Modi and the BJP victory in India - Your thoughts?
DaftChris
Spiritually conflicted. Not of this world. Veteran
Hello everyone. How have you all been?
As some may know, I don't really classify myself as a "Buddhist" anymore. I still apply Buddha's teachings to my life, but I consider myself to be more of a Hindu. As such, I kept on hearing about the recent elections in India; with the two biggest parties being the BJP (the more conservative, nationalist party) and Congress (the more secular, liberal party).
The election ended not long ago and the BJP, and it's leader Modi, apparently won by a landslide. Allegedly making the majority in all regions of the country except for the north.
Now, I'm not an Indian. I'm a western adoptee of Hinduism. As such, I have my western values and identify as secular (at least in the sense that government and religion should not mingle). I also consider myself to be a liberal individual and I practice my religion as a western adoptee; not as an adoptee of Indian culture as a whole.
Now, since I don't know too many details about politics in India (and I'm hoping that more informed members of this site can help me), what do you think of a right-wing nationalist party winning the election?
From what I gather, in addition to being right-wing economically, the BJP allegedly also has Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) influence and support. I'm of the belief that nationalism, in any capacity, is not an inherently good thing. There is also the issue that Modi (the new prime minister) seems to have this bizarre cult of personality built around him. Rather similar to what Obama had back in 2008.
What do you think of this? What does India's foreseeable future look like at the moment?
Comments
I personally confess I haven't a Clue: though I believe @Jason has been following matters...
He may be alerted and comment.
Nice of you to pop back in.
:0)
Don't know much about India's politics, but it seems as if there is a tremendous disparity between rich and poor (or should I say legions of the destitute).
Perhaps it's time for a change because not much of India's new wealth seems to be trickling down.
Personally, I find recent global political trends towards the right scary, from the rise of the Golden Dawn in Greece to the current turmoil in Ukraine and the election of Narendra Modi, the leader of the Hindu-nationalist BJP, as the new Indian prime minister with only 31% of the vote thanks to FPTP.
I don't know, vinlyn. I'm not sure this is the kind of change that'll be good for India, particularly its Muslim population (and trickle-down economics has always been bullshit).
India is very backward country and most of the people are having stone age mentality.
India needed a much needed change in the political area - congress has been the only party with majority till this year's election, as a kind of monopoly getting formed and a particular family holding the congress leadership indicated that monotony in place.
good for india that Modi led BJP has got a majority on its own - this is the first time that any party alone got majority votes except congress since india's independence.
Modi has reformed Gujarat when he was the CM of Gujarat and the development of Gujarat is an example of his leadership.
On 16th May, when the results of election were declared, after that Modi gave his first speech at a community gathering at Vadodara - in that he said he is a labourer and has no problem being called a labourer, as he considers himself to be a labourer and feels that it is his duty to work for the country - shows the humbleness of the person. Modi said the government is not of a party, rather government is of country. He seems to be a man of discipline and a hard-working person.
Congress has given to country - inflation with prices going too high.
BJP has Hindutava as an agenda, but it has subsided now, because the agenda behind BJP in this election was not Hindutava, rather make our country a more better place for living.
i am not much involved in politics, but whatever above is written is based on my current knowledge about our country's situation.
dude, i do not know where you live, but your assessment about India and most Indians is not correct.
Poor India. They go through a painful revolt only to have the Muslims attempt to establish a theocracy through a "winner takes all" attitude toward democracy, near as I can figure. Maybe now we will see more of a sectarian government more focused on jobs than what women should be allowed to wear. Of course, some attention paid to human rights including due process toward the Muslims now instead of repeating the cycle would be a refreshing change.
That has not been my experience of India at all.
I say the same thing of my country when too many folks vote differently from me.
While I think rohit may have slipped into hyperbole, are you saying you can't see reasons he might have that view?
So if you have to change only a few words, how would you?
India is a ___________________ country and most of the people have a ________________ mentality.
How about " India is a country and most of the people have a mentality "
Everything else is stereotyping.
India after all has a population of one and a quarter billion !
So one can make no generalizations about any nation on earth.
Really. (note, that's not a question).
Not if they want to retain any credibility.
I would say that you have an inability to discern cultural differences.
I would say you're both veering off-topic, and can either take this to PM discussion, or just quit, here. But either way, the topic needs coming back to....
One ray of hope is that sometimes extreme sounding parties, on attaining office, become modified by reality breaking in..sometimes.
You can tell a politician is lying. His lips move.
All politicians promise much and deliver little.
Unfailingly.
No matter whence they come, they are the same the world over.
Their agenda is to survive and win, whatever it costs. Even if, on some occasions, it means sacrificing their own integrity.
A seemingly small price to pay if the rewards are sufficiently profitable.
To be honest, the Indian congress and government are currently so corrupt and so ineffectual, I'm not really sure Modi's victory will really lead to much change. Whereas we in the U.S. suffer from too few choices in terms of political parties, India is basically stalled under the strain of too much plurality. The result is that nothing much ever gets accomplished. Think about how much people in the U.S. complain about how inefficient, slow, and useless our Congress is. Then put that on steroids. I think most of Modi's influence will lie in the relationship he establishes with China and the economic implications of those ties. Aside from that, I don't really see much social change coming from the BJP.
I'm more concerned by the Political Implications.
Southern India is a big refuge place for displaced Tibetans....
No Idea, but 1.2 billion people have elected someone to be their leader; let's hope he doesn't believe he controls them all.