Over the past few decades, the rhetoric of smart and futuristic cities has defined the agenda of urbanisation in India. The underpinnings of these projects are heroic assumptions of modernity(ies) to achieve new goals and aspirations often assuming forms of urban utopia and taking a disruptive approach to urban planning. Our research, which focuses on the capital project of Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, shows how the idea of Amaravati in its built and imagined form makes sense to various stakeholders. The research was conducted using qualitative field-based research methods in four villages (Neerukonda, Kuragallu, Ionolu and Nowluru) in the Amaravati capital region. Based on recent interventions in the studies of postcolonial urbanism we propose three key arguments. First, Amaravati in its built and imagined form confirms and negotiates the global discourse on world class city. The second, idea of Amaravati is conceived and progressed by presenting a futuristic vision rooted in the historical patterns of Telugu aspirations for a modern technocratic state. Third, Amaravati embodies the spirit of speculative urbanism, and the project is propelled by the grammar of speed. Lastly, the chapter shows how the idea of world-class in the Global South is imagined and formed by a complex network of inter-referencing and worlding practices.

This review article analyses the wide-ranging influence of Hindutva in Indian politics over the decade of Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister of India. The study analyses the survival, reproduction, and development of Hindutva in conflict with modernisation processes in India despite the country’s secular constitutional democracy. This is achieved by examining the developments in the Indian political landscape and policy administration through the prism of the symbiotic relationship between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), signalling the fusion of political power and Hindu religious principles. By contributing to the literature on religion and politics, through a comprehensive examination of political rhetoric, policy shifts, and societal attitudes, this review article examines the role of Hindutva in shaping the trajectory of governance and politics in India during Narendra Modi’s leadership.

Rorty has been criticized for his pragmatic rationality by different thinkers like Stout, Steven carter. Here in this article our main focus is Novoa's criticism of Rorty's solution to the challenges of evidentialism (Novoa in Rorty’s Demands on Religious Belief: Looking for a Pragmatic Rationality. Retrieved October 20, 2019, from Researchgate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321729830_Rorty's_Demands_on_Religious_Belief_Looking_for_a_Pragmatic_Rationality, 2017). Novoa feels that religion needs not be conversation stopper as long as it does not compromise on capabilities (Novoa, 2017). This is what he calls pragmatic rationality. He takes pragmatic rationality based on capabilities. So in this article we argue against Novoa saying that capabilities are not clearly defined and hence the criteria set forth by Novoa have to be revised. The criteria set forth by him are too general, for instance world relationships, etc. The reasons for revising the criteria are too general, no unanimity in what are capabilities and even the specified capabilities are not precise.