Make no mistake, though, there’s nothing dilettante-ish about the government’s celebrations of these anniversaries, especially those around Mohandas Karamchand. None other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided he will head the high-level committee that will soon be set up to celebrate these historical dates in a “befitting” manner. Today’s politics revels in the vindictive celebration of history, a selective remembrance of things past. Read: Modi-fication of Khadi calendar unites Opposition, PMO dismisses rowIndeed, the celebration of the Paikas is a great event. But in this cherry-picking of our historical heroes, Jaitley and Modi have abbreviated the vast and generous experiment of Indian democracy into something smaller than it is.

Source: Hindustan Times February 02, 2017 05:28 UTC