Well done, Rajnath

Without making mention of Narendra Modi being dropped from the central parliamentary board or Arun Jaitley8217;s removal as party spokesperson, the editorial says, 8220;Since the BJP is fortunate to have a large array of talented and experienced leadership reserves, it is not easy for any leader to present a perfectly inclusive team in an organisationally exclusive structure. The beauty is that he Rajnath has not disturbed the rhythm of the onward march. It is a new face, a new look team but sculptured essentially out of the party8217;s established and proven leadership composition.8221;

The gushing praise does not end here. The editorial insists that 8220;by effecting minimum possible changes he has tried to accommodate and balance all sections, both new blood and old guard. Sagacity, cohesion and purpose rather than personal choices seem to have weighed heavily in the making of the change over set-up. This is a hard task executed with artistic finesse.8221;

Swayamsevak Modi

But if Rajnath is praised for his management skills, the Organiser is careful not to alienate the self-proclaimed 8220;Hindu hriday samrat8221; Narendra Modi who has been at the receiving end of the BJP chief8217;s organisational reshuffle. The front page story on the 8220;massive Hindu Mahamela8221; in Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore is headlined 8220;India8217;s progress synonymous with Hindu unity, says Modi.8221; A whole page is devoted to Modi8217;s address in Kerala on January 29.

According to the report, 8220;Inaugurating the Mahamela, organised as part of Shri Guruji Janma Shatabdi celebrations, by lighting a huge lamp, Shri Modi thundered, 8216;I am first a swayamsevak nurtured by Shri Guruji and then only a chief minister.8221;

It also extensively quotes Modi8217;s fulsome tribute to the RSS and his claim of pursuing RSS ideals in Gujarat. Modi is quoted as saying, 8220;Swami Vivekananda asked the youth of Bharat to spend some time for the nation, but inspired from Shri Guruji who spent his entire life for Hindu samaj, lakhs of swayamsevaks are giving their time and energy for taking the nation to the highest pinnacle of universal glory. I, as a blessed swayamsevak who has had the fortune to participate in Guruji8217;s baithaks, am also carrying work in Gujarat in the same direction.8221;

Grassroots history

According to a report from Jaipur, 8220;maverick BJP leader and education minister of Rajasthan8221; Ghanshyam Tiwari has launched 8220;a monumental scheme to re-write the history of all the 41,000 villages of the state.8221; He has named his scheme 8220;Apni Dharti, Apne Log8221; Our land, Our People.

Decrying Congress criticism that it is an attempt to saffronise the history of villages, the report commends Tiwari8217;s scheme. In an accompanying interview, Tiwari says, 8220;As a student I found information about many villages, mentioned in the books, were not completely correct and needed to be set right. So instead of re-writing the history of some villages, I decided to launch a scheme to write the history of all the villages.8221;

As for the methodology, Tiwari says, 8220;Local teachers and patwaris are the best persons to collect the basic information about the villages. Then a committee of local elders would be constituted, which would go through these details, before the actual work to write the history is passed on to the historians and experts.8221; Tiwari is hopeful of completing the massive exercise by the year-end 8220;and writing of region-wise history would be taken up thereafter.8221;

Compiled by Manini Chatterjee