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I think it's about time we have a thread on a topic nobody in this forum is even talking or probably thinking about. It remains something very dear to my heart and something I am increasingly worried about. The Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India In May of 2014 the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landmark election in India - lead by Narendra Modi who had served as Chief Minister of Gujarat since 2001. This marked the first time that a opposition party has defeated the Indian National Congress (INC) which promotes centre-left policies shaped after the Gandhian concept of Sarvodaya. Leading up to the election the INC had been blamed of incompetence and corruption and has been blamed of being slow to adopt to world changes and modernization as well as globalization. Narendra Modi was highly touted as the digital candidate. He promised to build technological infrastructure and provide things like internet and electricity to a country where over 50% of the population lack access to it. The modern campaign that Modi ran finds no parallel in India history. He continues to be the number one followed politician on twitter and his tweet announcing his election victory was retweeted a record breaking number of times. The Dark Side of Modi and the BJP This is where things become very scary; while despite seeming on the surface a interesting proposition in reality what Modi and the BJP represents is far more nefarious. Hindu Nationalism - the concept that Hinduism (which in the mind of modern Indians rises above simple religion and refers to social, spiritual, and cultural traditions) should be the ruling force in India - and that secularism - and freedom for minority religions such as Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and others - should be curtailed. Modi is a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a extremist Hindu Nationalist Paramilitary group whose membership has grown in recent year. The RSS was inspired mainly by Fascist political parties in Europe during World War 2 so it is no surprise that the group has been suspected of participating in religious riots and attacks on minority groups in recent years. Modi himself has been strongly connected to a series of attacks on Muslim Minority groups in the state of Gujarat in 2002 that have been compared to a pogrom by some. Dark Times for India Modi and his party seek to disconnect India from foreign influence. It is no surprise then that some of his first acts as Prime Minister were to ban many non-profit organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, Mercy Corps, Greenpeace and multiple other environmentalist groups; as well as Christian and Muslim Missionary organizations. Earlier this year many of those organizations had their licenses cancelled. Modi and the BJP are clear that non-profit organizations that use foreign money are unwelcome in India and that the only charitable organizations that should be allowed to function in India should be Indian in origin - and preferably Hindu in nature. Since being elected Modi's party has begun to crackdown on the practice of selling beef - previously permissible in much of India and a product consumed by Religious minorities and foreigners. The ban against beef has been used as a rallying cry to discriminate against minorities and in one case even lynch one Persecution against religious minorities has become a ever increasing issue. Attacks against Christians both natives and foreigners are up as are attacks against Native Indian Muslims and Sikhs. It seems this country - forecasted to be the largest on earth within the next 10 years has joined the world trend in backsliding from progress made during earlier decades. Ignored Reality The issues we are talking about are rarely reported by the Mass Media despite being very big issues. The response from foreign countries towards the Modi government has so far been silence. Recent issues with Facebook's attempt to launch free access to Facebook and a couple of other sites has gotten a bit more attention; Zuckerbergs offer has been rejected as an attack on net neutrality; although I fear the true reason behind the attacks have more to do with his nationality and religion than the concept of what he wants to do. What should the response from the west be to the crackdown on freedoms currently being implemented in India?
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Jan 4, 2016 05:09
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Smudgie Buggler posted:Look, I'm sure this guy's a bad dude and all, but unless your above claim that those organisations have been banned is a simple mistake due to English being your second language or something, it's an outright falsehood that you shouldn't be allowed to get away with simply because Modi's an rear end in a top hat. Sorry what I meant to say was they banned reception of foreign funds by the groups
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Jan 5, 2016 17:47
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