Daily Archives: May 7, 2019

A Look Inside the School Professionalizing India’s Nationalists

The Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership is training political hopefuls who align with the ruling BJP to be competent. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is on a mission that is at once impossibly simple and yet somehow insurmountable: He is training Indian politicians to be competent. Not just any politicians, mind you—Hindu nationalist politicians. Sahasrabuddhe, a senior official…

A classroom for budding politicians

The IIDL’s curriculum includes ‘basic political concepts, media management, constituency management, public speaking and nationalism,’ among others. Simran Kaur Reel, 24, is interning with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) women’s wing; Sahil M Parsekar, 22, is working as a volunteer with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the national capital. While the two have different…