India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

by Guest Wed Mar 19, 2014 5:06 am

In October 2012, I spoke to a crowd of mostly Indians in the Detroit area about the need for innovation in Indian media. After my talk, I was stopped by an Indian woman who looked to be in her forties, was elegantly dressed, well-spoken, and struck me as someone who I could have easily run into at a gallery opening in Mumbai or high tea at a five-star hotel. She complimented me on my speech, I thanked her, and we began talking about the far-off 2014 Indian election. What she said to me that day festers in my memory:
“Even if Narendra Modi was involved in the Gujarat riots, I don’t care. His economic work wins out. I will vote for him.”

Since then, I have not been able to shake a deep-seated disturbance at her disregard for essential humanity. This disregard, I fear, is shared by many in India...

What this woman showed me—and I have heard this thinly veiled sentiment often—is that if Modi walked into a press conference tomorrow and confessed to all of the crimes he is accused of, then she would still vote for him. She had already made peace with the possibility of him being guilty. To me, that position is untenable...

Has India become so desperate for rapid economic growth, so blinded by the promise of prosperity, that she has forgotten basic humanity? It seems that, in the race towards higher GDP, the majority of India is willing to inject itself with the steroids of bigotry or ruthlessness. Ethics be damned.

When I took European history, I was always puzzled when it came to the politics leading up to World War II. I wondered, how could the German people have ignored Hitler’s obvious anti-semitism (he laid it out plain as day in his book, Mein Kampf) just because he preached a fast road to national recovery? The only reason this large electoral oversight makes sense to me is extreme economic need. If I were starving or my family were starving, I might not care about the costs attached to keeping them alive or to electing a person who promised to put bread on my table. While India certainly has enormous need, those are not exclusively the pockets that support Modi. The woman I spoke to was not starving. The political columnists of India’s newspapers are not starving. Anyone reading this article on this website is not starving. Obsession with the promised economic wizardry of Modi is not selfless patriotism for India’s advance, it is greed without regard for cost.

Is it extreme to compare electing the BJP (with Modi at its head) to electing the Nazi party with Hitler as its chancellor? Maybe, but it is eerily similar in many ways. If anything, it brings into sharper relief the absurdity of Modi’s candidacy. India has not just lost a war, or recently faced hyperinflation, or had her national pride stomped on by embarrassing terms of surrender. And let’s not forget that the political right of India has an odd, not-quite-closeted obsession with Hitler’s leadership style. Shiv Sena, anyone?

We look back at Weimar Germany and think “never again could we be so short sighted; those things cannot happen today.” Such sentiments are the blinders of ignorance—symptoms of our human need for proximity to facts before we believe them. We see war on television and think “not in my hometown,” but, sadly, the march of backwards thinking continues everyday. The Gujarat violence happened barely more than 10 years ago. In the United States, Kansas is about to pass a law that re-creates the “No Blacks Allowed” segregation of the 1950s and 1960s, they’re just changing the word “blacks” to “gays.” Our duty as informed citizens of the world is to always remain vigilant against regression, regardless of how modern we think we are.

In a recent New York Times article, Ashok Malik, an Indian columnist, was quoted saying: “Twenty or 30 years ago, Modi may have believed a lot of those things to different degrees, but Modi’s experience as a chief minister for the last 12 years, especially in a state like Gujarat, has proven an enormous learning process for him.”

To be clear, Malik was not referring to the riots when he said “those things” in the above quote, he was talking about cultural censorship. However, at best I hope people who support Modi feel similarly when it comes to the riots and acknowledge that he has learned not to instigate violence to achieve his political aims; they hope he has, well, matured. At worst, his supporters just don’t care. For myself, I don’t want to cast my vote for someone who requires that learning curve at all. I learned that lesson in detention in third grade.

If you truly believe Modi is innocent, then you are excused. You then only have to reconcile with having a prime minister who is obviously incompetent at maintaining law and order in a nation where Naxals abound and multiple secessionist movements are ongoing. But if you believe he may be guilty of either ordering the riots or not preventing them, then you cannot comfortably ignore that judgment just because it is convenient to your privileged view of India’s future. To do so is nothing less than cowardice.

http://qz.com/178362/india-crosses-the-moral-line-of-no-return-if-narendra-modi-becomes-prime-minister/

by Seva Lamberdar Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:28 am

Unlike the other political parties participating in the coming parliamentary elections in India, the unprecedented choice of the official prime ministerial candidate (Modi) before the elections by the BJP has already crossed the line. The Indian parliamentary democracy will never be the same.

by harharmahadev Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:46 am

I haven't read the article, but I'm sick and tired of Modi-bashers to keep bashing Modi over Gujarat riots. It's not like Islamic fundamentalists were showering India with rose petals. There was a lot of blame to go around. Even if Narendra Modi was involved in the Gujarat riots, I don’t care. His economic work wins out. I will vote for him

by smArtha Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:50 am

>> India Risks crossing the point of No Return

As opposed to keep returning back to square one of reservations, minority appeasement, rob the nation of its wealth, resources, culture etc.. that is the norm with Congress? And then many more people dying in multitude of riots of much larger magnitude where Congress is equally or more culpable of omission or commission doesn't bother the author or you? And you can shamelessly keep harping on one act of omission/commission (yet to be decided in courts) to ensure that status quo continues.

by Vakavaka Pakapaka Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:51 am

So, what do you recommend? Why don't you make the PM of India permanently a Muslim so that there is no chance for any Modis? How about insisting that every MP and minister of India be married to Muslims so that you can have your H-M synthesis (and hot sex at home in the night)?

Will that make India a great, prosperous country or an expanded BIMARU state?

You don't realize that India is changing. CONmen, Laloo, Raja and Mulayam won't be able to fool the common man with their farts about sikularism and fukularism. As voters get educated they see the self-serving behavior patterns of these crooks and start dumping them in the dustbin. Even Muslims are running away from these monsters.

The future of India belongs to the youngsters. They understand that the fukular rhetoric and corruption are ruining the country. New political parties will come to the fore. People will vote for development and progress. This process is irreversible.

by truthbetold Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:11 pm

Rash
who wrote this article?

by confuzzled dude Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:11 pm

I'm afraid he will drag India's reputation down along with him; at worst he will be remembered as Idi Amin of India, at best Bashar of India.

by truthbetold Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:21 pm

confuzzled dude wrote:I'm afraid he will drag India's reputation down along with him; at worst he will be remembered as Idi Amin of India, at best Bashar of India.

by confuzzled dude Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:31 pm

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:So, what do you recommend? Why don't you make the PM of India permanently a Muslim so that there is no chance for any Modis? How about insisting that every MP and minister of India be married to Muslims so that you can have your H-M synthesis (and hot sex at home in the night)?

Will that make India a great, prosperous country or an expanded BIMARU state?

You don't realize that India is changing. CONmen, Laloo, Raja and Mulayam won't be able to fool the common man with their farts about sikularism and fukularism. As voters get educated they see the self-serving behavior patterns of these crooks and start dumping them in the dustbin. Even Muslims are running away from these monsters.

The future of India belongs to the youngsters. They understand that the fukular rhetoric and corruption are ruining the country. New political parties will come to the fore. People will vote for development and progress. This process is irreversible.

Modi is 60+ and Rahul is 40+

by Vakavaka Pakapaka Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:52 pm

confuzzled dude wrote:
Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:So, what do you recommend? Why don't you make the PM of India permanently a Muslim so that there is no chance for any Modis? How about insisting that every MP and minister of India be married to Muslims so that you can have your H-M synthesis (and hot sex at home in the night)?

Will that make India a great, prosperous country or an expanded BIMARU state?

You don't realize that India is changing. CONmen, Laloo, Raja and Mulayam won't be able to fool the common man with their farts about sikularism and fukularism. As voters get educated they see the self-serving behavior patterns of these crooks and start dumping them in the dustbin. Even Muslims are running away from these monsters.

The future of India belongs to the youngsters. They understand that the fukular rhetoric and corruption are ruining the country. New political parties will come to the fore. People will vote for development and progress. This process is irreversible.
Modi is 60+ and Rahul is 40+

I was referring to young voters, not Modi.

But, between the two, Pappu is a moron who thinks that the voters are fools and will pay a big price (along with Laloo, Diggy, Mulayam, DKheads and CONmen) in 2014.

by Sponsored content

India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister

Re: India risks crossing the line of No Return if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister