[screye]

The average Indian loves Modi. He is India's most liked leader since Indira.

How people are looking at it:

> raging pandemic

It is not his fault. (to some extent they are correct. Covid and India, was like lighting a match in a haystack. Central Govt.'s response to Covid has been far less shambolic than the numbers make it look)

> Massive recession

Modi gets to blame it on Covid. Demonetization and an unclear fiscal policy have just as much to do with it. So, he is only 50% correct.

> Potential war with China

I don't exactly blame him for this either. He seems to actually have bipartisan support for this. China is pretty much trying to take over Indian land, so the reaction is warranted.

> Crackdown in Kashmir

Kashmir in Modi's era is a weird mix of success and failure. The removal of article 370 is a great idea that would allow Kashmir to finally reintegrate properly. The opposition to it was also muted, since it was a bipartisan goal of both Indian national parties. Modi just had the mandate and right votebank to do it.

The reintegration process however, was slower than expected, and led to a period where Kashmiris experienced loss of freedom that was looked down upon by many. It has been getting better, but it could still be faster.

> Internet bans

Can I say, I absolutely approve of these in India. The pace of spread of mis-information on mom&pop groups on whatsapp is unbelievable. There are many bad faith actors who use crises to incite riots. A few hour internet or whatsapp blackout is absolutely essential to govern in a reasonable way in India.

__________________

Modi is not good for India.

I do not like him.

But, the west and Indian left-elite completely miss what's wrong with him. The rising popularity of Modi while the whole left-establishment shouting that his time is over is as clear as it gets.

So, I'll enumerate what I think Modi's biggest issues are, in ascending order.

1. Lack of seasoned/qualified generals to run a full cabinet. (the death of Jaitley, Sushma, Parrikar made it worse)

2. Over-reliance on India's tired and stagnant bureaucrat class to make up for it, instead of external experts.

3. Homogenizing the Hindu community at large, to form a bipolar nation (Hindus vs Muslims = BJP vs Congress).

4. Centralizing control (very Indira-esque... really, to undertand Modi, just ask : "what would Indira do")

_________________

Modi didn't happen out of nowhere.

The complete incompetence of the Indian National Congress at mounting anything resembling an opposition is primary to Modi's rise. A hero only exists, when they have a demon to kill. As long as the INC continues to try to draw from the drying well of nepotistic 'Gandhi-name' goodwill, it will continue down the death spiral they are in.

If there was a silver lining, maybe Modi will force the rise of a more socially open and meritocratic left in India.

[newyankee]

An interesting tidbit about demonetization not well known is that GoI got 115% cash back, so literally 15% of the cash in the market was fake. It is not publicized officially but well known in inner circles. The problem of cash based businesses not paying taxes (especially real estate) was serious. It is true that the impact was much higher on the common man, but then at least i believe the intention was clear. Very few leaders before had the ability to take such decisions overnight. Economy is really impacted due to NPAs and i can safely argue that misspent stimulus during 2008 have much more to do with it, combined with the fact that the infrastructure development will take time to show results. You have to give credit to Modi for Jan Dhan Yojana, building toilets, accelerating expenditure on solar energy, roads and most importantly the ignored sector of Indian railways. I still feel your comment is the rare balanced comment i will see here.

[dash2]

Very interesting comment but I think the bit about Kashmir is naïve. Kashmir doesn’t want to reintegrate (“re”?) and India’s move here has been much like China’s in Hong Kong - a deliberate, authoritarian takeover.

[screye]

Yes and No.

Kashmir is the most important strategic post bordering 3 nuclear nations at war-ish with each other.

It is landlocked, with each country controlling different parts of it, and 2 claiming it in entirety.

J&K is a 3 part territory, of which 99%+ of Leh, Ladakh and Jammu want to be a part of India. So, if Kashmir was to be independent, it would be tiny, vulnerable and entirely dependent on neighboring states, that it would be at war with.

Now, there is also the fact that over the last 200 years, native Hindu Kashmiri communities have been driven out (literally, by violence) of Kashmir, so Kashmir independence can't exactly be unilateral.

Lastly, India is a proper democratic nation. States have full rights and religious + cultural diversity is celebrated. I am as biased as it gets, but I'd say India is the best option among Pakistan, India and PRC run China.

[teleforce]

If you want to state the fact or try to be biased as it gets, at least try to provide your reference [1].

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2017/11/forgotten-massacr...

[screye]

Thanks for posting unbiased news from non-state funded Aljazeera. It is great that they have so many sources too. A whole '0' sources.

There are at least a dozen conflicting historian accounts on what and how things went down in the India-Pakistan partition.

I am sure my recollection of it isn't the most faithful to the yet unknown truth, but I am certain in it being more reliable than AlJazeera of all media outlets.

[actuator]

Xinjiang is actually a better equivalent to Kashmir, not Hong Kong.

Depending on what you read, separatism in both places is either fuelled by fundamentalist ideologies or right for self determination. Kashmir is far more tricky though based on how the separatism has been fueled into an armed conflict by a neighbor.

To understand the sentiment in both places, you will need to read the history of both countries, and no it doesn't just start from 1940s.

[ra7]

Kashmir's history is much more complex and nothing like Hong Kong. The comparison doesn't make sense.