree with Modi and still continue to vote for Modi.

If victory is defined by SC order only for Delhi for sale of crackers, good luck , Lets sit it out, do deals with the INC, TMC, SP, DMK and Cpi(M). Lets see what happens to your Eber Right wing causes.

There you go again. What's with this canard, repeatedly finding life among those who desperately want to believe it and rake it up every so often?

I understand the siren song strawmen exert - so easy to set up and tear down. Doesn't make it a sound argument though.

For the nth time: No Modi voter here intends to vote for any psec party. Period. Let that sink in please.

See if you can actually make a cogent argument based on something that is not a lie. That'd be so welcome. Only.

My last to you. Feel free to have the last word, if you want to. Peace.

[Aditya_V]

Yes there are many things which Government could have done better but as laymen we also don't all their limitations. For everything said and done they are yet to get a majority in RS. INC always had majority with thier B teams in both LS and RS through B teams.

So some things will take time. If we are smart we will first make the appeasers parties irrelevant and defeat their hateful ideology. In criticism we should not go down the level they are all the same onlee, that will confuse newbies into what is good and what is bad. This was what was done in 2004 along with complacency which saw a "lost" decade.

Also, we should step back and analyse and not be reactionary. I am sure there are many strategies been worked out by the full time conspirators. For eg, when Oil prices crashed our largest Export Refined Petroleum fell in value but Media spun it as if our Exports were Collapsing which was not the case.

We need to accept all political parties have thier faults, some score 40 on 100 and try to improve thier marks, others score 5 on 100, point to the 60 wrong marks of the other and insist that the 95 wrong answers they did were correct. It is better we work with the person score 40 to improve on thier marks.

[syam]

These guys have no idea what's going on outside their comfort zone. I doubt they represent any hindu let alone BJP core voter. Please live in your own bubble and do cricket analysis of politics. The more I spend here listening to the posters, the more I understand common hindu psyche.

[Sachin]

x-posted from BRF
Status quo over Rohingya crisis continues
The Supreme Court on Friday orally indicated that the government should not deport Rohingya “now” as the Centre prevailed over it to not record any such views in its formal order, citing “international ramifications”.
....
“Take action wherever you find wrong, but do not deport now,” Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra orally asked the Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre.

[SRoy]

Problem with Modi bhakts is not being Modi bhakts, rather their blind belief in British era colonial structures that tries to decides every aspects of our life. These people really live in a bubble, for they are not able to understand the basic psyche behind the general population that dismisses or bribe their way around every law of the land.

[syam]

[arshyam]

It's very simple. Had the govt argued for not banning firecrackers in the SC, and still lost, no one here will be blaming Modi or the govt. But the govt through the CPCB actually supported the ban, which was confirmed publicly by a top minister on Twitter. That he deleted the tweet shows the backlash he received.

Anyone not understanding the feeling on the street on this is living in their own castle. As I'd predicted earlier, the ban has now spread to MH and CG. MH is actually a wider ban since it applies to all residential areas and not just one city. And those who think people will vote for Congress because of this are missing the point. The re-election of 2019 matters more than 2014, and Modi will need all the support he gets. There are enough challenges as is, given his ruthless focus on cleaning up the economy and potentially alienating some of the small-business owners (it's still good in the long term, no doubt). But adding to those challenges by hitting such self-goals is unnecessary and makes no sense.

Once again, ban on firecrackers = ban on Deepavali. Over and out.

[Gus]

Ram statue Could turn out to be a good move. It will increase pilgrimage traffic to ayodhya and more and more people will clamor for Mandir wahi banayenge.

Many from south make the trip to Kasi and other temples in UP but don't go to rjb.

[Zynda]

Does this go here?

TIME names Gurmehar Kaur as the Next Generation Leader

Delhi University Lady Shri Ram college student Gurmehar Kaur has been listed as one of Time magazine 10 next generation leaders for the year 2017. The 20-year old has been hailed as a “free-speech warrior”.

The Jalandhar native earned prominence after she raised her voice against the violence by members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the college in February this year. She withstood all the threats, including that of rape and murder, on the social media for her stand.

Kaur was just 2-years when her father, an Army officer, was martyred during an encounter with militants in Kashmir.

Gurmehar attempted to drive home a strong message by holding a placard saying ‘it was war, not Pakistan’ that killed her father. The recent issue of Time magazine profiles 10 young men and women making a difference in the world.

Gurmehar is at the second spot. Kaur shared the news on social media on Friday saying, “Humbled and honoured to be mentioned alongside people I’ve always looked up to and admired as one of Time’s next generation leaders and as the first Indian woman to do so.

You don’t know the amount of strength and resilience you’re capable of till you are put to test. Peace and love for the win, always.”

Putting up the image that made her famous to remind folks of who she is (will remove if admins deem inappropriate)



Was just a matter of time before her grooming began on an international scale. Expect her to be represent India on international forums discussing Human Rights, Women's Rights, Peace etc. in a few years from now (probably once she graduates).

[Indrad]

Modi sarkar’s Rs 51k wedding bounty for graduate Muslim women https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 955530.cms

NEW DELHI: To encourage the pursuit of higher education among Muslim women, those who obtain graduate degrees will soon be given a wedding gift of Rs 51,000 by the Modi government. The scheme has been christened Shaadi Shagun, to start with.
A website is currently being put up by Maulana Azad Educational Foundation where all details of the scheme would be made available. The Shaadi Shagun amount will be made available only to those graduate Muslim girls who have already received MAEF scholarships earlier.

[Indrad]

Bursting of firecrackers restricted to three hours in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh
Diwali firecrackers: The High Court took a suo moto cognizance of the deteriorating air quality in the region and sought information on the licenses of explosives from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... h-4888244/

meek surrender of bjp on whole issue will cost them ...

[Rudradev]

I want to highlight something really quickly.

It has become a common statement here that Vikas, Economy, Infrastructure has become too much a priority for the Modi GOI and therefore "Hindu" matters have been sidelined from the agenda.

I would like to point out that this is a fallacious argument perpetuated by the MSM and their Congi/Left sponsors. There is no reason why both Hindu interests and economic/developmental interests can be pursued at the same time.

For us to keep repeating this false choice as if it were a genuine argument only undermines our position by giving strength to a very anti-Hindu idea: that Indic culture and tradition are incompatible with progress, development and prosperity. It is the same sort of toxic worldview which gave rise to the sneering phrase "Hindu Rate of Growth" to describe the failed economic policies of the anti-Hindu Nehru. The implication is that to become advanced and developed, we have to reject what is in our traditions and accept Western ways.


This applies whether you agree that Modi sarkar is not doing enough for Hindu interests, or whether you feel that he is.

Regardless of your position on Modi sarkar, please be mindful of lending your voice to the enemy's narrative.

[Rudradev]

It's not as if Namo has done nothing for the core voter base. He has slowly been cleaning up the ecosystem like reducing the students intake into social sciences at JNU. With time we can replace the faculty with indic faculty. Appointments to Indian Council of Historical Research etc are Indics. Over many years, these will do a lot to create a level playing field for Hindus.

More than UCC or Ram Mandir, I prefer demographic control and ghar wapsi. If we fail in demographics every other gain will be squandered in no time. Cutting funds to madrassas, deradicalisation of muslims and population control should be way higher up in the priority list for Hindus than Mandir or UCC. We have to take their power to influence elections in any significant way. All political parties will fall in line once that happens.

+1,00,008

See... separate and apart from Vikas/Development/Economy, there are two types of "Hindu interest" issues. Structural and Iconic.

The ICONIC issues are the ones that are guaranteed to raise the emotional pitch very strongly. They pertain to symbolic matters that are very obvious, clear, and in-your-face. This does not mean that they're not important matters, they may be very important to many of us... e.g. Jallikattu, traditional celebrations of festivals (like diwali crackers or dahi handi), womens' entry into temples etc.

However, the nature of public consciousness is such that large amounts of mass public sentiment will quickly climb on top of such Iconic issues, stay there for a while, and then the issues will fade from public memory in a relatively short time. This is not a good or a bad thing, it's simply how society works. Therefore political interests (BIF as well as PIF) can utilize such Iconic issues for very specific purposes that usually centre around short-term flashpoints. They also make for very good TRP.

The STRUCTURAL issues are the matters that do not appear to have very immediate or obvious effects but profoundly impact the structure of society in the long term. These include FCRA, anti-conversion, triple-talaq (though this may be iconic for Muslims it is structural for us), Hindu control over temples, RTE, etc. Typically Hindu masses will not get agitated over these issues or become motivated by them. This is why it is very important for the GOI to pursue them consistently, quietly, and ruthlessly... because typically, no one will come out on the streets to support Structural Issues.

However, one generation from now, the handling of Structural Issues today will have a defining influence on the state of Hindus in India.

The handling of Iconic issues can also have long-term impacts, no doubt, but in a much more unpredictable and stochastic way (which will be continuously influenced in different directions as unforeseen circumstances develop).

On the question: Is Modi Sarkar doing enough for Hindu interests? I would say the following.

Modi Sarkar has successfully taken up many Structural Interest Issues, and has fought long, relatively quiet battles against the BIF in the judiciary as well as legislative organs to get our way on these issues. The degree of success is of course partial (these things take a long time to change) but the fight is ongoing. We should not expect instant microwaveable solutions to Structural Issues that affect Hindu Interests... it is a long, brutal slog of "ek aur dhakka", month after month, constituency by constituency.

However there are two Structural Issues on which I, personally, believe that Modi Sarkar has NOT done enough and should do more. They are (1) RTE and (2) Getting government out of the business of controlling Hindu temples. There is a third structural issue that has not been touched at all apart from once in the very beginning of Modi sarkar: reforming the Judiciary so that its worldview is no longer Nehruvian in aspect but unapologetically Indic.

On these three specific Structural issues, I will agree with anyone who says Modi Sarkar has not yet done enough for Hindus.

On the Iconic issues, I think it is a waste of our time to get too much into discussing them here UNLESS they can in some way be leveraged against the BIFs. Often it is the BIFs who try to create discord in our ranks by giving a lot of predominance to Iconic issues (from the other side) as a means of provocation. It is important that we not respond to their provocation with great emotional upswells, and end up dancing to the enemy's tune. Let's discuss these issues as they come up, of course, but with a very clear and unemotional mind as to who is doing what and with what agenda.

Iconic is not less important than Structural. They are like tactics and strategy respectively. But to bundle all these issues together and cry that Modi is not pro-Hindu enough, means that the enemy is winning. Better to see what we can do to control the short-term narrative re: Iconic issues, and the long-term narrative re: Structural issues.

Just my thoughts.