NEW YORK: The secular India of Jawaharlal Nehru has vanished under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid growing mob violence against Muslims, an Indian writer has said in an article published in The Wall Street Journal.
“The Hindu nationalists arrival in Washington was a reminder that of all the recent revolutions at the ballot box, Modi’s was the first,” wrote author Aatish Taseer, referring to the Indian premier’s recent visit to Washington and talks with US President Donald Trump “complete with bear hugs, defence deals and a welcoming tweet from the first lady.”
Taseer said, “This week, pundits noted similarities between the two populist leaders: both Trump and Modi have made political careers out of anti-Muslim animus, tapped nationalist passions, stoked the fires of intolerance and pursued vendettas against impertinent media outlets.
“Yet these symmetries unfold in fundamentally different contexts. America has experienced a political upheaval, but it retains that supreme achievement of a mature democracy.
“India has experienced something quite different in the three years since Modi took power. The ‘other side’ liberal India, secular India, the India of Nehru and Gandhi – hasn’t merely been decimated electorally; it has ceased to exist as a cultural and moral force.
The author cited instances of the changing environment in today’s India, and said, “Modi’s India has scant room for romantic ideas about Muslims or their place in Indian society.”
The most obvious consequence of India’s new anti-Muslim atmosphere has been a spate of gruesome cow and beef-related murders. The cow is sacred to Hindus, but the current hysteria has been engineered. During his 2014 campaign, Modi whipped crowds into frenzies over a supposed conspiracy by his political foes to slaughter cows and export beef.
“Since he took power, India has seen more than 60 incidents of cow-related mob violence, in which the overwhelming bulk of the 23 reported fatalities were Muslim. Modi has had very little to say about these deaths. On Wednesday, anti-lynching protests erupted in cities nationwide, and Modi finally bluntly condemned the violence. “We belong to a land of non-violence,” he said, invoking Gandhi.
But it may be too late; the Indian street is on the boil. In the US, Trump faces a free press, a galvanised opposition and a Republican Party with deepening misgivings. In India, Modi faces only himself.”
