SECULAR AND DEMOCRATIC FORCES MUST UNITE TO SAVE INDIA
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
With just a few weeks to go before the final round of voting takes place and the election results are declared, it is imperative that the secular and progressive forces unite to defeat BJP and prevent the dark night of a Modi-led regime from spreading over India.
If Modi himself is defeated from the constituency of Varanasi, it will show unmistakably that the people of U.P. have remained true to the composite Ganga-Jamuna cultural roots of their ancestors and have rejected the strident, big-money campaign mounted by communal forces at the behest of the biggest capitalists, Ambani, Tata, and Adani, in India today.
It has been widely reported that the BJP advertising blitz has outspent its rivals many times over. The impact of this is reflected in the polls that predict a walkover for the communal BJP. However, India’s voters surprised the pollsters of “India Shining” in 2004, and one hopes they will do so again in the voting booth in 2014.
The hype surrounding Modi and his acolytes has reached a fever pitch characteristic of fascist worship of the Fuhrer. One can see it clearly in the comments by his numerous followers to any critical remark in the media about him or his record. An Indian journalist Bharat Dogra recently wrote: “The so-called Modi model of development propagated with frenzy in recent times is based on carefully crafted myths and distortions. While those in charge of NaMo’s election campaign can congratulate themselves on their ability to sell an imaginary success story, from the point of view of informed decision-making by voters this highly distorted propaganda has been a disaster.” This article was met with a degree of vituperation and abuse that perhaps would not even be directed at a child murderer. As another commentator remarked, more than Modi the people of India have to fear his frenzied and violent followers in case he becomes the PM.
The overseas followers of BJP, such as the Hindu America Foundation, are hardly any different. Their access to money buys space in the media, which is now being extended, especially in the U.S. where Modi has long been denied a visa for his role in the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, to the politicians who are not averse to singing the tunes of lobbyists in exchange for cash. Reports are being placed in the newspapers that the Obama administration should make some kind of “gesture” to Modi that would indicate he is no longer in the metaphorical doghouse but should be welcomed as a leader. No doubt those spreading these stories are the ones hoping to benefit from a BJP-led regime in India, as happened over a decade ago.
While the progressive, secular, and democratic forces hope for the BJP to be defeated, in case it forms the government they have to prepare for that eventuality if it arises. A broad front of the secular opposition, at the local, state, regional, and national level has to be formed to combat the worst possibilities that may occur. India will be in for perhaps the darkest era in its 65+ years of independent history if a Modi-led regime takes power and all well-wishers of the country should do their utmost to preserve its secular and democratic character guaranteed by the Constitution.
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