From Golden Age to Varna Age
VB Editorial | August 16, 2025 |
From the Red Fort this Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again spoke of his “resolve for a prosperous, self-reliant India.” It was his 12th consecutive speech from the same stage, a record surpassing Indira Gandhi. Yet, what stood out was not the record itself but the hollowness of repetition. The Prime Minister himself admitted that speeches cannot build a nation — and yet, a decade later, the difference between his first address in 2014 and his words in 2025 is hard to find.
Ten years ago, the country placed its faith in Modi’s promises. The hope was that India’s fortunes would change. But what is the reality? Economically, India has slipped. GST has shackled businesses, and now reforms in GST are being portrayed as a gift, not an apology. Operation Sindhoor is being advertised as a security success even as the Pahalgam attack exposed glaring failures. NITI Aayog’s own chief has said the current 6.5% growth rate cannot make India a developed nation.
Meanwhile, hunger, unemployment, and atrocities against Dalits are rising. The Global Hunger Index shows India slipping further. Violence in the name of religion is becoming common. Mobs lynch innocent people in the name of cows. On the 79th Independence Day, many states attempted to impose bans on meat. The irony is staggering: India is one of the world’s largest beef exporters, yet its poor are denied nutritious food. Farmers cannot sell cattle they rear, while their livelihoods are destroyed. Violence continues in Manipur. Militancy festers in Kashmir.
Even democracy is under question. Reports of electoral fraud are emerging across states. In Bihar, voter roll manipulation by the Election Commission has been widely exposed. The Supreme Court itself has raised concern. Yet, the Prime Minister remained silent on all of this in his Red Fort address.
Instead, he chose to celebrate the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling it “the largest non-governmental organisation engaged in nation-building.” This single declaration reveals much. For the RSS, there is no history of fighting for farmers, Dalits, workers, or women. Its seniors did not join the freedom struggle. Savarkar, fearing Kala Pani, wrote mercy petitions to the British and lived on their pension. When Netaji called on the youth to join his army, Savarkar advised them against it.
M.S. Golwalkar, the ideological architect of the RSS, upheld the caste system and rejected the Constitution. For decades, RSS offices did not hoist the national flag. When young nationalists hoisted it at the Nagpur headquarters in 2001, they were dragged into court cases for 12 years. Nathuram Godse, Gandhi’s assassin, drew inspiration from RSS ideology. Sardar Patel himself banned the RSS for conspiring against the nation. Its name has come up in cases from Malegaon to present-day extremist violence. Abroad too, demands for action against its affiliates continue.
The government that has crushed countless NGOs working for the environment, farmers, Adivasis, and Dalits now expresses pride in the RSS. What future does this signal? An India shaped by RSS ideology means an India shaped by Manusmriti — where caste hierarchy, Brahminical dominance, and untouchability would once again define society.
This is the exact opposite of what Ambedkar envisioned. He dreamed of a golden age built on equality. Instead, the government is pushing India towards a Varna Age rooted in inequality. To ignore the RSS’s finances and its unconstitutional activities, while glorifying it from the Red Fort, is not just an error of judgment — it is a dangerous shift in the nation’s direction.
That is why this year’s Independence Day speech has left many Indians anxious. From the dream of equality, India seems to be slipping into an age of division. From the Golden Age to the Varna Age — this is the worry staring the nation in the face.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
