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

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New and old parliaments stand side by side among the grandiose array of public buildings designed and planned by the architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker about a century ago, after the British government decided to move the capital of the Indian empire from Kolkata to Delhi. They are laid out around a huge central axis, somewhat like the Mall in Washington DC, stretching 3km from the domed Viceroy’s Palace – now the Rashtrapati Bhavan or Presidential Palace – to the India Gate, an arched memorial to the country’s dead in the first world war. 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 documentary comes at a highly sensitive time for India in terms of its placement on the world stage. It is currently hosting the G20, presenting itself as the “mother of democracy”. As the world’s second – now likely first – largest country, with an economy bigger than the UK’s, Modi is increasingly being courted by western powers on questions of geopolitics and the environment, and his growing international prominence is a vote winner at home. For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the premiership of Narendra Modi. Modi taking the oath of office as the Prime Minister of India, with President Pranab Mukherjee administering the oath Modi taking the oath of office as the Prime Minister of India for the second time, with President Ram Nath Kovind administering the oath A police officer stands at the entrance of the BBC office building in New Delhi on 14 February during a raid by Indian tax authorities. Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India that lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "the Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. [88] [89] Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. [90] Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest, once dressing as a monk and once as a Sikh. [91] He became involved in the printing of pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. [92] [93] He was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals who were wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. [94] During this period, Modi wrote a Gujarati-language book titled Sangharsh Ma Gujarat ( In the Struggles of Gujarat), which describes events during the Emergency. [95] [96] While in this role, Modi met trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes and several other national political figures. [97] Tiwari, Ravish (27 November 2014). "The low-profile RSS apparatchik is the newface of power in the NDA". India Today . Retrieved 13 January 2021.Science commentator Dinesh C. Sharma, writing in The Tribune newspaper, said he hoped the course material would not be compromised by the translations. 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. The first part of the documentary is about Modi’s political career before he became prime minister. Gujarat was convulsed by riots in early 2002 when Hindu mobs, blaming Muslims for the deaths of 59 Hindu pilgrims in a train fire, retaliated against Muslim communities. Modi has denied complicity in deadly 2002 riots in the state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister at the time. T. Narayan / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Both dispute the official arguments put forward for the new building, that India’s expanding population requires a larger debating chamber than the parliament now offers, and that its 96-year-old home is worn out. “I find it perfectly all right,” says Sircar. “In India we have buildings that are 500-700 years old and still work well.” 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.In March 2012 and June 2014, Narendra Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, becoming one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. [465] [466] In 2014, CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network awarded Modi Indian of the Year. [467] In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. [468] In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. [469] Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. [470] In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. [471] In 2021 Time called Modi the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, who "dominated the country's politics like no one since them". [472] [473] Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazine 's first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. [474] [475] In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi third-top leader of the world. [476] [477] In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. [478] [479] Narendra Modi's wax statue at Madame Tussauds, London 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. Worryingly, there are signs that the communal clashes seen in India are being copied elsewhere. In Leicester, many south Asian Muslims – like the city’s Hindus – have Indian roots. Yet when violence erupted between these communities this September, escalating into antisocial behaviour directed at mosques and temples, the Indian high commission in London condemned the “violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of [the] Hindu religion”. Pointedly, there was no condemnation of Hindus’ violence against Muslims. Once careful to proclaim its secularism, India’s government appears content to export its Hindu chauvinism. That should trouble everyone. The BBC also uncovered memos showing that Modi’s conduct was criticised at the time by western diplomats and the British government, including in a government report which found that the riots had “all the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing”.

Al Jazeera reached out to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s office to confirm if human rights and religious freedom were on the agenda during the Biden-Modi meeting, but a spokesperson declined to comment. 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. The hallmarks of fascism are everywhere. School textbooks are being rewritten to reinforce the fake history behind BJP’s Hindu nationalist agenda. Topics like the theory of evolution and the periodic table have been replaced with traditional Hindu theories, and academics have been silenced for calling out the BJP’s election malpractices. The government has weaponized education in the manner typical of fascist regimes such as Russia. There are other clear indications of India’s slide towards fascism. On press freedom, India ranks 161st out of 180 countries, sandwiched between Venezuela (at 159) and Russia (at 164). Convenient Action: Gujarat's Response to Challenges of Climate Change. New Delhi: Macmillan Publishers India. ISBN 978-0-230-33192-1. OCLC 696558495.

More from BBC News

Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Indian general election, following which, Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. [159] [160] Western nations also raised questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims: the US State Department barred him from entering the United States in accordance with the recommendations of that country's Commission on International Religious Freedom, [161] [162] the only person to be denied a US visa under this law. [161] The UK and the European Union (EU) refused to admit Modi because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK [163] and the EU [164] lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister in 2014, the US lifted its ban and invited him to Washington, D.C. [165] [166] Modi meeting with then- Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh in 2004 Now, once again, doctors are aghast after a decision by the Madhya Pradesh state government to offer a medical degree in Hindi. Until now, medicine has been taught throughout India in English. In 2008, Modi published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj, which contains profiles of RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). [506] According to The Economic Times, Modi's intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers, and to reassure RSS members he remained ideologically aligned with them. US can’t stay as a mute spectator as India continues to violate all the rights of Kashmiris,” Motala told Al Jazeera.

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