Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

[Chandrasekhar]

http://pappupedia.com/

[Pratyush]

^^^

Slums in India, wherever they may be are the same. Be it Delhi or Gujarat. But no one, point's to Delhi as an underdeveloped state. Whereas, we have people baying for Modi's blood, for not having adequate numbers of Toilets and civic amenities in the state.

The question that needs to be asked is, what was the central and different state governments doing about it since 1947.

I appreciate Modi for bringing the matter out in the open.

[a_bharat]

http://pappupedia.com/

Check out his quotable quotes (I am assuming he really said those).
Our own Dan Quayle! Perhaps I am being uncharitable to Dan Quayle.

[panduranghari]

I have a question. How many of you are going to take an unpaid leave(for those who are in jobs) to volunteer for Namo Campaign starting January? Just checking the commitment.

Many people have confirmed to me that they are going to do the above.

Me and SHQ will visit Desh to vote for NaMo. Thats all I can do.

[Hari Seldon]

MT-> A tea stall named after Narendra Modi opens in Ranchi

[krishnan]

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/colum ... 131009.htm

Does Pranab Mukherjee want to be 'PM' by office, not just by initials? The very prospect, with memories of the Narasimha Rao years scarred into their memories, scares the Nehru-Gandhis, says T V R Shenoy.

[niran]

the rally where Rahul Ghandhi explained the theory of escape velocity had 15000 people according to the official figure,
unofficial figures(chai wallas, media persons and the ones who get paid for the setup) say no more than 7-8 thousand
todin at Aligarh one bootlicker neta was regurgitating a figure of 10,000 when one mean spirited media person said no more than 3000
a fisticuff broke out, currently RG is yak yaking live with nary a panning shot of the tambu onree closeup of RG and his two bodygaurds.

contrast that with NaMo, my yak yaking would be superfluous, no?

[rajithn]

the rally where Rahul Ghandhi explained the theory of escape velocity had 15000 people according to the official figure,
unofficial figures(chai wallas, media persons and the ones who get paid for the setup) say no more than 7-8 thousand
todin at Aligarh one bootlicker neta was regurgitating a figure of 10,000 when one mean spirited media person said no more than 3000
a fisticuff broke out, currently RG is yak yaking live with nary a panning shot of the tambu onree closeup of RG and his two bodygaurds.

contrast that with NaMo, my yak yaking would be superfluous, no?

I was waching the twit speak. At times he goes "jhor se"... And there's nary a squeak from the "crowd". And the paid MSM dare not pan a shot of the 'crowd'...

[kapilrdave]

Here is a "Garbo" written by non other than NM - yes he is a poet also .
Garbo is traditionally a Bhakti Geet with some good rhythm such that people can do folk dance (Garba) on it. The beat of drum is typical.



This Garbo, sung by Devang Patel and other star singers, is getting very popular. Recently in an event in Australia youngsters pleaded Devang Patel to sing "Gay Eno Garbo". Words are also good.

Devang patel translated it in Hindi but like all translated songs, it doesn't do justice to the original one. But still, it is pretty decent.

[Hari Seldon]

Manoj Kureel on how perceptions define priorities...

[Rahul Mehta]

I appreciate Modi for bringing the matter out in the open.

NaMo didnt say "first sanitation for poor, then cricket matches" (he is chairman of cricket board)

NaMo didnt say "first sanitation for poor, then expensive cars"

NaMo didnt say "first sanitation for poor, then expensive cloths " (his goggles cost Rs 5000 and his monthly wardrobe bill exceeds Rs 20000 at least)

NaMo didnt say "first sanitation for poor, then expensive bungalows and expensive flats for rich "

What NaMo has said is that "first sanitation, then RJB, KJB, KV"

Then he will say "first schools , then RJB, KJB, KV"

Then he will say "first factories , then RJB, KJB, KV"

Unless MNC-owners and Missionaries decide that the timing for RJB is ripe for them.

IOW, he is telling pro-RJB people to put up and shut up, and take a hike if they have any alternative.

And he will even say "first sanitation, then schools, then factories and only after then we should talk of stopping Ghazani", and thus he would look away when RBI Governor Raghuram Ghazani do Ghazani on all temples of India . And Raghuram Ghazani may even allocate 5% of gold he loots for sanitation, schools etc.

So NaMo hasnt brought any issue out, All concerned souls in India have been working on reducing poverty, improving sanitation, improving education etc etc, What NaMo is doing is killing some issues.

[kmkraoind]

It seems Pappu is doing well beyond our expectations. See the crowds (from 2:10 minutes).

Who said Amit Shah is trusted aide of NaMo and working relentlessly in UP. I think both Rahul and Digvijaya Singh are also doing not bad in attracting votes for NaMo.

P.S. Do not try to comprehend what Rahul is saying, your mind may get numb.

[Hari Seldon]

Rahuludu's maha-rally has broken all previous records of overachievement...


^^ Rahul mehta sir, next you will say that fact that NM continues to use a pakka loo when there are still people in Guj defecating in the open proves NM's not serious about doing something systematic, measurable, efficient and effectrive to tackle the problem.

Tell me, as a budding politician yourself, why do you continue to use a toilet when you well know the same facility is not available to all your states-men and women, eh? So, unless you first start defecating in the open daily to showcase your solidarity with the sanitation deprived and to prove your commitment to toiletries, why talk about throwing ridiculously sized stones at NM's house only...

[niran]

Me have been recruited to look after logistics of petrol and diesel and setting up
a system of medical evacuation if Mahadev forbid some unwanted incidence takes place
NaMo decrees for the ability to evacuate not onree the netas but any person attending the rallies jansabha,
the system has to be up and ready for trails by February moi zone covers Varanasi Gazipur Balia,Mao,Azamgarh
Barhalgunj, Doharighat,Gorakhpur until now moi have onree taken
from Mata,now is the pay back time,wish me luck folks Mahadev willing shall be on the ground by mid December.

[Atri]

Me have been recruited to look after logistics of petrol and diesel and setting up
a system of medical evacuation if Mahadev forbid some unwanted incidence takes place
NaMo decrees for the ability to evacuate not onree the netas but any person attending the rallies jansabha,
the system has to be up and ready for trails by February moi zone covers Varanasi Gazipur Balia,Mao,Azamgarh
Barhalgunj, Doharighat,Gorakhpur until now moi have onree taken
from Mata,now is the pay back time,wish me luck folks Mahadev willing shall be on the ground by mid December.

har har mahadev onree..

[Hari Seldon]

^^^ Wow niran sir... hajaar pranaams for your service. Har har mahadev...

[krishnan]

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1900632/r ... spired-him

Leaving no stone unturned to dislodge the Congress led Sheila Dikshit government in the national capital, the BJP is on a wooing spree.

The BJP has roped in famous cartoonist Haneef Azhar ahead of the December 4 state elections. Along with Azhar, personalities from different walks of life have also joined the BJP.

Azhar, creator of famous cartoon characters like Nagraj, Shaktiman and Parmanu, joined the BJP with his followers in the Delhi BJP office at 14, Pandit Pant Marg.

Talking to dna, he said that BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's development policy has inspired him to join the party.

Denying any aspiration to participate in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, Azhar said that he wants to work to spread Modi's policy of inclusive development. "The Gujarat government's policy never discriminates against anyone on the basis of religion. To free the country from the corrupt rule of the Congress, everyone should work together," he added.

Welcoming the leaders and personalties in the party fold, Delhi BJP president, Vijay Goel said, “The Congress government has done nothing for the Muslims during the last 15 years in Delhi except paying lip service.”

He hinted that in coming days several retired bureaucrats would join the BJP. "Unhappy with the policy and state of governance in the Delhi and at the centre, several retired senior officials have shown interest in joining the BJP. People from various sections of society are joining hands with the BJP as it is the only viable alternative to the Congress in Delhi," he added.

The Delhi BJP minority cell's Atif Rashid said that these leaders joined the party after they realised that the Congress party has been fooling them for over six decades. "According to NSSO data, Muslims face high levels of poverty in Delhi. It says that 31% of Muslims live below the poverty line in Delhi. Only 23.7% Muslims are in government jobs and 6.5% in private jobs in Delh," he added.

Goel said,“The Muslims can see through the double-speak of Congress. There is growing support among Muslims for the BJP’s agenda of 'corruption-free development' in Delhi.”

[krishnan]

[vivek.rao]

So NDTV,IBN all are doing a lot of SMOKE and Mirrors to raise the profile of Kujli AAP

Suddenly Tehelka,Outlook also joined the party. Unbelievable joining at the hips

[Pratyush]

This just goes to show, the level of desperation of the INC. With the paid media in its pocket. They will try to confuse the hell out of the population.

This is merely an extension of the years of == on the MSM. Between the UPA and NDA, WRT, corruption and other snafus.

[kittoo]

Me have been recruited to look after logistics of petrol and diesel and setting up
a system of medical evacuation if Mahadev forbid some unwanted incidence takes place
NaMo decrees for the ability to evacuate not onree the netas but any person attending the rallies jansabha,
the system has to be up and ready for trails by February moi zone covers Varanasi Gazipur Balia,Mao,Azamgarh
Barhalgunj, Doharighat,Gorakhpur until now moi have onree taken
from Mata,now is the pay back time,wish me luck folks Mahadev willing shall be on the ground by mid December.

Sadhuvaad niran ji. Har har Mahadev.

[Pratyush]

RM Ji,

I appreciate your enthusiasm, for change and every thing you have done to bring it about. But you are reading too much into a simple statement made by Modi.

However, to the equerry made by the RBI governor. I say that a secular state or its extensions has no business seeking this information from any of the places of worship and they will be opposed tooth and nail by the people of this country.

[vivek.rao]

Can you (or any one knows details) pick some example from past and this one and make Picture of how trash is created, circulated in India to be picked up by NYT like media, and then recirculated in India as International news.

Like media connections picture, this pic can be circulated in social media.

Here is one. I will try to find more

http://www.mediacrooks.com/2013/09/impo ... lU4Phaofu4

The common misconception in India is that the longest running media competition is KBC. Actually no! KBC had many breaks. The longest running media completion is “Abuse Narendra Modi and win a prize”. Unfortunately, there is hardly any media crook in India who hasn’t already won that prize so now there are imported contestants. Any Tom, Dick and Harris would do! So ‘Enter Gardiner Harris’ of the New York Times (NYT).

“India’s most important election in a generation began in earnest this month the same way consequential elections nearly always start here — with a proclamation and a deadly riot. In New Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced last week that it had chosen Narendra Modi, one of the most divisive politicians in India’s history, as its candidate for prime minister in next spring’s national elections. Mr. Modi, the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, is an unapologetic Hindu chauvinist who has been accused of mass murder”.

So the “proclamation” is connected to a deadly riot – the Muzzafarnagar one. Of course, Harris doesn’t forget to state Modi has been “accused of mass murder”. Now who has accused Modi of this? Not a court and not even an FIR. It is scumbags like Harris in the Indian media who have done this; most prominently Vir Sanghvi and Rajdeep Sardesai. Bravo, second-hand crap is passed off as gospel. Here’s another one from Harris:

Okay, in the above para he links to an article about the Muzzafarnagar riots. This is from his own NYT barn. That linked article is “Fear and loathing in North India’s sugarcane town”. Nice! Very nice! Harris also states the riots were due to a “fake video” by a legislator from Modi’s party. See? This guy is a fast learner. Bad things it’s Modi’s Gujarat, Modi’s aide, Modi’s right-hand man. Good things? It’s Gujarat or Gujarat govt. I guess this guy must have attended classes at NDTV and CNN-IBN. Anyway, here’s what the article he linked says:

Fear and loathing in North India’s sugarcane town

So the riots, which actually started in August, escalated on September 7 as the NYT report says. Modi was nominated PM candidate on Friday the 13 th. Yet, like the usual Indian liars in our own media Harris makes a fake connection. I hope the UPA awards him a Padma Shri before they exit. Then Harris proceeds to write the tripe that has been peddled over and over again in India. He’s just about some 10 years late, that’s all. Oh and then he quotes the great Sushil Kumar Shinde too:

“Sushil Kumar Shinde, India’s minister of Home Affairs, said that there had already been 451 cases of sectarian violence this year, surpassing last year’s total of 410. He warned that violence was likely to intensify as elections approached”.

Same approach. Same language. Just spew Modi,Amit Shah, Elections and riots. No proof. Lies

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 755839.cms

"It is most dangerous as incidents of eve-teasing and sexual assaults were twisted and used as a means to communalize and polarize ahead of 2014 elections. The riot is linked with election and also Narendra Modi's right hand man Amit Shah is in-charge of UP," said Sudha Sundararaman, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).

RM -

Here is the example how well the eco-system of COMMIES, NGOs, Internation media, PAID Media, Libtards are all working together to destroy one person with little lies, big lies, twisted words, 24x7x365 campaign.

90% of voters (most of them Hindus) also repeat this nonsense. How does Modi fight this and get out of the box? Naidu of TDP could not with 1% of scheming and media attention. Magnify this by 10000 times on Modi. In spite of this, he achieved a lot but he needs support, ideas, and collaboration.

[Karan M]

Me have been recruited to look after logistics of petrol and diesel and setting up
a system of medical evacuation if Mahadev forbid some unwanted incidence takes place
NaMo decrees for the ability to evacuate not onree the netas but any person attending the rallies jansabha,
the system has to be up and ready for trails by February moi zone covers Varanasi Gazipur Balia,Mao,Azamgarh
Barhalgunj, Doharighat,Gorakhpur until now moi have onree taken
from Mata,now is the pay back time,wish me luck folks Mahadev willing shall be on the ground by mid December.

Congratulations and best of luck!

[vivek.rao]

NARENDRA MODI on Islamic Terrorism on Big Fight after 9/11 attacks.

Here is the great Modi on Islamic terrorism after 9/11 and see how Rajdeep cuts him off and look at his contempt. How every one there gangs upon him in 2001.

[Atri]

NARENDRA MODI on Islamic Terrorism on Big Fight after 9/11 attacks.

Here is the great Modi on Islamic terrorism after 9/11 and see how Rajdeep cuts him off and look at his contempt. How every one there gangs upon him in 2001.

I remember this debate.. He stuck in my mind ever since this program.. What clarity. I wish he remains this clear in his mind when he acts as a PM, even though he may not be able to speak it due to political reasons.

[Manish_Sharma]

Me have been recruited to look after logistics of petrol and diesel and setting up
a system of medical evacuation if Mahadev forbid some unwanted incidence takes place
NaMo decrees for the ability to evacuate not onree the netas but any person attending the rallies jansabha,
the system has to be up and ready for trails by February moi zone covers Varanasi Gazipur Balia,Mao,Azamgarh
Barhalgunj, Doharighat,Gorakhpur until now moi have onree taken
from Mata,now is the pay back time,wish me luck folks Mahadev willing shall be on the ground by mid December.

With blessings of Mahadev Bholenath, here Niran ji:

[muraliravi]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bsy-s ... /1180041/0

Yeddy all set to return.

[Hari Seldon]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bsy-s ... /1180041/0

Yeddy all set to return.

I hope it ain't another false dawn. Had too many recently. I'd rather the BJP, the Sangh and the KJP thrash out the details among themselves (and stay off the phone lines while doing to avoid agency snooping) backstage before they make pious announcements for public consumption.

A major strength of NM is his credibility and trustworthiness. When he sets his mind to something, he usually gets it done one way or another, or so the public perception goes. So it harms this cred-quotient if announcements are made regularly and then downhill skiied upon.

[Yagnasri]

Lot of work needed to be done in Karnataka now by bjp and NM may have to go there two or three times.

[prahaar]

NARENDRA MODI on Islamic Terrorism on Big Fight after 9/11 attacks.

Here is the great Modi on Islamic terrorism after 9/11 and see how Rajdeep cuts him off and look at his contempt. How every one there gangs upon him in 2001.

I had not seen this video before. I started "following" Modi only since Feb 2002. A BJP office bearer talking the language NaMo was, no wonder he was a marked man. Elders always say: treat everyone with respect, you do not know, who is in front of you. Rajdeep's 2012 video in the bus with NaMo is a far cry compared to the derision with which Rajdeep and Siddharth Vardarajan were treating NaMo. There was an air of superiority in their eyes and voice, which was not there when asking questions to the other two panelists.

[vivek.rao]

Sometimes I feel someone has to accident few of these people to rein the Islamic terrorist and traitor connections and warn of others the consequences.

Look here at what the DGP tells Rias Khan who is opposing Teesta Setlvad. Support her version or face Jihadis

http://www.scribd.com/doc/174700943/Com ... -Rais-Khan

[Sagar G]

Me have been recruited to look after logistics of petrol and diesel and setting up
a system of medical evacuation if Mahadev forbid some unwanted incidence takes place
NaMo decrees for the ability to evacuate not onree the netas but any person attending the rallies jansabha,
the system has to be up and ready for trails by February moi zone covers Varanasi Gazipur Balia,Mao,Azamgarh
Barhalgunj, Doharighat,Gorakhpur until now moi have onree taken
from Mata,now is the pay back time,wish me luck folks Mahadev willing shall be on the ground by mid December.

Vijayi Bhava.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥

[vivek.rao]

[Rahul Mehta]

RM Ji,

1. I appreciate your enthusiasm, for change and every thing you have done to bring it about. But you are reading too much into a simple statement made by Modi.

2. However, to the equerry made by the RBI governor. I say that a secular state or its extensions has no business seeking this information from any of the places of worship and they will be opposed tooth and nail by the people of this country.

1. Well, pls ask NaMo over tweeter to clear his stand on RJB, KJB, KV. I wont ask, as I am not a BJP/NaMo campaigner. But IMO, NaMo/BJP campaigners should come clean on RJB, KJB, KV issue. The silence of NaMo-bhagats on RJB, KJB, KV issue is to deceive true pro-RJB, pro-KJB and pro-KV people.

2. Thanks. I will soon send an order to my MP via SMS to expel Raghuram Ghazani from RBI. I request you to do the same i.e. if you are against Raghuram's Ghazinigiri , pls do YOUR atharva-vedic duty order to your MP via SMS to expel Raghuram Ghazani. I hope you can spare 10 paise and 30 seconds to send this order to your MP via SMS.

^^ Rahul mehta sir, next you will say that fact that NM continues to use a pakka loo when there are still people in Guj defecating in the open proves NM's not serious about doing something systematic, measurable, efficient and effectrive to tackle the problem.

Tell me, as a budding politician yourself, why do you continue to use a toilet when you well know the same facility is not available to all your states-men and women, eh? So, unless you first start defecating in the open daily to showcase your solidarity with the sanitation deprived and to prove your commitment to toiletries, why talk about throwing ridiculously sized stones at NM's house only...

I didnt question any private attributes of NaMo till date. NEVER.

It is NaMo who started questioning private decision of temple donors first. It is NaMo who ridiculed temple donors private life decision to donate for temples and not donate for NGOs working in sanitation field. NaMo could have said in simple words is "no more RJB, and hell with KJB\KV unless MNC-owners orders come". And NaMo could have clearly said "I support Raghuram's Ghazani's decision to do Ghazani on Indian temples". If that was the case, I would have NOT spoken on his goggles and fancy dresses. But instead, NaMo ridiculed temple and temple-donors' decision by comparing it with S. And so I brought his Rs 5000 goggled and his Rs 20000/month wardrobe into focus.

NaMo first threw stones at temple-donors. Well, stone begets stone.

[Gus]

god save the country from this idiot

http://news.oneindia.in/feature/is-anyo ... 21409.html

He said, "we gave you the right to information. Now, we will provide you food in Re 1. Have you ever utilised your right to information? If not, then start using it form today and don't let any bureaucrat or politician sit ideally. We are telling you to benefit from the schemes launched by us, and then you will be developed. Then, no poor will remain hungry in this country."

Now, the question arises that how can right to information be made a weapon to wipe out poverty from this nation?

[ramana]

Gus, Which one? Do we have to click on the link to findout!

[krishnan]

While addressing the rally, Rahul made a huge blunder when he said, "The country's economic situation never stumbled, except under the UPA government's rule."

Read more at: http://news.oneindia.in/feature/is-anyo ... 21409.html

[vivek.rao]

http://web.archive.org/web/200212171918 ... 11997t.htm

At election time it is common for political parties to insert ads in popular newspapers, paying glowing tributes to themselves and denigrating their rivals. The 1999 elections saw a new entrant in the political ad war arena. Communalism Combat, a magazine committed to opposing both majority and minority communalism, came out with a flurry of 18 ads pitched against the Sangh Parivar. The ads appeared in publications all over the country. While it is difficult to assess the impact of such an ad campaign, it has unnerved the administration sufficiently to make it issue notices to 13 NGOs which endorsed one ad revealing the Sangh Parivar's attitude towards women. Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, joint editors of Commualism Combat, tell Meher Pestonji that they see this as the beginning of a wider crackdown on NGOs opposed to the Hindutva ideology and explain why it was necessary to intervene in the electoral process despite the risk of being criticised for accepting money from rival political parties for running the campaign.

You have conducted a prominent ad campaign against the Sangh Parivar in the build-up to the recent elections. For the first time Communalism Combat has taken an active role in the electioneering process. Why did you think it important?
Communalism Combat is a vehicle through which we try to combat communal conflict. Both minority and majority right-wing. We're aware of the limits of the reach of a small publication like ours. So we thought that one possible way of intervening in the coming elections was through paid advertisements. Not everybody reads long articles. Not everybody retains what they read. The ad is a format through which the corporate world sells goods and sometimes ideas. So we wondered whether we could use the same medium to communicate a message.

In 1992, after the Babri Masjid demolition, public statements were made by prominent Indians through paid ad space to convey their disgust at what was happening to a wide audience. In the 1998 elections NRI groups placed ads in select newspapers like Indian Express, Mahanagar and Combat, asking people to vote for a secular democracy. In the 50th year of Independence also, ad space was used to convey secular messages.

With that in mind we approached political parties that are opposed to the BJP ideology....

Did you approach the parties or did they approach you?
We approached them. Because this was an extremely critical election. For the first time large sections of what had been the third front were moving in droves to the BJP. This was paralleled by the ominous and dangerous attempt of the BJP trying to communalise the armed forces post-Kargil as they'd done with the police. Sending rakhis to soldiers, draping bodies of martyrs in saffron flags. Till then they'd been operating at the level of society, now they were acting at the level of state as well.

Last October Murli Manohar Joshi had the effrontery to prepare a new educational agenda for the nation. It couldn't be carried through because the chief ministers stormed out of that meeting. But UP and Gujarat which had BJP governments have seen the saffronisation of every educational/cultural institution in the last two years. While secular liberals keep hoping they'll get tamed while they're in power in Gujarat, it's become impossible for anyone from a minority community to even express anguish. Not just in cities but in rural areas as well. Not just Muslims but now even Christians are being targetted. A few days ago even as Vajpayee was being sworn in as the new prime minister there was a spate of attacks on Christians in Gujarat. Five-seven incidents in a single day. They've decided to unleash their venom and are doing it. They're getting emboldened all the time.

The ad campaign is reported to have cost approximately 1.5 crores. Who funded it?
The Congress, CPI, CPM and about ten prominent individuals.

Don't you think accepting money from political parties compromises your independence?
We're quite certain it will not. And we're not just saying this in conversation but in the next issue of Communalism Combat we're openly telling our readers what we've done and why. Not just that the campaign happened but the whole process. Our rationale for linking with the Congress/CPI/CPM to politicallty isolate the BJP. It's a waste of time to speculate on whether we've compromised ideals by associating with the Congress. Only our future issues will prove whether we're becoming soft on the Congress or whether we remain as independent as we've always been.

[devesh]

in the spirit of secularism and inclusion of minority opinion:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/why-m ... 10897.html

Why Modi’s idea of a militarised India is a recipe for disaster

by Wajahat Qazi

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/why-m ... ef_article

After being anointed as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi has in a classic instance of rhetorical grandstanding played to the gallery. He has asserted and beseeched the electorate to throw out the ‘unpatriotic’ UPA for a strong India. Among other things, Modi has also directed his audience’s attention to Pakistan, cross border terrorism and the border skirmishes between India and China. The implication is stark: a BJP-led government will hit out and not be ‘soft’. Modi is obviously playing to the gallery: There is a vocal section of the Indian populace that wants a confrontation with both Pakistan and China and this section feels that India’s response till now has been ‘cowardly’ and that a ‘strong’ India means an aggressive , confrontational India.

Modi is essentially harping on an old, pet theme of the Hindutva brigade: The soft versus the hard state debate.

The Hindutva brigade feels that India needs to be a hard state and this requires an aggressive reorientation of the state. The Hindu — in the Hindutva schema — has long been diminutive and mellow. A new Hindu and Hindustan needs to be carved out wherein the re-engineered Hindu is aggressive and on a bit of a high. This should be reflected in the nature of the Indian state and this would in the final analysis eliminate the sediments that have piled up on the Hindu psyche.

The implied and promised confrontation with Pakistan and China gels with this schema and plan. The question is : Can Modi and his brand and version of India be realized? Will India confront China and Pakistan? Or is this merely a vote gathering exercise?

Consider a possible confrontation with Pakistan. In terms of conventional warfare, India and Pakistan are clearly mismatched. India can overwhelm and overpower Pakistan in conventional warfare. However, the picture gets more complex with nukes and deterrence in the picture.

Whilst there may be disparity in the number of nukes and missiles each country has in its arsenal, the fact that Pakistan has nukes cancels out the conventional war advantage and brings mutually assured destruction (MAD) into the picture. A war between India and Pakistan would be suicidal for both countries; it is then ruled out.

Will India attack China? No. Why? The reasons lie in the nature of the military disparity between the two countries, globalization and the nature and intensity of trade and trading linkages between the countries. China is a vast country and it has, in its quest for great power status or in the least regional hegemony, embarked on military modernization where India’s military might pales in comparison. There is also the issue of nukes and then there is an ever-growing trading relationship between the two countries. Also pertinent is globalization by dint of which both India and Pakistan have benefited immensely. These factors militate against a war with China.

A confrontation with China and Pakistan will be detrimental to India.

What then is Modi doing and what is his agenda? It is quite simple and prosaic. Modi is aiming for votes and attempting to touch the visceral aspect of the collective Indian psyche. In short, he is taking recourse to vulgar and crass rhetorical grandstanding and crude posturing – all for the sake of electoral dividends and power. The Indian electorate should see through this vile agenda; its view should be determined by a sense of proportion and what India really needs.

While India is an emerging power and this is quietly recognized by the world’s major capitals, the country has immense issues of a structural nature that it needs to grapple with. A major one is poverty. India does not need confrontation or useless grandstanding; it needs to give its people a life of dignity and honor.

This means tackling these problems head on and attending to the real needs and demands of India. A militarized India will be self defeating for India. In today’s world, both the nature of power and strength have changed. War is no longer the arbiter of a nation’s power and prestige. A cue can be taken here from the democratic security communities of the West where power, security, prosperity and harmony exist in a rather seamless fit. A militarized India, to repeat, is a non starter.

Modi by building on his carefully cultivated image of a so called strong man is projecting it on to India. First, it is all a web of lies he is creating and second, even if he is serious and sincere in his vision of India, it is a regressive and retrograde vision of India. The Indian electorate must be prudent and wise and see through the tissue of lies he is weaving; and not be carried away by it.

India needs to attend to its manifold problems not gyrate and be seduced by the vain and delusional music of the pied piper of Gujarat. Modi is leading the Indian electorate down the primrose path. It is about time that the Indian electorate reject Modi’s false and fictional idea of India and Indianness and relegate him to where he belongs: obscurity.