Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

More cracks in Modi’s far-right Hindu nationalist rule

  • Hannan Hussain Hannan Hussain
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 1 Aug 2023 17:47
5 Min Read

The BJP leader has already been found “directly responsible” for the “climate of impunity” that enabled the deadly 2002 Gujrat massacre against Indian Muslims.

  • x
  • More cracks in Modi’s far-right Hindu nationalist rule
    Violent oppression of minority rights is adding to Modi’s long-term vulnerabilities

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s notorious brand of Hindu nationalist rule has sown deep divisions in Indian communities, helped consolidate Hindu votes by encroaching on minority rights, and created a climate of impunity for the ruling government with no attention to dissent. One of the drawbacks of ruling with an iron-fist is that the same brand of polarizing politics can unite divergent opposition parties, and challenge a single leader’s claim to “democracy.”

26 Indian parties recently announced an alliance: the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). It comes on the back of Modi’s firmly consolidated Hindu supremacist rule, presenting fresh incentives for the hodgepodge alliance to prepare some ground for next year’s general elections. This unlikely consolidation of opposition parties is assisted in part by a weakened Indian Congress party, long dismissed by Modi as an opposition outlier in Indian politics. However, Congress’s desire to strategize against Modi in conjunction with allies marks a noticeable departure from the ideological incompatibilities and power struggles that have kept an opposition alliance on the back burner. Together, the message is clear: Modi’s Hindu nationalist edifice is far from impenetrable.

Violent oppression of minority rights is adding to Modi’s long-term vulnerabilities. His ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a track-record of covering up fragrant rights violations against minorities, operating under its Nazi-inspired, ideological parent: the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Crackdowns against Indian Muslims continue to intensify without political accountability, and Modi’s characteristic silence against coordinated hate crimes and vandalism appears to have given the opposition a wake-up call for rejuvenation. 

At least 130 people have died in ethnic violence erupting out of India’s Manipur state, all under Modi’s watch: legions of citizens displaced as social media pressure reminds Indian democracy that the law ought to be enforced. Even Modi’s recent visit to the United States was marked by prolonged acts of denial, and his insistence that documented discrimination against Indian minorities was a lie.

The new opposition alliance appears to have sensed the temperature at the right time. First, “INDIA” is willing to cash in on the government’s climate of impunity against minorities and can use that strategy to make opposition inroads in the mainstream. Based on a document issued at a recent alliance leaders meeting, the coalition stated it had “come together to defeat the hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities” under the Hindu nationalist politics of the Modi-led government. 

Related News

Does South Asia head toward a water war following the suspension of IWT by India?

Did 'Israel', US fight a proxy war with China in South Asia during the India-Pakistan escalation?

An electoral challenge for Modi or not, it is politically counterproductive for him to go off on a tangent and claim to work towards a climate of equality for minorities, chiefly Muslims. Any such intent arrives at the expense of his hard-right vote bank, where supremacy for the Hindu majority reigns supreme. 

The BJP leader has already been found “directly responsible” for the “climate of impunity” that enabled the deadly 2002 Gujrat massacre against Indian Muslims. His rule at the center has also seen India’s state institutions adopt a softer tone towards probing Modi’s record of communal violence, used by the populist leader to block scrutiny that is critical of his past or the present state of minority oppression under BJP. It is here that the “INDIA” alliance, focusing partly on Modi’s human rights weak points, may dent some of Modi’s overwhelming popularity base in due course, even if an electoral showdown remains far off for now.

Modi’s successive electoral victories in the recent past also put a premium on stamping-out opposition resistance, effectively ensuring that a divisive and deeply controversial electoral campaign strategy kept left-leaning opponents at the fringes. India’s political press itself remains deeply involved in the lionization of Modi because critical coverage of BJP’s rights violations and discrimination of minorities fails to stick for long.

As the new opposition alliance came together, it took the full force of social media outrage to evoke rhetorical sympathy from Modi on the blatant harassment and naked parading of women in the northeastern state of Manipur. From a campaigning viewpoint, there is no credibility to Modi’s claim that the perpetrating mob will be held to the full force of the law when it is the BJP’s neglect of the same laws that have empowered Hindu mobs to assert their brutality. 

"The law will take its strongest steps, with all its might. What happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven," said Modi as he appealed to party ministers, some of whom have a reputation for refusing to take such violence head-on.

As a result, the newly formed INDIA alliance is looking to break new ground in Modi’s Hindu nationalist appeal at the right time. For effective gains in complex India, it is critical for the alliance to supplement its focus on minorities with critical representation from top figures in the polls. For starters, it remains pertinent for Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi to turn around his disqualification from contesting the elections, following a jail sentence that was seen by Modi’s critics as politically opportune to the BJP, and a move timed to the advantage of his political capital. 

Ironically, it is the byproduct of Modi’s own ruthless politics that a newfound alliance is in a position to pool together resources, refusing to sit on the bench and muster a credible fight.

 

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • India
  • Modi
  • BJP
Hannan Hussain

Hannan Hussain

Writer and author.

Most Read

All
How is it that the Western regimes, which claimed to support the fake revolutions of Lebanon, Libya, and Syria, waged constant war against the actual Ansar Allah-led revolution in Yemen? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Understanding Yemen 1/2: The Revolution

  • Opinion
  • 30 Jun 2025
Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025
Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Echoes of dignity: Pakistan backs Iran against Zionist aggression

Echoes of dignity: Pakistan backs Iran against Zionist aggression

Given that "Israel" has used Palestinian oppression to prove its rejection of peace, Tehran’s retaliation on "Israel" give Israeli terrorism the pushback and counter that it truly deserves. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Ali al-Hadi Shmeiss)

Why Iranian counterattacks will take Israeli terrorism head-on

Why Trump’s tussle with Harvard University falls short

Why Trump’s tussle with Harvard University falls short

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS