Modi and the future of India

The long-awaited exercise of the Indian elections is finally over, re-electing Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party with a commanding victory in parliament.

While the successful turnout of 67 percent constructs a narrative of democratic achievement, critics have derided Modi’s win for changing the very idea of India into one associated with the far-right Hindu nationalist ideology of the BJP.

During the elections, as the 68-year-old leader campaigned across the country, he constantly underscored the idea of national security and safeguarding India from outside forces and threats. Besides, under his previous tenure, hardline Hindu nationalism has been encouraged and the idea of what India really means in terms of its identity is too close to escape comment.

The new India which Modi propagates has a certain form of sectarian ‘Hinduness’ with a simplified characteristic where language holds little importance, ensuring a revival within society, to lay an ideological tradition for its future.

Simplifying the nation’s identity by remaining simply Hindu allows new passions to be evoked – rejecting the diversity of India, remaining more inclined towards a form of relationship with blood and soil of the land, rather than the dominions of development, secular India and dynastic politics.

Therefore, under such din, Narendra Modi is set to deviate away from the old jurisdictions of Indian society, undermining the universalist idea of secularism and unity for which the world’s largest democracy has been known.

Modi claims that secularism is a fake mask adapted by previous leaders in Indian politics as a tool to neglect the real challenges facing society. Such a narrative becomes a ‘text’ with broader political motives, displaying the changing relationships of power that come with the restructuring of the identity for the country and its society.

Furthermore, the Indian elections outline how voter behaviour in any given society is more personal than political. In the Indian voter’s case, it is questionable if good economics is the only reason for an individual to support a party leader. According to Neelanjan Sircar “if voters like a leader, they will find any reason to support him.”

Therefore, the popularity is irrespective of Modi’s economic performance on the ground. Modi was picked in 2014 and now the people tend to follow him, following policy positions that are articulated by him. Currently, as Modi capitalized on the rhetoric of national security following the Pulwama attack, he successfully disseminated a sense of anxiety among the general public, bringing the hardline Hindu identity and the relative meaning of India constructed by his supporters to the forefront.

Modi’s leadership has fomented a culture of resentment against minorities. There has been an increase in hate crimes against Muslims by certain cow vigilante groups, and an erosion of the culture of accountability. The BJP’s win bestows now a blanket of fear on its Muslim minority.

Similarly, the BJP leader’s mass religious spectacles come with propaganda potential, further evoking a fictitious idea of India. Just a day before voting ended, Modi went on a spiritual retreat in a temple by the Himalayan mountains. This massive display of religious power was showcased throughout social media. Narendra Modi strategizing on such extravagance in a religious space successfully portrays a particular vision of India, its Hindu history and cultivates a sense of national belonging among his supporters.

It is noteworthy that as victory day followed, Modi posted a tweet claiming to keep the “watchman” (chowkidar) spirit alive for India’s polity. By personifying such labels with himself, Modi displays a monumental struggle for a better India, in the hope of pursuing the country’s safety as its utmost agenda. It can be argued that rhetoric inclined towards modern systems and economic values fail to provide this sense of inner superiority in an individual to achieve a higher goal.

Narendra Modi is perhaps a political entrepreneur of the second decade in the 21st century, attempting to legitimize the rules of his own game, far-right Hindu nationalism. Gaining support with an identity appeal, while completely disregarding the idea of a secular India, Modi has mobilized his supporters with the perception that the real Indian identity has been disparaged.

It comes as no surprise that within an individual context of voter decision-making approach, seeking recovery of one’s identity outweighs the economic advantage that a leader may bring.

The writer is a researcher at the TRT World Research Centre.