Sarwar Kashani
New Delhi, June 5 (EFE) – Narendra Modi has secured a historic bid to become India’s prime minister for a third consecutive term, but his mandate has been curtailed as he loses the overwhelming majority of Hindu nationalist leaders he has enjoyed for the past decade.
Modi has now become prime minister for a third consecutive term, matching the record held by Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, who ruled for 17 consecutive years since independence from Britain in 1947.
The prime minister is due to be sworn in to remain in office but will need the cooperation of allies to stay in power as he enters uncharted territory with a coalition government after recent parliamentary elections left him divided in a divided mandate with no party winning the votes needed to form a government.
The rise of the 73-year-old Modi, who claims to be a divine being sent by God on a mission, has been meteoric but shrouded in controversy.
Modi, a native of Gujarat, became chief minister of the western state in 2001 and held power until 2014.
His tenure was marked by rapid economic development but also by major controversy, especially over the 2002 riots – a series of sectarian clashes in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
The Modi government has been criticised for its response to the massacre by Hindu fundamentalists, over allegations of complicity and an inadequate response from state governments.
The allegations remain a hot topic of controversy and have cast a shadow over his political career, despite multiple investigations and a clearing by the Supreme Court of India.
At a time when a climate of hostility towards Hindu nationalism is on the rise in a country where about 80% of the population is Hindu, Modi’s popularity has soared thanks to his image as a strong, decisive leader and his push for economic reforms and development plans.
14th Prime Minister of India
In 2014, he led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a historic victory in the general elections and became prime minister after a decade of rule by the historic Indian National Congress (INC) of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
His tenure as prime minister of this emerging economic powerhouse of 1.4 billion people combined significant economic policies, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the controversial demonetisation of banknotes in 2016, with an emphasis on Hindu nationalism that has divided the country.
Once an international pariah, denied a visa by the United States and facing isolation after Britain cut ties with the Gujarat government over the 2002 riots, Modi is now asserting a more visible role as India’s leader on the world stage.
He even positions himself as “the voice of the Global South,” a loose collection of around 130 developing and least developed countries that account for almost two-thirds of the world’s population.
During his tenure, India has focused on national security, economic growth and digital transformation, but its progress in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ranked 112th out of 166 countries with an overall index of 63.5%, below par.
Government spending under the Modi administration has been primarily focused on building an infrastructure development network, including construction of roads, bridges, components and dedicated freight corridors.
But slowing private investment, job shortages and severe inflation are major challenges he will inherit for a third term.
Modi, his government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also faced widespread criticism over their handling of social issues, and have been accused of eroding democratic norms and fostering an atmosphere of intolerance towards minorities and critics.
Human rights situation is declining
Opposition parties and Indian civil society frequently accuse Modi of authoritarian tendencies and restricting dissent and press freedom, which has seen a steep decline in global indexes since he came to power.
According to Amnesty International, Indian authorities are increasingly imposing unlawful and politically motivated restrictions on freedom of expression, repeatedly targeting media workers who “empower Hindu nationalists to intimidate, harass and abuse journalists critical of the Indian government.”
Childhood and adolescence: Unverified claims
By his own account, his mythical journey began in the narrow lanes of Vadnagar, a small, unassuming town in Gujarat. Born on September 17, 1950, Modi was the third of six children to Damodardas Modi and Hiraben Modi.
According to a biography on his website, his “childhood was far from a fairytale upbringing.”
The biography says that as a young man, Modi helped his father sell tea at the local railway station, a job he repeated many times.
“The war with Pakistan was at its height,” Modi said – without specifying which war he was referring to as India and Pakistan have fought three since Modi was born, two in 1965 and two in 1971 – but he said he “went out to the train station to offer tea to (soldiers) travelling back and forth across the border.”
His biography says that he served tea to soldiers “at a remarkably young age,” demonstrating his “stern determination to answer the call of Mother India.” He later spent much of his life as a homeless beggar in the Himalayas, surviving by begging for food for 35 years, according to a 2020 interview.
But Modi, who claims to have graduated in 1978 with a degree in “general political science”, says he was tech-savvy from a very early age, using a digital camera in 1988, when digital devices did not exist in India, and email in the 1980s, when email was still in vogue.
However, all these claims, and many others that contradict the dates, have not been verified.
Religion and personality cult
Modi is known for his uncanny knack for blending his religiosity with politics and governance, which are constitutionally secular domains in the country.
His speeches have been marked by Islamophobic rhetoric and inflammatory language against India’s 200 million Muslims.
One of his most spectacular displays of religiosity was in January this year at the consecration ceremony of a controversial Hindu temple built on the ruins of a 16th mosque destroyed by Hindu fanatics in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
As he campaigns for a third five-year term, Modi has set a new standard of loud-mouthed self-righteousness and piety, appealing to his core Hindu nationalist base.
Modi claimed he had been chosen by God to accomplish a greater mission.
“While my mother was alive, I believed that my birth might be a biological product,” Modi told a Hindi television channel. “But after her death, I am convinced that God sent me here.”
That’s Modi’s genius: he’s a storyteller unlike any other Indian politician, and he uses his extraordinary ability to spin new narratives that further fuel a cult of personality among the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and his millions of rabid fans. EFE
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