We are bold, and we are right….

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would not have been hailed as a Mahatma by none less than Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore had it not been for his profound yet earthy wisdom. Only the Mahatma could have said, “Be the change you want to see.”

Another great soul of India, Swami Vivekananda had urged his fellow Indians: “Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached.”

Many of us want to see change – change in the way we conduct ourselves as citizens, change in the way the Government conducts itself, change in the way those in authority conduct themselves. But few are willing to go ahead and be the change. Nor is anybody stirred into action by Swami Vivekananda’s stirring words.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in what has come to be known as our ‘national media’ or ‘mainstream media’. Firmly in the grip of the Delhi-based commentariat that exercises absolute control over public discourse, the ‘national’ or ‘mainstream’ media has taken on itself the task of setting the agenda which is loaded in favour of the Establishment.

The Establishment, needless to say, has become synonymous with the Congress. It is this undeclared alliance that guides the interests of our ‘national’ or ‘mainstream’ media which are often indistinguishable from those of the Congress. Contrived Centre Left ideology, really no more than a bogus veneer and as shallow as ‘Breaking News’, serves as a useful cover for mutually shared, and reflected, biases.

Rather than cavil at the follies of the ‘national’ or ‘mainstream’ media, some of us decided to step up to the plate and contribute to the crafting of an alternative narrative with the goal of promoting an alternative discourse. We would like to contribute to the change we wish to see.

What brings us on a common platform is our commitment to see India emerge as a developed country and every Indian prosper by reaping the fruits of development. We share a Centre Right perspective.

We believe enormous damage has been inflicted on India and the innate potential of Indians by pursuing policies designed to garner votes. We believe that every year that is wasted in the pursuit of such policies sets us back by many years.

Worse, missed opportunities and wasted years (for evidence, look at the last eight years) threaten to drag us back to where we once belonged: Nehruvian socialist misery.

India yearns for change. Indians crave for change. The status quo must go. India needs new initiatives, new ideas, new inspirations.

That change can happen if we can collectively push for minimum government, maximum governance; insist upon integrity and probity in public life; say no to policies that promote entitlement over empowerment; demand equality of opportunity and not equality of outcome; and, elect leaders who have demonstrated their capacity to govern and capability to lead.

Niti Central is our contribution to that effort of changing minds and transforming India.

We are not in the business of peddling frivolous ‘Breaking News’ or piffle as profound wisdom. We are not hostage to the Delhi-based bogus Left-liberal commentariat. We are not drum-beaters of the Establishment. We do not believe that any single individual or dynasty has the divine right to rule (as opposed to govern) India.

Therefore, this is not just another news portal. Nor is it yet another platform for the usual suspects to use as their pulpit.

We will try to look beyond the obvious, and tell you stuff as it is. We will democratise public discourse instead of talking down to you. We are not infallible and hence we are open to fair criticism and correction. We will evolve over the coming days and weeks. For us, free speech is irrelevant unless it is frank and fearless.

Yes, as our motto says, we are bold and we are right. We are honest and we are upfront. That’s what we are.

Kanchan Gupta
Editorial Director
kanchan.gupta@nitidigital.com