Ashis Nandy

Psychology dominated the show from 1940s to '80s. Now, there is a clear decline, says political psychologist Ashis Nandy.

Media and democracy—the themes recurred at the Vinod Mehta Memorial Lecture and Outlook SpeakOut Awards

The sly interplay between idealism and ideology keeps excess at bay. In these times of ‘total politics’ in India—characterised by a jam-spread of hatred that leaves isolated, targeted individuals meekly facing a gargantuan State—that healthy mutual vigil has been summarily suspended.

Bangalore molesters were only doing their best as ‘worthy’ sons

Political psychologist Ashis Nandy speaks on the future of India, based on his reading of its past and present

A myopic Indian state has irrevocably forfeited Kashmiris’ trust. Like in Palestine, they’ll now wage a decentralised, azadi-driven struggle.

The sorts of corruption that matter are a purview of privileged

Prosecuting Nandy for what he said is patently wrong. to not challenge him would be folly too.

Caste has nothing to do with graft. Even so, Nandy must be heard.

The founding fathers displayed commendable foresight by placing "reasonable restrictions" on freedom of expression

A response to Ashis Nandy's piece on the Kashmir crisis published in Outlook

We forget that during the independence struggle, freedom fighters could speak publicly.

1. That Penguin Random House contest the suit against The Hindus and 2. That the sections of the Indian Penal Code under which the suit was brought (IPC 153A, 295A) be revised

Nandy’s statement at Jaipur was a kind of myth; the outrage against him is a kind of myth too; and so too is the myth of the defenders,

Along with a profound sense of disappointment and anger at Ashis Nandy's statements is anger at the knee jerk reactions that have followed this episode, calling for Nandy’s prosecution and imprisonment

'Our corruption doesn’t look that corrupt, their corruption does.' Transcript of the relevant portion of the controversial discussion at JLF

To enter into Nandy’s works is to encounter a mind that is not only deeply thoughtful but also forever engaged with the suppleness and play of ideas.

'If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and diminish all of us... We demand that the spurious cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he be allowed to return to a normal life in In

Prominent Citizens appeal to 'the Congress leadership': 'Despite Mufti Sahib's readiness to step down as CM, in accordance with the power-sharing agreement made in 2002, India's national interest would be best served by his continuance in office'

Ashis Nandy in the Times of India:

Jinnah demanded a looser, federal polity built around powerful provinces as a way out of partitioning the country. The Indian National Congress first accepted the idea and then ditched it. Paradoxically, the power that Jinnah demanded for the provinces was in many ways less than the power the chief ministers of some Indian states have exercised in recent years.

This background explains why, 60 years after the event, partition and the roles in it of individual leaders haunt our political culture. We are still debating in our hearts our birth trauma. We cannot accept that our midwives, too, were children of their times and spoke from within the colonial world in which they lived. We use them as archetypes to battle our fears, anxieties and self-doubts. We are what we are, we suspect, because of their choices, not ours. 

Read the full piece where he says he  looks "at the future with apprehension and fear that we may have already lost a part of our selfhood" at the Times of India

Ashis Nandy in Tehelka:

Diverse configurations in diverse places determined the fate of different candidates and parties. Different regions had different logic even within a given state. Still, underlying the diversity there were some common themes.

...First, I think people were looking for ways to lower the temperature of politics...

...The second underlying theme is that people were searching for a sort of minimum decency. Negative campaigns, excessively personal attacks, hostile slogans — all of this seemed to upset the voter... 

(I asked a waiter at the India International Centre in Delhi what he felt about the election results. “It’s been very good,” he said. Was he a Congress supporter, I asked him. “It’s not that, sahib,” he replied. “That Sardarji is a good man. He is educated, he is not a thief, and he is a newcomer to politics. Still, they got after him, calling him weak and scared. Who can enjoy watching that? I am just happy that this election result has shown there is a god watching above.” I quote the waiter verbatim because I think the idea of “a god above” might have been a consideration with many other people as well.)

...THE THIRD and interlinked theme this election was the voter’s desire to bring down the arrogant.

Read the full article at Tehelka: The Hour Of The Untamed Cosmopolitan

Ashok Desai, writing in the Telegraph, while reminding us that "Narendra Modi may have done devilish deeds, but he is still a human," goes on to say:

But he too must have been a toddler once, making sweet googoo sounds and crawling between the feet of his parents. He too must have climbed mango trees and eaten green mangoes. He too must have been a bridegroom in a turban smiling shyly at guests....

But, but, you are going to sputter, Modi's a bachelor. Exactly my reaction, till I realised Ashok Desai's mischievous sense of humour... He goes on to describe Modi's background, to come to the substantive part of his piece where he points out that the "unreflective, practical, personality-oriented style is behind Modi’s subsequent success" and that:

Modi has done two things. He has reduced the leakage of government revenue that goes all over India into enrichment of politicians and bureaucrats, and diverted it to building up Gujarat’s infrastructure. And out of his own necessity, he has publicized Gujarat’s good administration. Modi’s success is more due to Gujarat than the other way round. But he is an autocrat, and has used his autocratic powers to give Gujarat a considerable competitive advantage over other states. His intellectual equipment is limited, but he has concentrated it in a remarkable manner to rebrand Gujarat, to his own collateral benefit.

Read the full article here: The education of Modi

Also See:

• Ashis Nandy on Modi: Power Defangs
• Ashis Nandy on Modi: Blame The Middle Class
• Ashis Nandy on Obituary of a Culture