[Strutting in a Rs. 10 lakh (?) golden Namabali suit in the close proximity of the then US President Barack Obama, was closely followed by the near-complete wash out in Delhi assembly election. The persistent, but eventually abandoned, attempts to scrap the land acqusition act to favour the state and the money-bags came the resounding defeat in Bihar. (Of course, there was a Mahagathbandhan.)
The astute politician that Modi is, triggered a change of tack - limited in substance but powerful in terms of propaganda blitz. The symbolic milestone being the much riled demonetisation. That put across a pro-poor, anti-rich and anti-corrupt image of Modi - sort of a new, refurbished Modi, pretty much effectively. Quite a few other measure have followed. Loan waiver for (a major section of) UP farmers is just one. Simultaneously, going on the brutal attacks in the name of Gau Raksha and Anti-Romeo brigades etc. And the "Nationalist" edge is further sharpened in the aggressive postures vis-a-vis Pakistan, and also China. (The latest claim of "punitive strikes" across the LoC, award for Major Gogoi and boycott of BRI forum in China are just three illustrative examples.)] I/II. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/modi-government/news/three-years-of-modi-government-hindutva-and-pro-poor-message-corners-opposition/articleshow/58848189.cms NDA@3: Hindutva and pro-poor message corner opposition Subodh Ghildiyal | TNN | Updated: May 26, 2017, 08.17 AM IST The opposition's elusive search for a coherent narrative to take on BJP has defined Narendra Modi's three years in office — a desperation that now appears to border on a crisis in the wake of the saffron sweep of UP. Modi's stint at the top started as an unprecedented blend of hardline Hindutva and aspirations. The saffron helmsman has added a 'pro-poor' plank to his outreach, further shrinking the space for rivals to manoeuvre. On NDA's three years in office, 'marginalisation of the opposition' is the common refrain in conversations among politicians and commentators. From the time its stars rose in mid-2014 to the high of the UP results in March 2017, BJP has had its ups and downs. The party followed up its Lok Sabha victory with a string of assembly wins but stumbled at two challenges from imaginative rivals — Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad in Bihar and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. But just when Modi's appeal appeared to be losing its magical touch, BJP won critical battles against Congress and capped it with massive victories in UP and Uttarakhand. Opposition leaders concede that post-UP, it is crisis time. BJP bounced back from the Delhi and Bihar defeats by winning Assam on its own in 2015. Its success in civic and local polls even on turfs where it was not considered strong attests to Modi's appeal and agenda. The Assam and UP wins underscore that it has not been hurt by the antipathy of Muslim voters — a worrying sign for rivals. The opposition appears to be groping in the dark. Leaders admit to the lack of a grand catchline around which a strategy of campaigning and collecting votes can be woven. Most of all, the opposition lack a mascot to match the man who has saturated the air waves and the internet with his relentless campaign. Rahul Gandhi is yet to demonstrate he can step up to the plate. Under Modi, BJP has laid a multi-level trap for rivals. It has been able to touch off a Hindutva polarisation, which in India's social composition, can hand the party a big advantage. No amount of outrage over communal violence or the over-aggressive street tactics of saffron stormtroopers has made the party back down on its core strategy of polarisation. Even Modi's 'shamshan-kabristan' and Diwali-Ramzan themes during the UP campaign were seen as an attempt to cater to base sentiment, an indication of what lesser leaders countrywide would be doing. Here again, the lessons for the opposition, which have often calculated that majority-polarisation is more unlikely than minority-consolidation, are sobering. BJP's harsh campaign notes effectively tapped into resentment against the 'appeasement' of Muslims. The saffron camp's success in using the outrage over communalism and intolerance to polarise Hindus has visibly killed the 'secular' camp's appetite for raising issues like unrest in universities. When BJP last ruled the Centre with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as PM, Congress and the opposition used their credentials as the champion of the 'aam aadmi' to successfully block BJP's rule that had come to be identified with the middle class and the upper castes. II. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/modi-government/news/surge-of-nationalist-pride-with-a-polarising-edge/articleshow/58849964.cms NDA@3: Surge of nationalist pride with a polarising edge Rajeev Deshpande & Sidhartha | TNN | Updated: May 26, 2017, 07.57 AM BJP has always played the "nationalism" card, but it has not been as front-and centre as it is under the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah dispensation. The Prime Minister's image as an unabashed Hindu nationalist has given the political plank an intense edge. This has coincided with larger socio-political trends beyond India's shores -of a push-back against globalisation, rising protectionism, and delegitimisation of institutions of global governance and the idea of shared sovereignty -all of which have given the idea of nationalism a new lease of life. The swift embrace of the Supreme Court's order mandating the playing of the national anthem in cinema halls attests to the momentum the force has acquired in the public mind. As in the US, the phenomenon is marked by a pronounced religious dimension. BJP and RSS have made no bones of their ardent belief that Hindutva has been the nation's dominant ethos and has defined it. But under a powerful populist politician it has burst on the national stage, with social media fuelling the process. The publicised intent to turn India into a global power juxtaposed with invocations of country's lost glory, premium on yoga and Sanskrit, even Modi's visits to temples, have served to invest nationalism with a saffron hue -a process strengthened by the relentless hostility of Pakistan and the threat of Islamic terror. This nationalist solidarity has a natural corollary in that it turns opponents as well as sceptics into the "other" who need to be confronted even as their politics and ideology make them BJP's adversaries. This has sharpened the debate on what constitutes nationalism with BJP's opponents vigorously contending that it is leading India towards a culture of majoritarianism with cow vigilantism best exemplify ing the alleged script. The long silences of BJP leaders on the violence of gau rakshaks signal complicity if not condonation of their acts, critics of the party argue. It is not easy to evaluate if common sensibilities have been coarsened by the divisive din over nationalism. This might be the case as cow vigilantes do not seem to generate the level of outrage that might be expected. The emotive and political connotations of cow protection and beef taboos are strong, a point that "secular" campaigners either do not comprehend or ignore.The reluctance of many in opposition to condemn those who chant slogans calling for country's dismemberment has provided ammunition for the political project against `anti-national' liberals. The nationalist theme is part of the Modi government's approach to economic policy as well with programmes like Make in India and Start-Up India.The theme, however, is more nuanced, stopping well short of protectionism, leaving the Sangh's swadeshi activists somewhat disgruntled. The claims to economic revival are, nevertheless, strongly infused with nationalist pride with Modi symbolising the resurgence of native confidence and a belief in a better destiny. All this is read in a diametrically opposite manner by political and ideological opponents who see it as an attempt to "homogenise" Indian culture and marginalise or subsume minority cultures. The clash is sharpest between BJP and Muslims with issues such as the ongoing legal and political debate over triple talaq typifying the differences. The community feels singled out over beef bans and cow vigilantism and is deeply suspicious of plots to undermine its religious and cultural practices.The conservatism of Muslim elites and combative acts of saffron foot soldiers have not helped matters. So far, BJP and Modi appear to be winning the battle of perception over nationalism marked by a lack of squeamishness in articulating divisive themes that present an alternative to Nehruvian-Left secularism.Whether this can deliver lasting political gains, enough to give it an edge in the 2019 election, remains in the realms of speculation. Unapologetic nationalism, with its cruder manifestations, signals a rage against the perceived elite sanitisation of public discourse. It marks a new frontier in a political and ideological battle that is not new but is becoming more bitterly contested. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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