Questions about Modi, the incoming Prime Minister of India

A recent article about Narendra Modi gives a balanced view of what will happen if Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins the next elections and Modi becomes the Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world (In Upcoming Indian Election, the Legacy of Religious Violence Looms). 

There are apprehensions about Mr. Modi's promotion of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) in the past and his current dog-whistle strategy; his role in massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002; his links with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (a Hindu organization that has used violence in the past to implement Hindutva and where Modi learned politics); and his authoritarian streak. These apprehensions add to what minorities in India already fear about the rise of the BJP, a right-wing Hindu nationalist party.

These apprehensions about Modi and BJP are countered by the following arguments:

• No party in India has attained majority since the 1990s. So, Modi and BJP would have to make coalitions to rule and these coalitions with regional parties would keep them in check. This happened in 1998-2004 when BJP last ruled India and this will happen again.
• India is too diverse and has too many social, economic, administrative and cultural players. All these cannot be fitted in the straitjacket of Hindu nationalism, even if Modi and BJP try.
• The alternative is more of Indian National Congress, the party of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. This party not only has become ineffective, corrupt and staid after ruling for last ten years but also have a record of failing to safeguard minorities.   
• Muslims themselves have moved on, so the world (including the US) should also. What happened in 2002 is in past and one should look to the future.

All these arguments are cogent and compelling but what outsiders and at least some Indian minorities fear are not regular riots and persecution under Modi. 

It is the gradual movement of the center of Indian politics towards right. Some statements and actions that were previously unthinkable, becoming mainstream. Like what happened in Europe recently. Right wing nationalists are not winning in Europe but they have changed the conversation about minorities and immigrants.  

It is one riot or massacre that puts minorities 'in their place' for a whole generation, like what happened in Gujarat under Modi's watch. Modi might not have played any role in the massacre but he surely contributed to the atmosphere where such massacres were possible.