# Indian elections and Narendra Modi **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 14, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067 "2014-04-14T03:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/81 "2014-05-19T18:17:58Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > No. I only know what wikipedia tells me on the subject. But, of course, the 2002 riots are not the only bad acts Modi has been accused of. IIRC, they were not even the basis of the U.S. visa denial. What are the other ‘bad acts’ that Modi is accused of? I’m not aware of any. Enlighten me. I have, in my OP, linked to an article that the US visa denial was a political action brought about by a coalition of Indian Americans and conservative Christian politicians after the 2002 riots. It gives you no special insight into his role in the riots because the people who worked to bring about the ban had no special insight into the riots. > [@](#): > > The point is that Modi is in the leadership of BJP. That makes his relationship to BJP quite different from the relationship between Al Qaeda and Islam, not to mention the important differences between a nationalist political party and a religion with 1.6 billion adherents. Even if blaming BJP for the acts of its officials and ministers is somehow wrong, it’s an order of magnitude more reasonable than blaming Islam for the acts of individual Muslims. You’re getting me wrong. Blame the BJP all you like, and for specific actions in its history, it does deserve blame. But trying to apportion this blame by throwing in meaningless scare words about ‘Hindu nationalism’ or Hindutva is wrong and counterproductive. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/82 "2014-05-19T18:59:12Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > If I might turn this around for a moment, what does the term mean to _you_ ;)? It means nothing to me, and I’m trying to ascertain what it means to people who either use it or agree with its usage. It _appears_ to be used by people, particularly in the western press, to present a negative connotation, but it’s usage is certainly not based on any of the explicit platforms of the BJP, so I can’t understand it, and I’m trying to get people who use it or agree with it to spell out their positions clearly so we can have a debate. > [@](#): > > It does appear that the BJP is backing down a bit from some of their more extreme positions they have held in the past ( not just in terms of ethnic nationalism, but also past expressions of anti-Western thought and anti-globalization ). You of all people would be aware that the BJP has been in power in India before, from 1998/99 to 2004. Those five years saw incredible acceleration in terms of globalisation in India. They saw many peace overtures made to Pakistan(it’s a different matter that Pakistan cannot control its own army and they came to naught), and a deepening of the friendship with the US. I reject the thesis that they were anti-globalisation at any point in the last 15 years at least. Anti western thought? If you qualify or expand on that statement I can examine it. They certainly claim that India should seek cultural inspiration from its own history, I see nothing exceptionable in that. > [@](#): > > I think most non-extremists in this world would hope for a sane, rational government to helm India and BJP now has a chance to prove they can deliver that. We can only hope they come through on that hope. I agree with this statement obviously, but what I _don’t_ agree with is the prior that they wouldn’t, or that they’re a hair trigger away from genocide. They’ve governed India before. Modi himself has 12 years(11 and a half of which were continuously peaceful) of experience governing 60 million people, 10% of whom are Muslim. I think it’s needless fear mongering to go on about how he and the BJP are ‘Hindu nationalists’ and Muslims are afraid of him/them. As I noted in the OP, in the most recent municipal elections in Gujarat, the BJP won in areas that have Muslim majorities. Nor do India’s so called secular parties have a better record of either promoting unity within India or of protecting Muslims when violence breaks out. > [@](#): > > But see, here’s my difficulty. While it is all well and good to label yourself as a secular party and declare Hindutva as all-encompassing ideology of love, unity, compassion and a diverse One India, there are niggling little issues. Tossing aside decades-old rhetoric, what is one to make of BJP party-head Rajnath Singh weighing in on the ( as he purportedly did just a few years back ) [Ram Temple](https://boards.straightdope.com/wiki/Ayodhya_dispute) mess in an apparently uncompromising factor. That is not exactly what one expects from a “secular” party in the west. And it makes one question just how committed the party is to their boilerplate. I’m unaware of the comment made, and your link doesn’t take me to it, but I am at a loss to understand why you think a secular party that believes in an all encompassing ideology of love and unity cannot have the Ram Temple be an issue! They may not be a Hindu nationalist party, but they have a constituency to which they have committed they will attempt, within the law, to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya. How would a “secular” party in the west handle a conflict between two religious groups over holy ground? Like the west has done with Israel? > [@](#): > > BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. > [@](#): > > Which is always problem, because, well, politicians lie :). There are simply far too many past incidences when figures associated with the BJP have been associated with inflammatory causes or struggles for me to feel comfortable with them. And moderating your stated platform to gain broader popular support to win elections, while quietly maintaining a more hardline stance when you are enjoying a brandy at home with your buddies, is a pretty standard tactic. If all they do is quietly maintain a hardline stance while having brandy with their buddies, while they maintain in their public speech and actions a moderate stance, that’s fine. I think what you mean is that their public actions shouldn’t be inflammatory. I agree. > [@](#): > > Now could be I am being needlessly cynical. Hopefully that is the case. But whatever their platform claims, I’m going to take it with a grain of salt until they prove otherwise. And this is where we differ. I think we have enough evidence to take them at their word instead of presuming them to be guilty at the outset. It’s not like India’s a black box where they can carry out their malafide agenda in secret while claiming all is well, and fool everyone. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/83 "2014-05-19T19:10:04Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Of course it’s reasonable, because it means you can’t vote Republican without voting for and strengthening the party that includes the RR and the Teabaggers. And you can’t vote for the BNP without voting for the worst of it. That’s nonsensical. Give me, for sake of argument, that Modi is a moderate element in the BJP(and his entire campaign has been moderate-centrist through and through). Are you saying that voting for him would strengthen the hardliners? On the contrary, it would show hardliners that the moderate approach is popular and works. If the moderates lose after campaigning on a moderate agenda, that’s when hardliners would be emboldened. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/84 "2014-05-19T19:14:37Z")
Sorry - this statement “BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.” was from the 2014 manifesto. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/85 "2014-05-19T19:49:13Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > What are the other ‘bad acts’ that Modi is accused of? I’m not trying to pretend to know more about this than I do. I’m just going from wikipedia. But it suggests there have been a number of incidents involving anti-Muslim comments and actions, and he was also denied visas in the EU and the UK. I have not examined each claim and controversy–maybe they would all vanish upon inspection. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/86 "2014-05-19T20:00:08Z")
Now that Modi has won such an emphatic victory, I certainly hope he will waste no time in getting the economy back on rails. There is no remote control to obey and no midnight phone calls from Italian barmaids to answer. I also hope he will tackle the festering, oozing sore on the face of the planet, a place called Pakistan. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/87 "2014-05-19T20:08:01Z")
What is the Indian government supposed to do about Pakistan? ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/88 "2014-05-19T21:59:20Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I’m not trying to pretend to know more about this than I do. I’m just going from wikipedia. But it suggests there have been a number of incidents involving anti-Muslim comments and actions, and he was also denied visas in the EU and the UK. I have not examined each claim and controversy–maybe they would all vanish upon inspection. Here’s an example of the references provided in that article for his ‘significant’ use of anti Muslim rhetoric. > [@](#): > > Modi fused religion and politics and, as a spur to anti-Muslim sentiment, made Islamic terrorism and its ties to Pakistan a central plank in the BJP platform" etc" Islamic terrorism and its ties to Pakistan are a perfectly legitimate poll plank in India, which suffers from a great deal of Pakistan sponsored terrorism. But because it’s Modi, it becomes anti Muslim. I maintain that there is more bias than fact in reporting of that nature, and I’ve laid out a lot of evidence for that in the thread. Go through it, and see if you believe it more than you believe Wikipedia. I don’t have much of a stake in this, I’m not a Modi supporter. I just dislike the way he’s been constantly vilified without evidence, and use of phrases like “Hindu nationalist”, and the one sheep he fucked. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/89 "2014-05-19T22:04:33Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What is the Indian government supposed to do about Pakistan? Bomb it! With atum bums! Heh. But yeah, if the US can’t get them to behave, India can’t either. I just hope we keep building that fence, and don’t rush into anything. They’re remarkably bad at holding up their end of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/90 "2014-05-23T19:12:20Z")
[Here’s a **scathing** interview](http://www.salon.com/2014/05/23/worse_than_reagan_meet_the_violent_chauvinist_now_leading_india_narendra_modi/) with Delhi-based researcher Thomas Crowley. > [@](#): > > **Anyway, you were saying about the BJP?** > > Narendra Modi has built a reputation — and very consciously built up this reputation — as someone who is a friend of business but also … that that kind of development benefits everyone. The facts on the ground are quite different, but that’s the kind of rhetoric [he uses]. So there’s that kind of neoliberal development, so that’s one of their main platforms. > > Sometimes in the background — sometimes it comes to the front — is this very strong Hindu nationalism, and a kind of Hindu nationalism that is very exclusionary and is at times violent against religious minorities, which is mostly Muslims but also Christians and a few others. > > **During the campaign, was the BJP pretty consistently focused on this idea of development, or did they emphasize Hindu nationalism in front of some audiences and downplay it with others?** > > I do think, generally, that [development] was the dominant theme. But like in American politics, they talk about these dog-whistle things that, say, Republican politicians use to refer to race without referring to race? I think similar things went on in this campaign. For example, [Modi] made some comment that infiltrators from Bangladesh should be kicked out of the country. It’s very clearly understood that that means illegal immigrants of Muslim origin; Hindu refugees from Bangladesh are considered “refugees” but if they’re Muslims, they’re considered “infiltrators.” So very slightly veiled language was used, and sometimes it was more odious: One of Modi’s key aides, he went to an area that had suffered from religious riots, where Muslims had been the main ones to suffer, and … was talking to the Hindu community, and said, “You should vote for our party and it will be a vote for revenge.” It was very clearly “We’ll help you get revenge on the Muslims.” > > \ > > **Looking forward, now that the BJP and Modi are going to have a level of power that they’ve never had before, are you worried that the kind of sectarian violence that they get associated with will continue or increase? Or do you think there’s a chance that was a very cynical electoral maneuver, and that once they’re actually in power they’ll be interested in economics rather than religious division?** > > It may actually go against their interests to have riots … Now they want to prove they’re kind of responsible rulers, and they can also terrorize minority communities in other, more subtle ways. So if you see the case of Gujurat, what Modi’s supporters say is that after 2002 there hasn’t been a riot in Gujurat, which may be true, but the Muslim population in Gujurat has been terrorized into submission. Hindus and Muslims don’t live in the same neighborhoods, there are hardly any schools in Muslim areas, there are very few economic opportunities for most Muslims. So I think in that sense the riots may have done their job, and they may not be necessary anymore. Even if they’re not inciting riots, I don’t think that necessarily means they’re stepping back from their religious agenda. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/91 "2014-05-23T20:27:50Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Here’s a **scathing** interview](https://boards.straightdope.com/2014/05/23/worse_than_reagan_meet_the_violent_chauvinist_now_leading_india_narendra_modi/) with Delhi-based researcher Thomas Crowley. \ More opinion that’s low on evidence and high on bias. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/92 "2014-05-23T20:59:03Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > \ More opinion that’s low on evidence and high on bias. As a matter of fact, there is good reason to believe he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Prime examples > [@](#): > > By “reforming the tax code,” what do you mean? Does that mean the same thing in India that means in America — i.e., lowering taxes on corporations? > > Yeah, something very similar to that … Something very similar to that? Utter nonsense. The major tax reform that has been spoken about in India is not levying retrospective taxes, which the last government has been attempting to do, has been challenged in the courts, and which even the most dyed in the wool liberal agree are a bad idea. The other reform is trying to implement a nationwide tax regime to create a single market and avoid taxation issues at state borders. He then directly compares the Gujarat riots in 2002 to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots( which were instigated and supported by the main opposition the Congress. > [@](#): > > Assuming Modi didn’t plan it, but did let it happen and didn’t do anything to stop it, would that be outside the norm of Indian politics? > > It is but … I mean, there are similar cases. There were anti-Sikh riots in 1984, and at that time it was the [longtime ruling party] Congress government who was letting it go on longer than it should have. [But] this was unusual because it was **unusually violent, and unusually widespread, and unusually severe** Bold mine. How clueless is this guy? The very riots he’s comparing the Gujarat riots with led to more than twice as many deaths than Gujarat 2002 Gujarat riots > [@](#): > > According to official figures, the riots resulted in the deaths of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus; 2,500 people were injured non-fatally, and 223 more were reported missing.[9] Other sources estimate that up to 2,000 Muslims died.[10] 1984 Riots > [@](#): > > The 1984 anti-Sikhs riots or the 1984 Sikh Massacre were a series of pogroms[2][3][4][5] directed against Sikhs in India, by anti-Sikh mobs, in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. There were more than 8,000[6] deaths, including 3,000 in Delhi.[4] The Central Bureau of Investigation, the main Indian investigating agency, is of the opinion that the acts of violence were organized with the support from the then Delhi police officials and the central government headed by Indira Gandhi’s son, Rajiv Gandhi I’m befuddled at how/why someone who knows so little is being interviewed. If I had to guess, it’d be that he’s the only American based in India who was both in the Salon journalist’s network and who could be found in time for the deadline. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/93 "2014-05-23T21:09:21Z")
The only bio I can find about this ‘expert’ says > [@](#): > > After graduating from Yale University with a degree in philosophy, Thomas moved to Pune, India as a Fulbright scholar and studied the intersection of philosophy, religion and ecology in the state of Maharashtra. He has written articles for both popular and academic sources on subjects ranging from Sant Tukaram (well known spiritual poet) to bottled water. > Thomas is currently a researcher at Intercultural Resources, a Delhi-based NGO. He is completing an independent research project on the history and current status of the Delhi Ridge, the Indian capital city’s green lung. So…not really an expert at all then. Sorry. link [http://www.edustation.co/faculty/thomas-crowley/](http://www.edustation.co/faculty/thomas-crowley/) ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/94 "2014-05-23T21:30:22Z")
Here are the views of an actual expert. M J Akbar, a respected senior Indian journalist and politician who was a harsh critic of Modi after the 2002 riots, but has changed his mind over time, and recently joined the BJP. > [@](#): > > Acompilation of his[Modi’s] views by Siddharth Mazumdar, released a few weeks ago, opens with this sentence: “The essence of secularism is that all religions are equal before the law.” It asserted that sarva darma sambhav was the philosophical magnet that united India from an ancient age. > > But how do such principles accord with the fact of the Gujarat riots, which is a constant theme in all attacks on him? I raised questions at the time of the riots as much as any other journalist did. these questions were answered over ten years by the UPA government There has never been, since independence, such intense scrutiny, or such absolute determination to trace guilt to a Chief Minister, as Modi faced from institutions loyal to the UPA government over two full terms. > > Every relevant instrument of state was assigned the task of finding something, anything that could trace guilt to Modi. They could not. > > The Supreme Court, which is above politics and parties, and which is our invaluable, independent guardian of the law and Constitution, undertook its own enquiries. Its first findings are in, and we know that the answer is exoneration. Moreover, there has been judicial accountability to an unprecedented degree in Gujarat. We are still waiting for justice in a hundred previous riots. > **[Journalist and ex-Congress MP M J Akbar on why he chose to join BJP](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/journalist-and-ex-congress-mp-m-j-akbar-on-why-he-chose-to-join-bjp/articleshow/32576281.cms)** > > Journalist and ex-Congress Member of Parliament M J Akbar writes about his reasons for joining BJP and what propelled this decision for him. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/95 "2014-05-23T22:27:50Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > The only bio I can find about this ‘expert’ says > So…not really an expert at all then. > > Sorry. link [http://www.edustation.co/faculty/thomas-crowley/](http://www.edustation.co/faculty/thomas-crowley/) That bio makes him sound like an expert. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/96 "2014-05-24T00:56:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > While I am somewhat disturbed by Modi’s success, I am also somewhat pleased that 60 years of _de facto_ one party rule (yes, I know the Congress Party has mostly formed coalition governments lately) are at an end. Having a de facto one party democracy is preferable if the other main party is made of religious fanatics (as is also the case with Turkey) to either having the other party win much of the time or having an outright dictatorship . ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/97 "2014-05-24T01:07:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That bio makes him sound like an expert. Maybe he is, on philosophy(which he has his degree in), religion(in which he professes to do research) and ecology(which is what his current research is apparently about). He clearly doesn’t know shit about contemporary Indian history or politics, as evidenced by zilch on the bio, and his glaringly erroneous views in the interview you linked to. ETA: I’m really confused. What about the bio makes you think he’s someone whose views you should give credence to on the topic about which he’s speaking? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/98 "2014-05-24T01:59:53Z")
Wait, you have to have a degree in the B.J.P. to have valid, informed information and views about the B.J.P.? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/99 "2014-05-24T02:32:27Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > Here are the views of an actual expert. M J Akbar, a respected senior Indian journalist and politician who was a harsh critic of Modi after the 2002 riots, but has changed his mind over time, and recently joined the BJP. > > > [@](#): > > > > The Supreme Court, which is above politics and parties, and which is our invaluable, independent guardian of the law and Constitution, undertook its own enquiries. Its first findings are in, and we know that the answer is exoneration. Moreover, there has been judicial accountability to an unprecedented degree in Gujarat. We are still waiting for justice in a hundred previous riots. > > [Journalist and ex-Congress MP M J Akbar on why he chose to join BJP - The Economic Times](http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/journalist-and-ex-congress-mp-m-j-akbar-on-why-he-chose-to-join-bjp/articleshow/32576281.cms) Yeah, well, according to [this piece in _The Nation_](http://www.thenation.com/article/179925/narenda-modis-transformation-international-outcast-indias-prime-minister): > [@](#): > > How does a man go from being an international persona non grata to a friend of powerful Western leaders? Widely criticized for presiding over the ghastly 2002 religious massacres in Gujarat while serving as the state’s chief minister, Modi was denied a visa by the United Kingdom and other EU countries. Nearly 800 Muslims and over 200 Hindus died in the upheaval, and an opposition politician, Ehsan Jafri, was killed and set on fire in front of his wife. **Modi’s own role in fomenting the violence is still under a judicial examination that may now be stymied.** A special investigation team, itself accused of being compromised, is often cited by his supporters as having issued Modi a so-called “clean chit.” In actuality, the team reported that there was insufficient evidence of Modi’s direct involvement in events to be able to prosecute. Modi’s rehabilitation and consequent electoral victory—though he only carried 31 percent of actual voters and just over 20 percent of the entire electorate—are undoubtedly the result of what a supportive Indian newsmagazine, whether through a staggering lack of awareness or as sly satire, describes on its cover as a “Triumph of the Will,” echoing, of course, Leni Riefenstahl’s infamous ode to Hitler. Also: > [@](#): > > Understanding Hindutva’s acceptance of violence is important because Modi’s liberal observers often separate his commitment to neoliberal economic growth, which they support, from his brand of Hindu extremism, which makes them squeamish. Modi’s most successful election strategy was to bill himself as a “man of development” who would boost India’s desperately unequal economy to stratospheric heights with benefits for all. This passionate commitment to free markets is not unrelated to Modi’s authoritarian personality. The next prime minister’s appeal is a composite: unapologetic man of action, with a fabled “56-inch chest,” not held back by either effeminate political correctness or pesky state regulation. Modi, like many elite Indians, idolizes China for pursuing capitalist growth without the obstacles thrown up by democracy. > > Modi’s claim of sole responsibility for double-digit growth in the state of Gujarat is disputed—the state was already doing well by these indices, which are also replicated elsewhere in India. But Gujarat also suffers from abysmal child nutrition (which Modi blamed on girls’ dieting) and ranks unimpressively in educational attainment and other human development indices. Modi’s mythologized “Gujarat model” of development has also created deep environmental damage in the region and caused the displacement of the rural poor by new factory buildings. A less impressive statistic that has rarely made the news is the high rate of farmer suicides in Gujarat, with about 5,000 in less than ten years. For all that he promises “good governance”—a welcome prospect to Indian voters fed up with the corrupt Congress Party—there are sobering accounts of Modi’s authoritarian style, his bypassing of democratic process and giving large corporations sweetheart deals and huge subsidies. Those corporations in turn have supported the Modi campaign handsomely. > > If the Gujarat model is to be replicated nationally in the next five years, expect some staged “moderation” on the religious front—violence can be bad for big business, after all—but also the scrapping of what small welfare measures are currently in place in India. The Hindu middle class may become increasingly prosperous, with more private-sector jobs, better investment returns and increased spending power, but Modi, already compared to Thatcher and Reagan for his fabled “Modinomics,” is likely to provide minimal poverty alleviation, more environmental degradation and further backsliding for already economically disenfranchised Muslims through a lack of protection from active discrimination in jobs, housing and welfare measures, and a refusal to provide affirmative measures for “pampered minorities.” With rising tensions in Kashmir and with neighboring Pakistan in response to Modi’s history of anti-Muslim rhetoric, there’s little about which we should be complacent. Look, I understand your poor country has been going to Naraka since the Brits cut you loose, but this is no way to deal with it! Trust me, we’ve tried a combination of business-friendly economic neoliberalism and cultural reaction/bigotry **here!** It never does any good! BTW, about the “Triumph of the Will” thing – from that Salon interview with Thomas Crowley: > [@](#): > > **One of the things you see a lot in Western media when it comes to Modi — especially from left-wing sources — is references to fascism. Is he a crypto-fascist?** > > I would say that he definitely has fascistic tendencies — and actually just a quick side note on that: There’s this magazine that recently … fired two editors, replaced them with two editors who are very sympathetic to Modi, and just recently they came out with a kind of commemorative edition of the magazine, to basically celebrate Modi, and the name of it was “Triumph of the Will.” > > **Oh, I saw that, but I didn’t understand that that was from people who were _supporting_ him. I thought that was a not-so-subtle dig. That’s scary.** > > I would say that there are definitely fascistic tendencies, that [BJP leaders] have. And I think a lot of people who are saying, “No, he’s not a fascist,” are also people who are trying to defend him and say, “Oh, he’s not that bad, he’s gotten more moderate,” and people who are emphasizing the business-friendly side. Personally, I think for various other theoretical reasons, whether to think of a fascist formation is the most useful, I’m not sure; but I think there are very strong authoritarian tendencies and if you look at how he rose within the party, consolidating power, brooking no opposition, he’s definitely very consciously created a cult of personality around him. One of the famous — or one of the much-quoted statistics — is that the BJP, it’s estimated they have spent 5 trillion rupees on advertising. And I was actually just looking this up, what that actually is in dollars, so that’s $85 million. That’s a massive, massive budget put into revamping Modi’s image. And this is the same culture that produced Gandhi . . . ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/100 "2014-05-24T02:38:10Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Wait, you have to have a degree in the B.J.P. to have valid, informed information and views about the B.J.P.? Journalist M.J. Akbar has no “degree in” the BJP (nor any other degree) so far as I can tell from that linked article, he’s a **member** of the BJP. Which means his views on it are informed the way Boehner’s or Cruz’ views on the GOP are “informed.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067.md?page=6)