# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/121 "2014-05-25T14:06:22Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Caste **is** religious in India. And religious **differences** have been dominating the country’s politics at least since the Muslims arrived, probably longer. Really? I’m aware of plenty of conflicts between the Muslim conquests and 1857 that pitted Hindus against Hindus or Muslims against Muslims. I would also say that for a typical Hindu low caste individual over the last thousand years, the major sources of his oppression and the major constraints on his life prospects were the fault of high caste Hindus rather than Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/122 "2014-05-28T15:18:08Z")
Voted for AAP…was disappointed at their loss. The vicious nexus between big corporate, politicos and media house want to defame them and destroy them. Hope that they do well in upcoming Delhi and Punjab state elections. Modi is a good administrator, hard worker, a confident individual. He will bring the economy on the path of 10% growth with focus on power, infra, fiscal consolidation etc. (Public sector undertakings will flourish. Good time to invest in their stocks.) I dont think he will give enough importance to improving HDI parameters etc but hope that I am proven wrong… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/123 "2014-05-28T17:51:29Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > Voted for AAP… Which party is that? ---
**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 28, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/124 "2014-05-28T18:27:51Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Which party is that? Aam Aadmi Party – [Aam Aadmi Party - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aam_Aadmi_Party) ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/125 "2014-05-28T18:30:12Z")
**BrainGlutton** : Aam Admi, I assume. **TruthSeeker** : I hope I’m wrong too, and I hope Modi succeeds. Gujarat is overall middle of the road when it comes to HDI, for what it’s worth. ---
**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 28, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/126 "2014-05-28T18:33:01Z")
The involvement of caste in Indian politics is a complicated and fascinating subject. To some extent, the success of democracy in India results from its embrace by social groups (including caste). Groups that have been subject to discrimination have found that banding together and entering the democratic system can actually produce results. Thus, India is a country in which the poor traditionally vote and the rich don’t, almost the opposite of what our situation is. Obviously there are also negatives arising from this and I certainly wouldn’t use this fact as an argument in favor if the caste system. Bout the point is that things aren’t so simple to understand until you really look into the Indian politics and society closely. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/127 "2014-05-28T18:54:07Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The involvement of caste in Indian politics is a complicated and fascinating subject. To some extent, the success of democracy in India results from its embrace by social groups (including caste). Groups that have been subject to discrimination have found that banding together and entering the democratic system can actually produce results. Thus, India is a country in which the poor traditionally vote and the rich don’t, almost the opposite of what our situation is. Obviously there are also negatives arising from this and I certainly wouldn’t use this fact as an argument in favor if the caste system. Bout the point is that things aren’t so simple to understand until you really look into the Indian politics and society closely. Interestingly, the major caste based parties have lost big in these elections, getting barely any seats in Parliament. I’m not sure what, if anything to take from that. On an unrelated note, since there was some discussion of foreign policy in the thread, the most talked about move of the Modi government has been foreign policy related - they invited all regional heads of state(including Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif) to the swearing in ceremony. It was an unprecedented move that took everybody by surprise and has been widely lauded. I don’t expect anything to come of it, mostly because I have zero faith in Pakistan, but it was a good signalling device that the new government wants good relations, and was used well. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/128 "2014-05-28T18:58:13Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > Voted for AAP…was disappointed at their loss. The vicious nexus between big corporate, politicos and media house want to defame them and destroy them. That’s just AAP propaganda mate. The media loved the AAP until Kejriwal went and shot himself in both feet with his natak in Delhi. _Everybody_ was disappointed with the AAP at that point, there’s no need for a conspiracy theory to try and explain it away. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/129 "2014-05-28T19:13:20Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > That’s just AAP propaganda mate. The media loved the AAP until Kejriwal went and shot himself in both feet with his natak in Delhi. _Everybody_ was disappointed with the AAP at that point, there’s no need for a conspiracy theory to try and explain it away. We’re mostly Americans here . . . what is “natak”? ---
**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 28, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/130 "2014-05-28T19:36:38Z")
“Natak” is a staged drama or play. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/131 "2014-05-28T19:41:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > We’re mostly Americans here . . . what is “natak”? What, you can look up naraka when you want to be disparaging, but natak is a stretch? The noun form means drama. In context, the best translation would be ‘theatrics’. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/132 "2014-05-29T01:20:58Z")
What does **BrainGlutton** ’s reference to ‘naraka’ mean? ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/133 "2014-05-29T02:21:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Which party is that? Acsenray and Hectar answered it. > [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > **TruthSeeker** : I hope I’m wrong too, and I hope Modi succeeds. Gujarat is overall middle of the road when it comes to HDI, for what it’s worth. Right. Its middle of the road on most other social parameters too. so nothing special. > [@bldysabba](#): > > That’s just AAP propaganda mate. The media loved the AAP until Kejriwal went and shot himself in both feet with his natak in Delhi. _Everybody_ was disappointed with the AAP at that point, there’s no need for a conspiracy theory to try and explain it away. If people thought that they made a mistake by resigning from Delhi Govt. , they would have punished them in elections (as they eventually did). But even when they were in power, there were lies, misinformation and anti-aap propaganda in sections of the media. And even more after they resigned. A large section of the media is pathetic - [https://scontent-b-mad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10152384\_10153147428730752\_5764179602701352493\_n.jpg](https://scontent-b-mad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10152384_10153147428730752_5764179602701352493_n.jpg) Anil ambani has stakes in TV today Mukesh ambani in CNBC birlas in ht. So you can imagine. And Zee, India TV, Times now and India news etc all blatantly spread misinformation many times and have an Anti-AAP agenda. AAP is despite the media and not because of the media. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/134 "2014-05-29T04:15:25Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > What does **BrainGlutton** ’s reference to ‘naraka’ mean? Naraka means hell in Hindi. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/135 "2014-05-29T04:33:30Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > If people thought that they made a mistake by resigning from Delhi Govt. , they would have punished them in elections (as they eventually did). But even when they were in power, there were lies, misinformation and anti-aap propaganda in sections of the media. That’s what the AAP says, but I don’t agree. In fact, it’s part of their “If you disagree with us then you’re lying and corrupt” attitude that has always been their hallmark, right from when they were a dharna demanding for the (atrocious) Jan Lokpal bill. Most media coverage, like most of India, was very favourably inclined towards the AAP before Delhi. It really started going bad for them when Somnath Bharti stepped up to the plate and they handled that affair so badly that even reasonable people(which I like to think of myself as being 🙂 ) couldn’t agree with them anymore. > [@](#): > > [https://scontent-b-mad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10152384\_10153147428730752\_5764179602701352493\_n.jpg](https://scontent-b-mad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10152384_10153147428730752_5764179602701352493_n.jpg) What’s the URL? It just takes me to a set of rankings. > [@](#): > > Anil ambani has stakes in TV today Mukesh ambani in CNBC birlas in ht. So you can imagine. And Zee, India TV, Times now and India news etc all blatantly spread misinformation many times and have an Anti-AAP agenda. Do you have specific examples of the blatant misinformation? Can you make the case that any such misinformation outweighed the hundreds of hours of programming that covered the AAP positively? > [@](#): > > AAP is despite the media and not because of the media. Again, I disagree. The AAP certainly isn’t _because_ of the media, they deserve a lot of credit for putting up an organisational structure so fast and capturing the imagination of the people, but I think the AAP was able to punch far above their weight because the media covered them incessantly and was always willing to provide a forum for them. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/136 "2014-05-29T05:05:37Z")
Those were country-wise press freedom rankings. Few examples of Anti-aap agenda - Somnath Bharti’s incident over-stretched. The mis-interpretation of that clip of AK and Punya Prasun Vajpai. The ‘modi wave’ comment by AK which wasn’t actually given behind camera but shown as if he carries a different face when he is in front of the camera. Many of the AAP ‘representatives’ or ‘members’ on news shows are actually not AAP members Difference between Indian and foreign media - HT: AAP Circus back in town TOI: Street drama back after Arvind Kejriwal opts for jail over bail in libel case BBC: Arvind Kejriwal: India campaigner jailed in defamation case Aljazeera: India anti-corruption campaigner jailed. I have seen night shelter for the homeless, built near my house (with-in 4-5 days of the govt formation)…of course massive reduction in corruption, my dad is a teacher…AAP volunteers visited his n 900+ other govt. schools for noting down infrastructure deficits, reduction in power n water prices, audits of power cos etc…Transparency in political funding could bring about transparency in all walks of life. Its a vital issue and most of us do not realize that…AAP had got donations 30 crore for LS elections, every Rupee of which is detailed on their website( who gave how much etc, online,by cheque or cash). Practically no coverage of the positives of AAP. Carry a blatant, obvious agenda to defame them. And to tell you…I used to go to RSS shakha in my formative years…my grandfather has been a BJP MLA. I voted for BJP in Delhi assembly election. Yet I support AAP now (from abt Jan-2014)…because I think that if AAP comes in Govt., alot of things will improve drastically just over-night and a lot of what remains will also improve quite quickly. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/137 "2014-05-29T05:34:11Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > Those were country-wise press freedom rankings. > > Few examples of Anti-aap agenda - > Somnath Bharti’s incident over-stretched. You’re kidding here right? The AAP stretched out the incident, like idiots. Demanding that constables who were following the law by not listening to Bharti be suspended? It made them look like the worst sort of bullies. > [@](#): > > The mis-interpretation of that clip of AK and Punya Prasun Vajpai. > The ‘modi wave’ comment by AK which wasn’t actually given behind camera but shown as if he carries a different face when he is in front of the camera. I haven’t even heard of these things, which should say something about how much/little media focused on them, but I _have_ seen hours and hours of programming, and read loads of articles that talk about AAP’s incredible victory in Delhi, about their crusading campaign against corruption, about Kejriwal’s unassuming life, about their transparency in funding. Overall, I have a strong impression that the media’s coverage of AAP, especially prior to the party’s massive fuck up in Delhi, was overwhelmingly positive, and you’re going to have to come up with a lot more than this to convince me otherwise. > [@](#): > > Many of the AAP ‘representatives’ or ‘members’ on news shows are actually not I find this difficult to believe. It’s probably a criminal offence to pretend to be someone you’re not. Cite? > [@](#): > > AAP members > Difference between Indian and foreign media - > HT: AAP Circus back in town > TOI: Street drama back after Arvind Kejriwal opts for jail over bail in libel case > BBC: Arvind Kejriwal: India campaigner jailed in defamation case > Aljazeera: India anti-corruption campaigner jailed. But that’s expected! The domestic media knows that its audience is keenly aware of Kejriwal, it remembers him most for the Delhi drama, and is sick of it, as evidenced by his wipeout in Delhi. The foreign media is talking to people who don’t know him, and referencing what he’s most known for. > [@](#): > > I have seen night shelter for the homeless, built near my house (with-in 4-5 days of the govt formation)…of course massive reduction in corruption, my dad is a teacher…AAP volunteers visited his n 900+ other govt. schools for noting down infrastructure deficits, reduction in power n water prices, audits of power cos etc…Transparency in political funding could bring about transparency in all walks of life. Its a vital issue and most of us do not realize that…AAP had got donations 30 crore for LS elections, every Rupee of which is detailed on their website( who gave how much etc, online,by cheque or cash). > > Practically no coverage of the positives of AAP. Carry a blatant, obvious agenda to defame them. You’re wrong that their transparency in funding has gotten no coverage. It has, and plenty of it. It’s how I heard of it. As for their positives, it’s stupid of them to expect that a month of governance can create enough of a positive difference to make a substantial story. It obviously didn’t make enough of a positive difference to the lives of people. They got voted out badly. To try and pretend that happened because of a media campaign against them just makes them look like sore losers. > [@](#): > > And to tell you…I used to go to RSS shakha in my formative years…my grandfather has been a BJP MLA. I voted for BJP in Delhi assembly election. Yet I support AAP now (from abt Jan-2014)…because I think that if AAP comes in Govt., alot of things will improve drastically just over-night and a lot of what remains will also improve quite quickly. I think you’re guilty of indulging in some wishful thinking here. Their policy platforms and governing experience certainly don’t inspire that confidence in me. I do think that they’ve already done a lot to try and shake up the political system, and I do wish them success, because the AAP being a genuine political threat would be good news for India, even if AAP government is unlikely to be. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/138 "2014-05-30T22:45:27Z")
Well, if [Jason Jones on _The Daily Show_](http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/cytlbz/india-jones-and-the-election-of-doom---the-end-) is an acceptable news-cite, it appears Indians of all parties now are satisfied that the courts have given Modi a “clean chit” [_snerk_] WRT the 2002 Gujarat riots. So, there’s that. The lookalike thing is kinda creepy, though . . . ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/139 "2014-05-30T23:51:41Z")
They only showed him asking like eight people. It’s kind of a small sample size for an electorate of a billion. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067/140 "2014-05-31T00:01:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > They only showed him asking like eight people. And only in service of a mostly unfunny joke. Is the term clean chit not used in the US at all? After watching that video I’ve heard it so many times that I have no idea how common it is in India. Like saying any word over and over makes it sound weird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-elections-and-narendra-modi/686067.md?page=8)