Mainstream media is reeling following the victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-Right BJP party in nationwide state elections, with leading liberal newspapers and news outlets raising the cry of ‘Islamophobia’ in India.
The UK’s left-wing newspaper The Guardian called the Hindu-Right electoral gains in the biggest Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), which has a population of 220 million, “a victory for anti-Muslim bigotry”. Aiming its criticism of the man elected to run the state — a 44 year-old Hindu Monk — Yogi Adityanath, The Guardian complained that “[Adityanath] backs a Donald Trump-style travel ban to stop “terrorists” coming to India.”
According to Indian media reports, President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Modi today to congratulate him on his electoral success.
The left-wing news website Vox was equally critical of UP state’s newly elected Chief Minister Adityanath, writing that “he publicly supported President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations, stating, “Similar action is needed to contain terror activities in this country.””
The Washington Post profiled the monk-turned-politician, Adityanath, with a story titled “Meet the militant monk spreading Islamophobia in India”. The Washington Post held India’s PM Modi responsible for the rising Islamophobia:
[Latest election result] points at rising Islamophobia in India, aided and abetted by the far right and the elephant in the room ever since the unexpected win of Narendra Modi in the 2014 national elections. Adityanath’s anointment as the chief minister of a state that has been a hotbed of communal tension for more than two decades suggests that this Islamophobia is taking deeper roots.
The current liberal hysteria is similar to the one seen in the run up to the Indian general elections three year ago that led to the victory of PM Modi. In April 2014, UK-based news magazine, the Economist asked in its editorial, “Can anyone stop Narendra Modi?” The magazine complained that Modi “will probably become India’s next prime minister. That does not mean he should be.” Echoing the media’s response to a potential Trump presidency.
U.S. magazine The Nation explained to its reader “Why Narendra Modi’s Election Threatens Democracy in India”, and leading the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the Qatar-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera threw around the incendiary ‘fascism’ charge.
Despite grim prophecies from the mainstream media, India’s democracy is just as vibrant and strong under Modi. India’s GDP has grown at an impressive rate of over 7 percent each year since Modi took office almost three years ago. The country’s fiscal deficit has declined and foreign investments (FDI) have been on the rise.
This doesn’t take away from the fact that Modi faces daunting challenges ahead of him. Seven decades of Socialism has stifled India’s entrepreneurial potential and created an inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy.
When India gained independence from the British in 1947, its economy was comparable to that of other Asian countries. While Asian tiger economies soared by creating infrastructure and wealth by adopting Free-Market Capitalism, India’s Socialist leaders hitched their wagon to the Soviet Block, nationalising vast sectors of industry with devastating results for the country’s economy.
By the time Soviet-inspired Socialism was done with India, the country had become home to over 30 percent of world’s poorest. It was only after India introduced capitalist reforms in the wake of the economic crisis of 1991 that its economic growth took off, and poverty declined.
Just like Israel, India stands geographically at the forefront of global Jihadist onslaught. Islamist ideology of Jihad warfare has made inroads into India’s 180 million strong Muslim population that makes up 15 percent of the country’s population. Indian armed forces are paying a heavy price fighting Islamic terrorism — losing nearly 5,000 civilians and over 2,400 soldiers since 2001.
The political rise of the Hindu-Right, that the media likes to call ‘Islamophobia’, is a reaction to this Islamist warfare aimed at India’s Hindu and Sikh population. As Western Europe refuses to even comprehend the risks of radical Islam, the U.S. must join hands with steadfast allies like India and Israel to face the biggest threat to civilisation in our lifetimes.
Video: President Trump calls Indian PM Modi to congratulate him on the latest electoral victory:
[Cover image courtesy YouTube]
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