Modi's India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy

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Jaffrelot concludes these signs are ominous for India’s democracy—let alone the political opposition’s general weakness. The evidence he has amassed in Modi’s India is persuasive. However, BJP supporters will likely dismiss it by pointing to the adulation that greets Modi overseas, the pride he has restored among Indian citizens, and the prosperity that is just around the corner. Without sustained economic slowdown or social unrest in India, Modi will remain on a roll. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of its National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise Advani's Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–1992 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). [49] [101] [102] Modi took a brief break from politics in 1992 to establish a school in Ahmedabad, and due to friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat. [102] Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani; as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly election. [103] [104] In November of that year, Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. [105] The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha election. [49] Modi, who was on the selection committee for the 1998 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as central to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 election, [106] and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. [107] Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy ; Christophe Jaffrelot, Translated by Cynthia Schoch, Princeton University Press & Context/Westland, ₹899. The documentary was also criticised in a joint statement by more than 300 former judges, bureaucrats and prominent figures who accused the BBC of pushing a British imperialist agenda and “setting itself up as both judge and jury to resurrect Hindu-Muslim tensions”. Ali also expressed “extreme displeasure” over a meeting between a senior US diplomat and Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteers Organisation or the RSS), the far-right ideological mentor of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Modi has been haunted for decades by allegations of complicity in the violence that took place during the Gujarat riots, which broke out after 59 Hindu pilgrims died on a train that had been set on fire. The fire was blamed on the state’s Muslim population. Bilateral discussion between the US and India will help reinforce and give momentum to the Quad discussion because many of the topics are very much interrelated,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters earlier this week.Al Jazeera reached out to four BJP spokespersons and the Indian embassy in Washington, DC, but they declined to comment or did not respond to questions on Thursday’s protest. Self-reliant India is the responsibility of every citizen, every government, every unit of society,” he said. Later on Friday, Biden will host his first bilateral meeting with Modi after winning the presidential election. The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of topics, including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Further information: Public image of Narendra Modi Modi at Yoga Day celebrations in New Delhi, 21 June 2015

On Tuesday, more than a dozen officers from the government’s tax department office raided the offices of the BBC in Mumbai and New Delhi, describing it as a “survey” of operations. Phones and laptops were taken and the offices were sealed as part of a tax evasion investigation, which many viewed as retaliatory action. Replying to an RTI query, the School of Open Learning said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. [78] Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, said the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. [85] [86] In 2016, Delhi University deemed the BA degree to be authentic. [87]Modi and the BJP have proven themselves to be fluent hypocrites on the world stage. Under the banner of anticolonialism, the party is replicating Britain’s colonial practices. Narendra Damodardas Modi ( Gujarati: [ˈnəɾendɾə dɑmodəɾˈdɑs ˈmodiː] ⓘ; born 17 September 1950) [b] is an Indian politician who has served as the 14th prime minister of India since May 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the longest-serving prime minister from outside the Indian National Congress. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? We are here because we stand for the rights of minorities, Dalits, women, farmers, human rights defenders, and journalists in India.”

During the campaign, Modi focused on corruption scandals under the previous Congress government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. [207] He projected himself as a person who could bring about "development" without focusing on specific policies. [207] His message found support among young and middle-class people. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. [210] Prior to the election, Modi's media image had centred around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots but during the campaign, the BJP focused on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development. [210] The BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders who publicly opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose and Ram Manohar Lohia. [158] Hindutva remained a part of the campaign; BJP leaders used Hindutva-based rhetoric in several states. [214] [207] [211] [39] Communal tensions were played upon, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Northeast India. [214] A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. [39] Since that time Biden has embraced, as allies, autocrats and would-be autocrats all over the world, including the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who US intelligence has said was responsible for the brutal murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. More recently, Biden invited Benjamin Netanyahu, who is presiding over the destruction of Israel’s democracy by targeting its judicial system, for an official visit to the United States. Those in Modi’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), are hardline Hindu nationalists. Their ideology holds that India was originally a pure Hindu state, with minorities, such as India’s large Muslim population, the supposed result of colonization by outside forces.

Credits

In 2020 the government said practitioners of ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine, should be allowed to perform surgery, to the horror of the medical establishment. In December 2021, Modi signed an agreement with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to extend military technical cooperation. [399] The Modi government bought the S-400 missile system, an anti-missile striking system, strengthening the relationship between the two nations. [400] India refused to condemn the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and stayed neutral. [399] [401] The Indian government's Operation Ganga initiative sought to return Indians stranded in Ukraine during the war. More than 19,000 Indian nationals were evacuated, [402] [403] including some from neighbouring countries. [404] Environment Modi (right) at CoP21 Climate Conference, in Paris, announcing the founding of an International Solar Alliance (ISA). November 2015. For those who have closely followed Indian news, the allegations in the documentary surrounding Modi and the Gujarat riots are nothing new, having been well-reported in media at the time, as well as documented in numerous books since. However, for international audiences who are less familiar with Modi before he became prime minister, it was one of the first to revisit the whole trajectory of Modi’s rise to power, the controversies that have surrounded it and how they play into his current government agenda.