The lies of Narendra Modi

India must choose where it stands, on the side of peace and stability or with its prime minister

One week ago, the score line for the war of narratives between India and Pakistan showed India holding a convincing lead. But that lead collapsed with the charred remains of the Indian plane shot down by the Pakistan army.

Sometimes fate hands you a metaphor that cannot be improved upon. The image of an Indian fighter jet crashing into Pakistan resulting in the capture of its pilot is about as perfect as it gets. Epitomising the dismantling of Modi’s total success narrative.



Modi’s claims of a successful surgical strike inside Pakistan’s territory were disputed as soon as they were announced. He claimed the death of over three hundred terrorists, but reports from neutral sources such as Reuters, Associated Press, and The New York Times indicated only damaged trees. That by itself was a humiliating exposé of Modi’s lies. Things grew worse when it turned out Pakistan now had a prisoner of war as well. So far, Modi’s election campaign wasn’t going according to plan.

Still, Modi and his pack of loyalists in the Indian media could whip up some nationalist fury by claiming that the evil Pakistanis (those enemies of Hindutva dreams) were keeping their loyal officer captive. That didn’t work either. Imran Khan freed the Indian prisoner, showing that Pakistan was ready to make big sacrifices for peace.

Everything points to the fact that the entire rhetoric of war that has recently coursed through India is merely Modi’s strategy for re-election. If you find that hard to believe, then perhaps you haven’t been paying attention to the BJP.

The BJP’s chief in Karnataka, B S Yeddyurappa, spoke to reporters about how war would result in the BJP winning more seats in the upcoming elections. Modi’s reactions so far have shown that this may in fact be what he is aiming for. Consider the stark difference in leadership that has been shown over the past week. When Pakistan released the Indian prisoner as a peace gesture Modi continued to speak in riddles. He continued to suggest that all that had just occurred was ‘practice’ and more was to come. Is war between two nuclear powers a game for Modi? Despite being handed a clear opportunity to de-escalate hostilities, Modi seemed to revel in the narrative of war he has built. But to people who haven’t been blinded by Modi’s Hindutva dreams all that has been proved is that Modi puts the pursuit of power before country, Imran Khan did the opposite.

The escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan benefits Modi, not India. Striking trees within Pakistan does not cure the growing insurgency in Kashmir, nor does continuous shelling across the Line of Control. If Modi actually cared about the people of Kashmir, he might have been focusing on these facts. If Modi actually cared about India, he might have focused on how war would bring further misery upon the millions of people living in poverty in India. If Modi actually cared about India’s place in the world, he would not have turned a blind eye to the atrocities being committed in Kashmir under his government. Instead, Narendra Modi feeds the people of India more lies by pretending that he somehow forced Pakistan’s hand in releasing the captured Indian pilot. Maybe the only thing Modi can be honest about with the people of India is his relentless hatred for Pakistan.

It is strange that many people in India have fallen for what Modi is doing. A brief look at his past shows he used the same strategy of fear and hate to win a second term as Gujarat’s chief minister. Back then, Modi used the death of Hindu pilgrims to fuel anti-Muslim riots that would result in the death of thousands. All the while stoking the flames of Hindu-Muslim animosity. It worked then, Modi wants it to work again. The same strategy that got him a second term as a chief minister is being used to get him a second term as the prime minister.



Modi has not been the sole perpetrator pushing the narrative of war. India’s roughly four hundred news channels have exposed themselves as little more than propaganda machines for the BJP. The Indian media has demonstrated that it is willing to discard all objective standards of reporting to push the country further into the hysteria of war. Their most recent claim that an F-16 belonging to Pakistan was shot down by Indian forces has been rebutted by a document from the US defence department.

Over the course of one-week Pakistan has found itself standing on the right side of history. In April of this year India must choose where it stands. On the side of peace and stability, or with Modi.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2019.

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