The surprising results of India’s election

Trending Globally: Politics and Policy
12 Jun 202428:49

Summary

TLDRIn this episode of 'Trending Globally' by the Watson Institute at Brown University, host Dan Richards delves into India's recent elections, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP faced a surprising reduction in seats. The discussion with political scientist Ashutosh Varshney explores Modi's background, the rise of Hindu nationalism, and its implications for India's democracy. The episode also touches on the BJP's relationship with the RSS, the potential impact of coalition governance on Hindu nationalist policies, and the broader global context of nationalist leaders. Insights are shared on how these changes might influence India's domestic policies and its relationship with the U.S.

Takeaways

  • 🗳️ India held the largest democratic election in history with over 640 million voters.
  • 📅 The election lasted 44 days, involved 15 million polling staff, and had 1 million polling stations.
  • 🔹 Narendra Modi's party, BJP, was expected to dominate but fell short of expectations.
  • 🤝 Modi will have to rely on smaller parties for support, marking a shift to a multi-party coalition.
  • 🕌 The election results impact the Hindu nationalist movement led by Modi.
  • 🌍 Ashutosh Varshney from Brown University provides analysis on the surprising election outcome.
  • 📉 The Congress party's decline in popularity since the late 1980s helped the BJP rise.
  • 🧲 Modi's personal charisma and incorruptible image contributed to his political success.
  • 📜 Modi's governance faced criticism for democratic backsliding and anti-Muslim policies.
  • 🇮🇳 The election outcome suggests a potential shift in India’s treatment of minorities and constitutional governance.
  • 🌐 India's relationship with the US remains strong due to geopolitical strategies against China.
  • 🔄 The global trend of nationalist leaders might be losing momentum, as seen in India's election.

Q & A

  • What were the key statistics of India's largest democratic election?

    -Over 640 million people voted in India's election, which took 44 days, involved 15 million polling staff, and had 1 million polling stations to fill 543 seats in Parliament.

  • What was the outcome of India's recent election for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party BJP?

    -Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed victory, but his party, BJP, fell short of expectations and did not win an outright majority, needing to rely on smaller parties for support.

  • Who is Narendra Modi, and what is notable about his background?

    -Narendra Modi comes from a very underprivileged background and did not have the privilege to study at prestigious universities. He was homeschooled and moved up the hierarchy through the RSS, an organization committed to Hindu nationalism.

  • What is the RSS, and how did it influence Narendra Modi?

    -The RSS, or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is nearly 100 years old and promotes the idea of Hindu primacy in India. It is a cultural organization that believes in making politics and society more Hindu-centric. Modi joined the RSS as a teenager and was trained through its programs.

  • What is the relationship between the RSS and the BJP?

    -The BJP is considered the political arm of the RSS. Many core BJP leaders, including Modi, were trained in the RSS, though not all BJP leaders come from the RSS.

  • How did Hindu nationalism rise to popularity in India?

    -Hindu nationalism was not always popular. It was a fringe movement until around 1989 when the decline of the Indian National Congress's legitimacy due to corruption created room for new ideas. The BJP filled this gap with culturally and religiously defined proposals.

  • What role did Narendra Modi's personal characteristics play in his political success?

    -Modi's profound charisma and the fact that he is single, without a family to benefit from political corruption, made him very attractive to voters, especially against a backdrop of widespread political corruption.

  • What actions has Modi taken that align with Hindu nationalist policies?

    -Modi's government has passed several laws targeting Muslims, including removing the special status of Kashmir, passing a citizenship law that excludes Muslims from neighboring countries, and enacting 'love jihad' laws to prevent Muslim men from marrying Hindu women.

  • What were some reasons for the BJP's underperformance in the recent election?

    -Concerns among voters about constitutional changes and the potential erosion of democratic principles, such as affirmative action for lower castes and the treatment of Muslims, contributed to the BJP's underperformance.

  • What are the potential impacts of the election results on India's governance?

    -The need for coalition governance will dilute the ideological purity of Modi's policies, reduce centralization of power, and revive federalism. Aggressive Hindu nationalist policies toward Muslims will likely decrease to maintain coalition stability.

  • How might the election results affect India's relationship with the United States?

    -The close relationship between India and the United States, seen as a counterweight to China, will likely remain unaffected by the election results, regardless of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda.

Outlines

00:00

🇮🇳 Overview of India's Historic Election

This paragraph introduces the context of the recent Indian election, highlighting its massive scale and democratic significance. It mentions the expectations surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, and contrasts these with the actual election results, which fell short of predictions, necessitating a coalition government.

05:01

🗳️ Modi's Political Journey and Background

The paragraph provides background on Narendra Modi, emphasizing his underprivileged origins and rise through the ranks of the RSS, an organization promoting Hindu nationalism. It explains how the RSS shaped Modi's political career and details the connection between the RSS and the BJP.

10:04

🌍 Rise of Hindu Nationalism in Modern India

This section explores the history and growth of Hindu nationalism in India, tracing its transformation from a fringe movement to a dominant political force. It discusses the decline of the Congress Party, the appeal of Hindu nationalist ideas, and Modi's charismatic leadership, which played a crucial role in the BJP's success.

15:04

🏛️ The Impact of Modi's Policies and Governance

This paragraph delves into Modi's controversial policies and their impact on India's political landscape, focusing on the legal measures taken against Muslims and the implications for India's democracy. It also examines Modi's authoritarian tendencies and the concept of democratic backsliding.

20:06

📜 Constitutional Concerns and Election Implications

The section discusses the election results' implications for India's governance, highlighting the concerns about constitutional changes and the dilution of ideological purity due to coalition politics. It emphasizes the significance of the election in terms of federalism, minority rights, and the potential for a more inclusive political approach.

25:07

🌏 Global Implications and Future Projections

This final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of India's election for global politics, particularly its relationship with the United States and the trend of nationalist leaders worldwide. It considers the potential changes in India's governance and their effects on international relations, particularly in the context of countering China's influence.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India who has led the country since 2014. He is associated with the Hindu nationalist movement and the BJP party. His background and rise from an underprivileged status contribute significantly to his political appeal.

💡BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)

The BJP is a major political party in India that represents Hindu nationalist ideologies. Under Modi's leadership, the party has gained significant power, but in the recent elections, it failed to secure a majority, leading to a need for coalition governance.

💡Hindu Nationalism

Hindu nationalism is a political and cultural ideology that emphasizes the primacy of Hindu culture and values in India. The RSS and BJP are key proponents of this movement, which has gained prominence under Modi's leadership.

💡RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)

The RSS is a Hindu nationalist organization that aims to promote Hindu values and culture in India. It has a significant influence on the BJP and Narendra Modi, providing a foundational network and ideology for his political career.

💡Coalition Government

A coalition government is formed when multiple political parties cooperate to form a majority in parliament. Due to the BJP's recent election performance, Modi's party will now need to govern as part of a coalition, marking a shift from their previous majority rule.

💡Democratic Backsliding

Democratic backsliding refers to the gradual decline in the quality of democracy, often through the erosion of political freedoms and checks on executive power. The script discusses how Modi's policies and leadership have been associated with such trends in India.

💡Kashmir

Kashmir is a region in India that has been a focal point of political and territorial conflict. In August 2019, the Indian government revoked its special status, which has significant implications for the region's autonomy and the rights of its predominantly Muslim population.

💡Love Jihad Laws

Love Jihad laws are state-level legislations in India that aim to prevent Muslim men from marrying Hindu women, based on the belief that such marriages are part of a strategy to increase the Muslim population. These laws reflect the BJP's anti-Muslim stance.

💡Affirmative Action

Affirmative action in India refers to policies designed to improve opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups, such as lower castes and minorities. The script mentions concerns about potential changes to these policies under Modi's government.

💡Constitutional Amendments

Constitutional amendments are changes made to a country's constitution. The script discusses how Modi's call for a larger majority in parliament could enable significant amendments to India's constitution, potentially altering its secular and democratic framework.

Highlights

On June 4th, results came in from the largest democratic election in history, with over 640 million people voting in India's election.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, did not secure the expected outright majority, leading to a need for coalition governance.

For the first time in Modi's tenure, his party will have to govern as part of a multi-party coalition.

Modi comes from a very underprivileged background, which contributes to his political popularity.

Modi's political career was shaped by the RSS, a nearly 100-year-old organization committed to the idea of Hindu primacy in India.

The BJP is the political arm of the RSS, with Modi being offered to the BJP in the late 1980s or 1990s.

Hindu nationalism was a fringe movement until around 1989, when the BJP began gaining popularity as the Congress party's dominance waned due to corruption.

Modi's charisma and perceived lack of corruption, due to his single status and lack of family, have significantly contributed to his popularity.

The BJP's victory in 2014 under Modi's leadership was a significant turning point, with an even more resounding victory in 2019.

Despite Modi's expected dominance, the BJP lost dozens of seats in the recent election, marking a shift in Indian politics.

Concerns about the Constitution and potential changes, particularly regarding affirmative action and the treatment of Muslims, influenced voter sentiment.

The BJP has historically opposed a caste census, which would highlight inequalities among different Hindu castes.

Modi's government has centralized power significantly, but coalition governance will require compromises and a revival of federalism.

The Hindu nationalist political aggression towards Muslims is expected to decrease to maintain coalition stability.

India's relationship with the United States, viewed as a counterweight to China, is expected to remain strong regardless of the election outcome.

Transcripts

play00:02

from the Watson Institute for

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international and public affairs at

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Brown University this is trending

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globally I'm Dan Richards on June 4th

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results came in from the largest

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democratic election in

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history over 640 million people voted in

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India's election 44 days 15 million

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polling staff 1 million polling stations

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and take 543

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seats many people predicted that India's

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prime minister Narendra Modi and his

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party the BJP would dominate for the

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third election in a row win an outright

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majority of seats in India's Parliament

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and further solidify their Hindu

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nationalist movement's grip on the

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country and then the results came

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in the Indian Prime Minister Narendra

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Modi has claimed Victory but his party's

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performance appears to have fallen well

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short of expectations a smaller than

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expected mandate means Modi will have to

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lean on smaller parties for support a

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massive change for a man who has kept

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power in the palm of his hand for two

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terms for the first time in modi's

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tenure his party will have to govern as

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part of a multi-party

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coalition but what does this actually

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mean for India and what does it mean for

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the Hindu nationalist movement that Modi

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represents to answer these questions I

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spoke with ashutosh vsh a political

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scientist at Brown University and

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director of the Watson institute's

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saxena Center for contemporary South

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Asia on this episode what led to the

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surprising outcome of India's election

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this year what it means for the Hindu

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nationalist movement embodied by prime

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minister Modi and what this all might

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tell us about the struggle for democracy

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currently taking place in countries

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around the

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world Professor

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ashv thank you so much for coming back

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on to trending globally pleasure to join

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you so I want to talk about India's

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election of course and the results we

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saw the other week week but I was

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wondering if we could start with a a

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little bit about the man who was just

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reelected as prime minister you know for

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listeners who might not be that familiar

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who is Narendra Modi and what drives him

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Mr Modi comes from a very

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underprivileged background and that is

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one of the reasons for his political

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popularity I can think of only one other

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uh long serving being prime minister of

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India who had a background as

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underprivileged or perhaps more

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underprivileged than his Manmohan Singh

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who was prime minister from 2004 to 2014

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but there was a very big difference Mr

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Modi did not have the privilege to go to

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either Cambridge or Oxford or American

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IV League he was homeschooled he was

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taught in regular Indian schools and he

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has moved up the hierarchy through an

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organization called the RSS

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rria so what is the RSS and and how did

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it shape Mr Modi Growing Up So this

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organization is nearly 100 years old and

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it is committed to the idea of Hindu

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Primacy in India Hindu nationalism that

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India is primarily a Hindu Nation Hindus

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are 80% of India 20% are non-hindu

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minorities the argument is that Hindus

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are the original peoples of India and

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they should have Primacy technically the

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RSS is not a political organization it

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calls itself a cultural organization it

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is committed to what it calls the

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cultural Rejuvenation of India and it

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believes that the cultural Rejuvenation

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will come from making politics and

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Society more Hindu Centric they have

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organizations all over India they which

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meet regularly they typically catch um

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members when they young in their teenage

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and then they go through training

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instruction and Modi was brought into

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this organization around that age right

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correct I think it was maybe 16 years

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old or 15 years old and what's the

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relationship between the RSS and the BJP

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the the political party that Modi now

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leads so the BJP technically speaking is

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their political arm

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they can exchange personnel with the BJP

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that's been part of the tradition Mr

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Modi was offered to the BJP sometime in

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the 1990s or late 80s and he's been with

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the BJP since then it's not that all BJP

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leaders come from the RSS they've been

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Outsiders who've come in and as it has

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become bigger and bigger but the core of

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the BJP is still those who were trained

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in the

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RSS okay so like you said the Hindu

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nationalist movement in India has been

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around for a long time including in the

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form of the RSS and the

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BJP but in the last decade this movement

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and the BJP as its political arm has

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become a Force in a in a new way so what

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has made this movement so successful

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more recently so how is it that Hindu

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nationalism became so popular or has it

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been popular all along the answer is it

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has not been popular all along it was a

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fringe movement when India became

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independent in

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1947 it never uh even reached double

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digits in elections until

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1989 now the question is what changed

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around

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1989 as V explained the story of the

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rise of Hindu nationalism and the BJP

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over the last decade in some ways starts

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with the Indian National Congress the

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bjp's political rival also known as just

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the congress party the congress party

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was the party that led the Freedom

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Movement in India and was the party of

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Gandhi and nehu to most important uh

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leaders of the 20th century it dominated

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the political scene after 47 till

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1989 but by the late 1980s the congress

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party was losing its luster by in 1989

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it was clear that the old style Congress

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politics was corrupt hugely so and some

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new ideas were needed the new ideas

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could have come from two sides the left

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wing and where the Communists were or

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the right wing where the Hindu

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nationalists were the left-wing ideas

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led by the Communist party did not have

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appeal uh because civilization or in

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terms of India's culture it was very

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hard to understand a Pur class-based

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argument which the Communists had they

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succeeded in two states but it was not

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going to work in the largest part of

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India it didn't make much sense to the

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electorate but a culturally defined a

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religiously defined alternative proposal

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started making greater sense as the

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legitimacy of the longlasting

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incumbents congress party

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declined so BJP filled that Gap with

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these ideas and these ideas acquired

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ferocious popularity in the last 10

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years another key ingredient in This

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ferocious popularity was the profound

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Charisma of the bjp's leader very few

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leaders in India you can count them on

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your hand have wielded the kind of

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Charisma Mr Modi yields part of the

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Charisma is built on something that

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would be called very counterintuitive in

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the West which is that Mr Modi is

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single he was married as a teenager but

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he left his wife he doesn't have a

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family he doesn't have children his lack

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of a partner or children is something

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that is an asset for him and other

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Indian politicians the amount of

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corruption that Indian politics

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Saw made him very attractive to the

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people because he would not use his

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office to make money for his family for

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his children in addition to his Charisma

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and seemingly unimpeachable nature Modi

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was also supported in his Rise by the

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vast network of the organization that

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shaped him the RSS which uh has a

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long-term view of how to reform Indian

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politics and Society has very dedicated

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U volunteers and members and they were

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all ready to support him and to work for

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him to knock at the door and get the

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vote

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out the bjp's popularity grew in 2014

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under the leadership of Mr Modi the BJP

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won a majority of seats in that Year's

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parliamentary elections and Mr Modi

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became prime minister the victory by the

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Bara jenta party and its leader Narendra

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Modi had been Wily predicted but what

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hadn't was the scale of the landslide 5

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years later in

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2019 Modi and the BJP won again with an

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even more resounding Victory the

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incumbent prime minister lenro mudi has

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dominated this election the BJP and its

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Coalition partners are leading by a long

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way

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347 seats a clear majority the Indian

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National Congress and its allies trail

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behind on 87

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seats until this year's election Mod's

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grip on power had seemed to only be

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growing stronger and while there were a

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number of factors that led to the bjp's

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dominance as varsh made clear it can

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also only be understood thanks to the

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collapse of the bjp's Rival the strong

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force that it became by 2014 that would

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not have been possible without the

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widespread Corruption of the congress

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party and its

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allies that is what created room for Mr

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modi's politics and Mr modi's

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organization and that's how it spread

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from one state to many other states and

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made him an all- India

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figure any surprising Victory involves a

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an embarrassing defeat yes you know yes

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yes and you know this is a fairly common

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occurrence in most polities incumbents

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lose because they don't behave well and

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they don't understand the popular wishes

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or they abuse office and authority and

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then the challengers come in you know

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International observers speaking of

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other other polities Modi has often been

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mentioned in the same circle of leaders

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like erdogan in Turkey or bolsonaro and

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Brazil Trump in the United States part

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of a wave of um somewhat you know

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nationalist autocratic leaning uh strong

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men what do you make of that comparison

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do you see something coherent shared

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among all these figures or is it sort of

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too easy an analogy no I think uh at one

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level the analogy is very very

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good they all have what we call now in

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my discipline in political science

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authoritarian Tendencies which lead to

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and I'm now using a political science

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term Democratic backsliding this concept

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emerged quite recently in political

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science and it started covering a

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phenomenon which was rare earlier if not

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entirely absent those who attacked

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democracy in the past generally came

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from the

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military or authoritarian civilian

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leaders who would suspend

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elections or stage them basically in the

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Democratic backsliding literature the

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military is not an agent of democratic

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erosion elected politicians are the

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first thing they normally do is attack

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the non-electoral aspects of democracy

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freedom of expression freedom of

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Association minority protection so these

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are people who first attack that and

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then sometime they start attacking

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elections

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themselves so what are some examples of

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mod policies that are either attacking

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elections or just generally fitting into

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this template of democratic backsliding

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so Hindus are 80% of India roughly and

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minorities are 20% and Muslims are the

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biggest minority 14% plus that is that

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adds up to more than 200 million people

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India by that account is either the

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third or fourth largest Muslim country

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in the world even though Muslims are

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only 14% because the overall size of

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India is so

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immense so

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Hindu nationalism Doctrine originally

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was against both Muslims and

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Christians but under its Modi

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Incarnation it has especially targeted

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Muslims the adversary for Hindu

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nationalists has always been the Muslim

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and we can get into details of this why

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this is so that's because in part

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Muslims came to India from Central Asia

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and the Middle East to begin with uh

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they ruled large parts of India between

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1206 and

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1757 when the British came to India and

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started capturing India so there is that

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126 to 1757 period in Indian history

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when large parts were ruled by Muslim

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kings many of whom came from abroad not

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all many were born inside right so the

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idea Hindu nationalism again and again

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and again and again without failure is

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that Muslims are

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Outsiders even if so many were born in

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India even if in fact an overwhelming

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majority was born in India but they are

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not the original peoples of India is the

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argument and Hindu Supremacy has to be

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restored which means Hindus and Muslims

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cannot be equal an idea which as V made

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clear isn't just

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undemocratic that is also fundamentally

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unconstitutional idea India's

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Constitution says all religions are

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equal every citizen regardless of their

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religious background is equal to every

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other citizen so can you walk us through

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some of the actions he's taken to

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promote this anti-muslim Hindu

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nationalist agenda so at three levels

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there was a legal

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intervention one was the only Muslim

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majority state of India Kashmir through

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parliamentary legislation in August 2019

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after the last victory lost its status

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as a state let alone as a specially

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protected State second by December of

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that year when an unprecedented number

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of the lower house was BJP politicians

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parliament passed a law which said that

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from Muslim majority neighboring

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countries Pakistan Afghanistan and

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Bangladesh anyone can be a refugee in

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India and apply for citizenship except

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Muslims uh third in states that were

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governed by the BJP nearly half of India

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States and many of them love Jihad laws

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were passed what are love Jihad laws

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love Jihad laws are that Muslim men

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cannot marry Hindu women what is the

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premise for this claim that Muslims have

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historically used this this trick

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marrying Hindu women to make their own

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numbers

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larger and if this is not stopped then

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very soon Indian Hindus will become a

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minority in their own

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land so even if it was a voluntary act

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between two adults it had to be

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prevented and some BJP States came up

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with these laws

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[Music]

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wow and these types of of actions were

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surely you know on some people's minds

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during this election and I want to look

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now at the election because um many

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people were surprised by the results

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Modi had

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expressed optimism that the BJP would

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gain seats in fact the BJP ended up

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losing dozens of seats their coal

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Coalition makes the majority but the BJP

play18:00

no longer has the majority right what

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went through your head when you saw

play18:04

these election

play18:06

results were you surprised not after my

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election travels in May I had sensed it

play18:13

and I wrote a column uh I think

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published on May 14th or 15th and I had

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sensed a change through by traveling and

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talking to several hundred people what

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did you sense in those conversations so

play18:27

what I discovered most most

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surprisingly while talking to average

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Indian citizens not the elite that they

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were worried about what might happen to

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the Constitution and they were worried

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about serious constitutional changes one

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worry of course was that affirmative

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action for the lower class might

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disappear and of course the Muslim

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minority was very worried about Muslims

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being turned into second class citizens

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and Hindu Prime

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legally established a very important uh

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point you raised if Modi had returned to

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power with BJP in a majority well modi's

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call was for 370 seats out of

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543 what was the logic of that call the

play19:20

underlying logic became very clear for

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2/3 of India's Parliament leaving out

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the lower Upper House amounts to

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364 370 means he wanted 2/3 of seats

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going to the BJP why do you need 2/3 of

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seats you can initiate serious

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Constitutional Amendments including

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turning India Constitution into a Hindu

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nationalist document and establishing

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Hindu Primacy legally enough people from

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the lower rungs of Indian Society lower

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Hindu cast

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including dalits the lowest Hindu

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cast who have affirmative action and the

play20:06

low Hindu cast also have affirmative

play20:08

action Constitution legally and

play20:11

Muslims so the combination of Muslims

play20:14

theit and lower class defeated Modi so

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the concern for the Constitution is a

play20:21

very important new development at the at

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the level of mass

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politics so the election itself has

play20:28

Maybe revealed something about the state

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of India's politics and Society but I

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wonder what do you expect to be the

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biggest changes now in terms of how

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India is governed what effect will this

play20:41

election itself have on the country so

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several things can be said about that

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first ideological Purity turned into

play20:51

policy and governance will have to be

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compromised modified seriously ly

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diluted because Modi is an alliance and

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the alliance parties are not committed

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to that ideology in fact one of the very

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important ones is committed to something

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called a cast census the cast system in

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India divides Hindus into groups that

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exist within a religious and social

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hierarchy a cast and a cast census would

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bring light to some of the details of

play21:24

this hierarchy which Modi never wanted

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because if you do a cast census you will

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know which Hindu cast have what share of

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the

play21:35

resources who is more educated who is

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less educated by how much who has what

play21:41

kinds of assets to put it simply what is

play21:45

the level of privilege enjoyed by which

play21:49

group and what is the level of

play21:51

deprivation suffered by witch groups the

play21:54

BJP has always been against that and

play21:57

Hindu nationalists in general including

play21:59

the RSS the parent organiz always been

play22:01

against that because they believe the

play22:04

more you talk about cast Politics the

play22:09

greater the attack on Hindu Unity so

play22:13

this is one reason uh why you should

play22:17

expect the ideological

play22:20

Purity to be seriously diluted second

play22:24

India under Modi became less and less

play22:27

Federal

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more and more

play22:31

centralized power was concentrated in

play22:33

his hands in his office I think one can

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safely say the prime minister's office

play22:38

in India has never been as powerful the

play22:41

way Mr Modi started controlling India's

play22:44

FBI called CBI India's Election

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Commission which is an independent body

play22:50

independent constitutional body the

play22:54

those parts of the poity which are

play22:56

supposed to check the executive and

play22:58

executive misconduct and have been

play23:00

constitutionally set up were all falling

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under his

play23:06

control and losing their executive

play23:10

oversight function they were becoming an

play23:13

arm of the executive that will have to

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go now and federalism also will see a

play23:20

bit of Revival not not returning to its

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older Health but when you have

play23:24

coalitional governments in India where a

play23:27

national party depends on Regional

play23:29

parties for its survival some parties

play23:31

are National others are state-based so

play23:34

once you have a coalition with

play23:35

state-based parties the state rights the

play23:39

state desires start becoming more

play23:42

prominent politically all the changes

play23:46

you just described or potential changes

play23:48

we could expect to see what effect will

play23:51

that have on sort of the the treatment

play23:53

and and marginalization of India's

play23:57

Muslim population do you do you think so

play24:00

it is almost certain

play24:03

now that the Hindu nationalist political

play24:09

aggression towards the Muslim minority

play24:12

will have to go down it has the

play24:14

potential of breaking up the ruling

play24:16

Coalition one very important member of

play24:19

the Coalition party in the Coalition is

play24:21

committed to minority rights in its

play24:24

state so this can be a deal breaker so

play24:27

it'll have to go down

play24:29

let's turn to what this election means

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for the world and maybe let's start with

play24:36

the United States and India's

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relationship what does this election

play24:40

mean for that

play24:42

relationship India and United States

play24:44

have been coming closer and closer and

play24:47

closer India is not a formal Ally of um

play24:52

Washington the defense collaboration ET

play24:55

do not touch the level of NATO

play24:58

collaborations

play25:00

right however short of an alliance India

play25:04

is as close to the United States today

play25:07

as any country can be and that will not

play25:09

be affected either by Modi regaining

play25:12

power as a Hindu

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supremacist which is most unlikely to

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happen or when he is an alliance as is

play25:20

true now India is viewed by Washington

play25:23

as a counterweight to

play25:26

Beijing that logic that that

play25:28

geopolitical logic will not be affected

play25:31

by any changes in Indian

play25:34

Po and uh Mr Biden in his congratulatory

play25:38

note to Modi has said roughly that as we

play25:43

wrap up I wanted to zoom out even a

play25:46

little bit more to this Global Trend we

play25:49

have touched on of of nationalist strong

play25:53

men type figure some that are more

play25:56

easily comparable to Modi others less so

play25:58

but this election I think many people

play26:01

have seen it as as something of a a

play26:03

victory for the opponents of this type

play26:05

of of movement and this type of leader

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do you think we can or should read into

play26:12

this election at all for a sense of if

play26:15

this type of politics is maybe losing

play26:18

steam almost certainly that is true

play26:21

because of India's uh size and uh the

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fact that it's the largest democracy in

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the world and the fact that Modi became

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an international figure if Modi had lost

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power

play26:33

completely then it would have been

play26:35

called an earthquake at this point it's

play26:37

a big

play26:38

[Music]

play26:39

shakeup while this election may not have

play26:42

triggered a political earthquake there

play26:44

is one election later this year whose

play26:47

results could but we can't be sure about

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what will happen in America in November

play26:53

a lot in the world will turn on that if

play26:55

Mr Trump comes back to Power it's

play26:58

International

play27:00

ramifications will be very

play27:02

different and while what we saw in India

play27:05

was maybe not an earthquake in the eyes

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of vsh we have yet to see its full

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effects as politics are reconfigured in

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many parts of the world what has

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happened in India will play a

play27:24

role well ashutosh V thank you so much

play27:28

for talking with us it was a pleasure

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talk to

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you this episode was produced by me Dan

play27:41

Richards and Zack Hirsch our engineer is

play27:45

Eric Emma our theme music is by Henry

play27:48

Bloomfield with additional music by The

play27:50

Blue Dot

play27:52

sessions if you enjoyed this episode

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leave a rating and review wherever you

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listeners to find us and if you haven't

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subscribed to trending globally please

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do that

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too if you have any questions comments

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or ideas for guests or topics for the

play28:10

show send us an email at trending

play28:13

globally brown.edu again that's all one

play28:17

word trending globally at brown.edu

play28:21

we're going to take a brief summer

play28:24

Hiatus but we'll be back soon with some

play28:27

allnew episodes of trending globally

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thanks so much for listening

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[Music]

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