Modi's unravelling: from shining to stinking India

The election of Narendra Modi for a third term has been portrayed by his proponents, allies and admirers as nothing short of spectacular, with some flatterers even drawing comparisons to Jawaharlal Nehru, claiming that Modi's electoral success, global recognition and policy initiatives make him more 'virile' as a leader.

However, this facade fails to hold and crumbles when electoral irregularities come to the fore; personal recognition takes precedence over national governance achievements; and hastily implemented policies - such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation - have led to economic disruptions. Moreover, developmental priorities have disproportionately favoured major corporations, particularly conglomerates like the Adani and Ambani groups, rather than benefiting the broader economy or addressing grassroots economic concerns.

The rhetoric of 'Shining India' is now overshadowed by increasing authoritarianism, majoritarian politics, upending of democratic institutions and selective development in sectors that are seen as a way and means to grapple more power and attain illegal gratification in the name of party funds. While the likes of Mr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who portray nuances for India to be recognised as global power, India though is struggling with the image of 'shining' owing to internal strife and discord, political discontentment, media repression, 'flourishing' economic disparities and a staggering intolerance for any voice of dissent. Critics like Sumanta Banerjee feel quite justified when they refer to India's transformation under Modi's clout, as Stinking India.

Renowned political scientist Barbara F Walter in her seminal book, How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them, highlights the degrading democracy index of India, with all and due thanks to Modi's Hindutva philosophy, leading to human rights violations and curbs on religious liberties of minorities.

She specifically mentions curbs on the freedom of media, weaponisation of religious sentiments and state persecution of dissidents whereby the so-called democracy index of 8 (on a scale of 1 to 10; 10 being the highest for any functioning and perfectly democratic state) claimed by Indian intelligentsia, has slid to 6, and claims that "India is a cautionary tale.

Even longstanding democracies are not immune to backsliding. When leaders exploit ethnic or religious divisions to consolidate power, they risk triggering the very violence they claim to prevent." Ashok Swain is not far off the mark when he says that India under Modi is becoming a "de facto one-party state". Well, welcome to the 'New India'.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar - often referred as Veer Sarkar and the architect of Hindutva philosophy - was moved by Hitler's racial theories and viewed Christian and Muslims as second-class citizens, and wanted militarisation of Hindus. In a speech in 1940, he emphasised the same, "Nazism proved undeniably the savior of Germany ... It would be a folly to oppose its beneficent aspects." The RSS acknowledges Savarkar as one of the key ideological architects of Hindutva and exerts significant influence over the ruling BJP, helping to mainstream Hindutva as a political force.

On a recent trip to Marseilles, France on 11 February 2025, Modi highlighted the city's significance in India's freedom struggle, referencing freedom fighter Veer Savarkar's attempted escape there in 1910 and expressed gratitude to the French activists of that era who opposed Savarkar's extradition to British authorities.

Interestingly, Arun Shourie, a senior member of BJP and author of The New Icon: Savarkar and The Facts, which busts myths built around the founder of the Hindu Mahasabha and a once-accused in the case of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, has dismissed the story of Savarkar's escape as pure invention.

Apart from implementing its fascist policies through the Modi government, RSS is rewriting history books to focus on Hindu glory and downplay Mughal and British rule. Modi, being a ultra right-wing populist leader, has made an aura that projects him as the strongman of India, self-made (chaiwala) and uses Hindutva philosophy that synchs with the Hindu majority. Where he signifies his support for the poor through his programmes, PM Awas Yojana (housing for the poor) and Jan Dhan Yojana (bank accounts for the poor), he also wields his authority to carry out crackdown on journalists, opposition leaders and critics alike using state machinery like Enforcement Directorate (ED) and anti-corruption laws, with centralised control over courts, media and election commission, while promoting anti-Muslim rhetoric whenever there is criticism on his economic or other policies. The divide has only deepened with the abolition of Article 370 in Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Despite unsettling socio-economic inequalities and the never-ending scourge of poverty, India remains obsessed with China and keeps the mantra of tackling China to appease the US. Defence analysts and experts like Praveen Sawhney have been quite vocal in criticism regarding India's attempts to counterbalance China and term it as strategically flawed militarily and politically, considering military and economic disparity, and is equivalent to give up India's strategic autonomy and diplomatically unpragmatic. The border skirmishes with China have only resulted in embarrassment.

India's ranking on the Press Freedom Index has steadily declined, with Reporters Without Borders placing it at 150 out of 180 countries in 2023. Journalists critical of the government have faced harassment, arrests, and even violence, and have raised doubts over free speech. Media-persons remain fearful to be on the wrong side of BJP, and sedition laws (Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code) and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) have been effectively employed to silence dissent, may it be within BJP. Ashok Swain believes, "In Modi's India, truth is an inconvenience that must be crushed."

The human rights violations are quite landmark and discriminatory laws, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), have been implemented while ignoring the secular principles. Dalits and Adivasis continue to face violence and social exclusion, with limited access to education, employment and justice. There is a long list of arbitrary detentions, torture and extrajudicial killings by law enforcement agencies, with over 6,000 mass graves and unmarked graves in Kashmir. A similar saga of human rights violations continues unabated in Nagaland and Manipur.

It has been a long journey from shining to stinking, and the myth of 'Shining India' has been shattered, where the anomalies and stench of misdoings of a populist leader have backfired because they have alienated the rural and economically marginalised people, not to mention the ultimate Hindutva ideology of an autocrat. Despite Modi's transformation of 'Shining India' into 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', the reality of repression, majoritarianism and social unrest presents altogether a different narrative.