• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, June 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

India’s TsuNaMo: Modi’s Triumph Signals Departure of Secularism and Diversity

Indrajit Roy by Indrajit Roy
05/24/19
in Opinion
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) during his victory speech at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters after his re-election

Modi's re-election marks the first time in almost five decades that an Indian premier has been voted back with an increased majority. Photo: Prakash Singh, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is heading for a landslide victory in the just-concluded elections. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP looks all set to improve its performance.

Leads suggest that not only has the party improved its seat-share and comfortably won an absolute majority of seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha (Parliament), but also bettered its vote shares across the country. Along with allies in the National Democratic Alliance, Modi is now all set to form India’s next government.

Thank you India! The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfil people's aspirations.

I salute every BJP Karyakarta for their determination, perseverance & hardwork. They went home to home, elaborating on our development agenda.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019

The victory follows a bitter electoral campaign in which political leaders have exchanged personal barbs and opposition leaders have charged the government with tampering with electoral voting machines.

Alternative Idea of India

Modi’s comprehensive triumph signals a combination of three processes.

For one, the resounding victory is an endorsement of his muscular nationalism and aggressive stance against neighbors Pakistan and China, significant in the wake of terror attacks on military personnel in February.

Second, Modi and his BJP are widely perceived as staunch defenders of Hindutva, a political ideology which believes that Hinduism, India’s majority faith, ought to be the bedrock of Indian nationalism. The election outcomes are a ringing endorsement of this alternative “idea of India” which departs from the ideas of secularism, social justice, and cultural diversity that have hitherto defined Indian nationalism.

Third, Modi is widely seen as having delivered on promises of development, centered on provisioning welfare to the poor, such as homes, toilets, cooking gas, and financial credit. Although the quality of these provisions remains vigorously debated, voters have clearly rewarded Modi for his efforts. Voters have thus been willing to ignore the inconvenience caused to them by controversial decisions such as the demonetization of high-currency notes and the introduction of a unified Goods and Service Tax across India.

Democracy Crisis

The BJP’s comprehensive victory is part of the wider global crisis faced by democracy. Such a crisis is illustrated by the emergence and electoral consolidation of strongmen such as Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Donald J. Trump in the United States, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.

razilian President Jair Bolsonaro delivers a speech
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro. Photo: Mauro Pimentel, AFP

While electoral procedures are respected and adhered, in power elected leaders pay scant heed to protecting the rights of religious, cultural, and political minorities. Fears abound that Modi’s re-election will rent India’s constitutional values and social fabric asunder.

Modi’s Re-Election

Modi’s comprehensive re-election places enormous responsibility on him to continue his policies. He will aggressively posture against both neighbors in the event of cross-border disputes, and perhaps even engage in military retaliation in the event of transgressions.

In its second term, the BJP-led government is even less likely to respect the secular principles enshrined in India’s constitution. Back in 2017, the party nominated a practicing monk to be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest State. Since the BJP’s ascension to power, lynchings of social minorities, especially Dalits and Muslims, have been on the rise, and such attacks may well continue. Assaults such as these only threaten to rupture India’s social fabric, given that Muslims and Dalits each account for approximately 16 percent each of India’s population.

The BJP president also recently declared that India’s proposed National Register of Citizens will include Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Sikhs from neighboring countries fleeing persecution but not Muslims. One minister has even hoped that the BJP’s re-election will enable it to change India’s secular constitution.

Protesters demonstrate last Wednesday in Assam state after India's lower house passed legislation granting citizenship to members of certain religious minorities, but not Muslims.
Protesters demonstrate in Assam state in January after India’s lower house passed legislation granting citizenship to members of certain religious minorities, but not Muslims. Photo: Biju Boro, AFP

Protesters demonstrate in Assam state in January after India’s lower house passed legislation granting citizenship to members of certain religious minorities, but not Muslims. Leaders of India’s historically oppressed Dalit communities remain anxious that the BJP seeks to dismantle the affirmative actions for oppressed populations guaranteed by the Indian constitution.

Finally, Modi will need to continue to fulfill his welfare promises to the poor, a step that will undoubtedly contribute to poverty-reduction and the expansion of the Indian middle class. However, this promise that may prove difficult to fulfill if economic growth were to stagnate, as is being forecast.

Politically, the BJP’s formidable position appears unenviable. The Congress is on the brink of collapse, as Congress President Rahul Gandhi suffered a shock defeat in one of the constituencies. Northern India’s regional parties have crumbled in the wake of what has been correctly called TsuNaMo, although their counterparts in the south have fared better and may well emerge as a possible fulcrum of opposition.

The locus of opposition to the central government has now shifted to the south, lending a regional dimension to political cleavage. The BJP will need to work deftly with opposition legislators based in the south and prevent political differences from slipping into cultural ones.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Indrajit Roy

Indrajit Roy

Lecturer in Global Development Politics, University of York, UK

Related Posts

Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy
Featured

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 5, 2022
India hijab ban
World

Protests Over Classroom Hijab Ban Grow in India

by Staff Writer
February 7, 2022
Climate Crisis Triggers Spike in Lightning Strike Deaths in India
Environment

Climate Crisis Triggers Spike in Lightning Strike Deaths in India

by Staff Writer
September 3, 2021
Taj Mahal
Lifestyle

Taj Mahal Reopens as India Eases Pandemic Restrictions

by Staff Writer
June 16, 2021
Covid-19 in Brazil
Featured

No Pandemic End in Sight With Raging Outbreaks in India, Brazil

by Staff Writer
May 1, 2021
Rescue workers search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Mahad, India on Tuesday. AFP
World

‘Like a House of Cards:’ Building Collapses in India, Killing 11

by Anya Ruppert
August 26, 2020
Next Post
British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives in Brussels for a European Union summit

Tearful Theresa May Calls Time on Tenure Shadowed by Brexit

Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, on November 26, 2016

'Results' Needed From Myanmar Over Rohingya Return: UNHCR Head

Recommended

Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

May 26, 2023
Customers queue to enter a re-opened Zara clothes shop

EU Targets Fast Fashion in Push for Durable Goods

May 23, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

May 16, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023

Opinion

Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

A Supreme Folly 

April 24, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post