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By:

Arun Vijay

5 May 2026 at 9:27:06 pm

Gandhi to Gramsci: How Congress Lost Its Indian Roots

Unless Congress returns to Gandhi-Vinoba-Radhakrishnan, it will keep strengthening Hindutva forces with its own hands. Rahul Gandhi’s speech at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Pune was not merely a speech, but an ideological manifesto. He stated: “70 crore women are India’s greatest strength. You should not be trapped in just three boxes—daughter, wife, or mother. You belong to nobody. You do not belong to anybody except yourself. Smash the patriarchy.” He criticised the Manusmriti’s...

Gandhi to Gramsci: How Congress Lost Its Indian Roots

Unless Congress returns to Gandhi-Vinoba-Radhakrishnan, it will keep strengthening Hindutva forces with its own hands. Rahul Gandhi’s speech at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Pune was not merely a speech, but an ideological manifesto. He stated: “70 crore women are India’s greatest strength. You should not be trapped in just three boxes—daughter, wife, or mother. You belong to nobody. You do not belong to anybody except yourself. Smash the patriarchy.” He criticised the Manusmriti’s thought that “a woman should never be independent” and said violence, fear and economic-social control deprive women of opportunities. The core is female autonomy. But its framing reveals Congress’s ideological transition: a tendency to see family and tradition as a ‘fetter’ or ‘cage’. Even if community kitchens or day-care centres were absent from this speech, the direction is clear. This breaks from Congress’s hundred-year-old philosophy. The break began in 1947; its aggressive form has now emerged. Since 1947, Congress had two schools. The first, represented by Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, Kaka Kalelkar, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Rajaji, believed India must be reformed from within. Radhakrishnan described ‘The Hindu Way of Life’ as tolerant. Gandhi sought women’s liberation in Sita’s refusal, not the French Revolution. Vinoba gave women the right to the Vedas through Bhoodan and Brahma Vidya Mandir. They saw the family not as a fetter, but an ashram, and interpreted Manusmriti according to changing times. This became Congress’s mainstream. The second began with Nehru’s Fabian Socialism. While Gandhi said “Go to the villages”, Nehru said “Go to Soviet planning”. Macaulay remained in education and Western ideas of secularism entered culture. Indira Gandhi pushed the party further left. After 2004, under Sonia Gandhi’s NAC, thinkers like Harsh Mander and Aruna Roy officialised foreign ideological imports. Gandhi and Vinoba went into museums; the Western-Marxist framework became mainstream. Rahul Gandhi represents the most aggressive form of that import. The influence of Antonio Gramsci is evident. The Italian Marxist argued that power is won not merely through elections but by shattering Cultural Hegemony through the War of Position and Organic Intellectuals. The strategy means gradually changing definitions through schools, universities, media, NGOs and cultural platforms.. In Pune, references to “a Hindutva project trapped in Manusmriti” and “you belong only to yourself” follow this technique. Depicting Mangalsutra and Karwa Chauth as slavery or patriarchy is part of the process. Certain JNU groups are Organic Intellectuals in Gramsci’s language—appearing like us on the outside, but working for a foreign revolution. Political Suicide This is Congress’s biggest political suicide. Gramsci developed his philosophy against Italy’s centralised Catholic Church. India is not Italy. Its culture is scattered among thousands of castes, saints, folklore, Anganwadi workers and grandmothers running cradles. It cannot be transformed by a single speech. “You belong to nobody…” also forgets a biological and social truth. A human being is born dependent: on a mother’s milk, a father’s hard work and a grandmother’s lullabies. Who cares for children, the elderly, disabled and sick? Not a government scheme, but the belonging that says “You are mine.” ‘My life, My rules’ looks good on Instagram, but even the self-reliant must follow society, law and workplace rules. Attachment is not a fetter, but a ladder. A Mangalsutra is not a chain; it is a public confession: “I have taken your responsibility for life.” This is the Indian perspective. This is especially dangerous for first-generation learners. In a house where no one is a graduate and the mother works in the fields, telling a youth “Your family is your enemy, society suppresses you, rebel alone” does not make him free; it makes him orphaned. He has no NGO backing him, only his family. Therefore, wise youth should choose their battles. Do not fall for false promises or activist groups. Progress does not come from rejecting family or unnecessary conflict with society. Build your world by taking along the family that raised you. Do not reject your parents. Solve life’s problems with patience, gentleness and firmness. This is the true path to liberation. Rahul Gandhi’s path is the opposite. He tells youth their roots are backward. Critics therefore say this thought is close to the philosophy of his maternal home—not because of blood, but context. From this, Modi smiles in his heart. Congress itself provides videos for the BJP. It gets applause in JNU, while votes go to the BJP in Solapur, Nagpur and Vidarbha. The problem is not leadership, but the ecosystem. Unless Congress returns to Gandhi-Vinoba-Radhakrishnan and says “reform from within Indian tradition”, it will remain in a foreign laboratory and strengthen Hindutva forces with its own hands. Female autonomy is necessary. Violence, discrimination and economic dependence must be destroyed. But autonomy is possible not by breaking the family, but by strengthening it and moulding Indian values according to the times. This is the true Indian way. (The writer is a senior journalist. Views personal.)

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Writer: Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Nov 7, 2024
3 min read

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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