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

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In 1978, Modi received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in political science from the School of Open Learning [78] at the Delhi University. [58] [79] In 1983, he received a Master of Arts (MA) degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class [80] [81] as an external distance learning student. [82] There is a controversy surrounding the authenticity of his BA and MA degrees. [83] [84] [j] Early political career The BJP won 31 percent of the vote, [38] and more-than-doubled its number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. [210] [211] Voter dissatisfaction with the Congress and with regional parties in North India, and support from the RSS were reasons for the BJP's success. [211] [207] In states such as Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, and its Muslim vote increased to 10 percent. The BJP performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. [211] The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties towards the right-wing. [39] [185] [211] [216] [217] Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. [218] As former chief minister of India’s Gujarat state, Modi was banned from travelling to the US for a decade after more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed in 2002 in what critics describe as a pogrom. Shah Alam Khan, who teaches orthopedic medicine at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences, considers himself relatively privileged compared with most Indian Muslims, who tend to be among the country’s poorer and more marginalized citizens. But even for him, he says, the country’s majoritarian turn has forced a change in his quotidian habits. He thinks twice before using the greeting Assalamualaikum, or using any other obviously Islamic phrase, in a crowded public space. Asked for his name, he typically offers only Shah, because it’s more common and less identifiably Muslim than his surname.

In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. [66] [67] [68] Modi's first-known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist to fight in the Bangladesh Liberation War. [69] [70] The Indira Gandhi-led central government prohibited open support for the Mukti Bahini; according to Modi, he was briefly held in Tihar Jail. [71] [72] [73] After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Modi left his uncle's employ and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, [74] working under Inamdar. [75] Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest in New Delhi against the Indian government, for which he was arrested; because of this arrest, Inamdar decided to mentor Modi. [75] According to Modi, he was part of a Satyagraha that led to a political war. [72] [i] Christophe Jaffrelot’s book is a work of outstanding scholarship, a formidable documentation and compelling commentary on how India has changed in the first seven years under the leadership of Narendra Modi. . . .it is only a scholar of exceptional assurance and erudition who would attempt such an audaciously comprehensive, contemporary history written in real-time rather than with hindsight, and succeed simultaneously to inform, stir and provoke his readers."—Harsh Mander, Telegraph of India

Modi pledged to fight corruption and nepotism in the country’s politics, which he said were acting as termites eating away the gains of development. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. [321] On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The campaign's stated goals included the elimination of open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. [327] [328] As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. [329] [330] [331] The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants, [332] and planned to construct 60million toilets by 2019. The construction projects faced allegations of corruption and severe difficulty in getting people to use the newly constructed toilets. [328] [329] [330] Sanitation cover in India increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018 but use of the new sanitary facilities was lower than the government's targets. [333] In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths in rural India were averted after the launch of the sanitation effort. [334] As menacing as the persecution of religious minorities has become, for most Indians, emigrating is not an option. Only about 5 percent of citizens have a passport, and those who leave the country tend to be among the wealthiest. “If we decide to abandon the ship, what will happen to people who do not have the resources to go out? That is a very big concern,” Akif told me. As the last of his siblings still living in India, he can’t bring himself to leave his parents behind. Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his second term in 2019, he has pursued policies that have corroded the country’s democracy. His government has abused existing legislation to squelch dissent, misused investigative agencies to pursue dubious charges against political opposition, and created detention centers designed to hold those who cannot prove their citizenship status—with disproportionate effects on Muslims. Through multiple measures, Indian democracy is in a state of precipitous decline.

You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Further information: Public image of Narendra Modi Modi at Yoga Day celebrations in New Delhi, 21 June 2015Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967; his teachers described him as an average student and a keen, gifted debater with an interest in theatre. [49] He preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. [50] [51] Others have suggested a better idea would be to offer bridging courses in English to help rural students to cope more easily. Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi ( c. 1915–1989) and Hiraben Modi (1923–2022). [43] [b] [44] T his ideal of a pluralist, secular India is popular not only among its religious minorities. A 2021 study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that by a wide margin, Indians of all faiths consider religious tolerance an essential part of what it means to be “truly Indian.” This civic value is as old as the country itself: Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, rejected any concept of the nation as Hinduism’s answer to Pakistan. His India would not be “formally entitled to any religion as a nation,” he said, but a place where all faiths could coexist and be celebrated equally.

Accusations have abounded in India that old colonial powers in the west, uncomfortable with India’s rise, are attempting to stymie its prominence by bringing up old allegations. Today’s generation needs to see what happened in 2002 and make an informed choice,” he added. “Is this the India you want?” April 2014). A Journey: Poems by Narendra Modi. Translated by Manthi, Rajiv. Rupa Pu

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Punjab, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Goa and West Bengal have thus far proven somewhat recalcitrant and occasionally rebellious, for a variety of reasons that are regionally specific, and because of local parties, caste alliances and grassroots leaders who challenge the BJP. But even in these States, the presence of an opposition no longer proves that public opinion is against Modi or that the default political common sense is secular. Nor should the south be taken for granted any more. As Jaffrelot shows in his oeuvre, studying Hindutva ideology over the past century, from Savarkar and Golwalkar, to Advani and Vajpayee, before arriving at Modi and Shah, allows us to retrospectively register the early tremors of the political earthquake we are now experiencing. Abroad, countries like Israel, Turkey, Hungary and Brazil provide a global context for the rise of ethnic democracy. Meanwhile, Modi and the BJP have used the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, originally passed in 1967 and recently amended, to clamp down on legitimate dissent. Among other provisions, it allows the state to designate an individual as a terrorist without providing corroborating evidence. Some opposition politicians have also alleged that India’s premier investigative agencies, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Directorate of Enforcement, are involved in settling political vendettas. The aim of the new Hindi medical degree, said Modi, was to allow Indians from poorer families who are not fluent in English to pursue their dream of becoming doctors.