Not quite Modi-fied!

Indians were promised ‘achche din’ at the start of Modi’s tenure, and by that I mean, economic reforms

Relying on Narendra Modi’s waning charm to win the Bihar elections was a bad idea. The BJP’s routing in the New Delhi elections should have been an early warning sign to the party, which did not announce its chief ministerial candidate in the belief that the Modi wave would seal the deal in impoverished Bihar. But the drubbing received by him is a reinforcement of the fact that people’s tolerance for the BJP is thinning as much as the party’s for anything that it perceives as anti-Hindu. That said, I’m not elated at the prospect of Bihar returning to venal Lalu and Nitish. It is somewhat tragic that the downfall of Modi’s overconfidence is being celebrated over Bihar’s backward move to the dark ages, to a jungle raj, where enhancement and growth are myths.



This piece isn’t about Modi-bashing. I’m politically neutral. I have no affinity for any particular political party. They’re all as good or as bad as each other. I am merely pointing to the key take-away for Modi from the humiliating defeat — playing the communal card in the run-up to the elections was a blatant error. Indians are too secular-thinking to let the country go theocratic. They do not approve of Hinduism being portrayed as fascist. It isn’t. Indians were promised ‘achche din’ at the start of Modi’s tenure, and by that I mean, serious economic reforms. And while the Indian government has unarguably made some significant movement on that front, the pushing of Hindutva, an ideology of hate, intolerance and bigotry, is not what Indians had bargained for. We don’t take kindly to arrogance and communalism. The prime minister’s globe-trotting to build relationships with foreign governments and inviting the international business community to invest in India seem futile when the country’s image is reeling under the influence of narrow religion politics. The good news is that India is fighting back (as it always does) aggressively and vociferously. It is even returning awards. Pakistan should take a leaf out of India’s book. 



Tailpieces

1) I write this column after four consecutive nights of little sleep and excessive debauchery. Bollywood’s Casino Royal-esque Diwali card parties have taken a toll on my health. Much like Holi, Ganpati, Karva Chauth and Halloween, the Indian new year has briskly turned into another excuse for social congregation marked by an overt display of bling, power and wealth. Briskly wrapped poojas in the evening are followed by a long night of chattering, drinking and gambling. Beat this — these days party hosts are competing with one another by using every trick there is to ensure the best attendance for their soiree. Hindu mythology says that playing dice on Diwali is auspicious and the legend goes that once Goddess Parvati played dice with her husband, Lord Shiva, and enjoyed the game thoroughly. We have, of course, replaced the dice with teen patti and a lot more, which our gods would have never imagined or approved of!

2) Promoting her new film about Steve Jobs, Kate Winslet said she doesn’t allow her children access to social media because among other impacts she’s worried about online bullying. Strange coming from a mother who’s christened her youngest child Bear Rocknroll.



3) To celebrate getting successfully treated of Hepatitis C, Pamela Anderson went nude (what’s new?) on Instagram. Yay for being cured. Nay for stripping to announce it.

4) The Salman Khan-Sonam Kapoor family extravaganza, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo looks set to turn into the biggest Diwali box office grosser to date. If the film’s title proves prophetic, this, after Bajrangi Bhaijaan, will be Salman’s next to break the bank this year, reinforcing his unique position in a league of his own.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2015.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.