It is Parliament election time in India. The right wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the front runner and is assured of getting more seats in Parliament than other political parties. According to the opinion polls BJP lead alliance may get close to absolute majority. BJP is projecting Narendra Modi as the Prime minister. So if the opinion pollsters are right he will be Indian Prime minister by end of next month.
As the title of the post suggests I do not want Modi to be Indian Prime minister.
Let me try to explain rationally why I do not want him as Prime minister or BJP as the ruling party.
1. As an atheist and a rationalist I do not want a right wing political party founded on religious and national pride to rule my country.
BJP is a political party based on Hindutva ideology. It is the political wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the RSS.
What does RSS stand for?
“The Hindu culture is the life-breath of Hindusthan. It is therefore clear that if Hindusthan is to be protected, we should first nourish the Hindu culture”.
No rationalist can support politics based on religion.
2. BJP being a religion based party stand for many irrational things. See some of these excerpts from BJP manifesto.
“Ram Mandir: BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya”
“Cow and its Progeny: In view of the contribution of cow and its progeny to agriculture, socio-economic and cultural life of our country, the Department of Animal Husbandry will be suitably strengthened and empowered for the protection and promotion of cow and its progeny. Necessary legal framework will be created to protect and promote cow and its progeny.”
Ram is a Hindu god and Cow (not buffalo or goat) is a considered as sacred in Hinduism.
How can a rationalist support them?
3. BJP’s PM hopeful Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat when a genocide like situation happened. Gujarat riots were the most violent of all riots of 21st century in India. More than a thousand were killed, a large majority being minority Muslims, including a Member of Parliament. The riots occurred after the burning down of a railway coach and death of around 60 people who were a part of Viswa Hindu Parishad’s (an RSS affiliate) pilgrimage tour. The cause of the fire is still not clear, but probably occurred after a skirmish between Muslim vendors and RSS activists at the Godhra railway station.
Before starting of any enquiry, even before a first information report was filed by local police, Modi reached the site of tragedy and declared it is a conspiracy. He said:
“It (burning of the Sabarmati Express) was a pre-planned act. The culprits will have to pay for it. It was not communal violence. It was a violent, one-sided, collective act by only one community.”
A very irrational and dangerous statement deliberately made to instigate violence on minority Muslim community.
The following days saw large scale violence against Muslims all over Gujarat, with the Modi controlled Police not being much effective in protecting the life and property of citizens.
How can a rationalist support such a person who deliberately instigated violence in name of religion? He becoming PM can result in further riots and deaths of innocent lives. It is true that in India, most political parties indulge in tactics which may promote religion based violence. But the main instigator was always been RSS and its affiliated organizations, because majority religion always benefits from religious divide of society.
4. BJP being a religion/nationalism based party has its own distorted view of history which is in much variance from the actual history.
Here is what historian D.N Jha has to say about distorting history by Hindutva forces:
“The quest for India’s national identity through the route of Hindu religious nationalism began in the nineteenth century and has continued ever since. In recent years, however, it has received an unprecedented boost from those communal forces which brought a virulent version of Hindu cultural chauvinism to the centre stage of contemporary politics and produced a warped perception of India’s past. This is evident from the indigenist propaganda writings which support the myth of Aryan autochthony, demonise Muslims and Christians, and propagate the idea that India and Hinduism are eternal.”
Can a rationalist support a political party whose core ideology is based on distorted history?
5. BJP being a faith based political party staunchly supports god men and women, who fool the naïve believers by selling spirituality. Leaders in spiritual business like Sri Sri Ravisankar, Baba Ramdev and Mata Amrithanandamayi support BJP and BJP supports them strongly. Rationalists who question these god men are many a time physically assaulted by BJP cadre.
6. RSS, the force behind BJP is a men’s only club holding medieval patriarchal values. For RSS, role of women in society is only as good mothers and wives, nothing else.
I can come out with many more reasons for not supporting Narendra Modi, but these are the core issues.
I will conclude by saying a vote for Modi/BJP is a vote for a faith/hyper nationalism based Government which will actively promote divisiveness in society, irrational beliefs, patriarchy and distorts history.
That is why I do not support BJP/Modi.
Trying to be rational 
No point in your inviting people for a cosy chat if no one responds. On what you want and why you want it there really can’t be much of an argument. Towards the end you move onto trying to convert others to your view. I am sure you are gleaning some sympathy for those of a religious persuasion who feel the need to proselytise. I don’t have the right to vote and I am fairly confident that my views are not going to sway any Indian’s votes. But if you and the pundits are right that Mr Modi is going to be the next PM of the Republic of India. The socialist humanist democratic I am sure it has many epithets like that let’s not panic. Being PM of a nation of 1.3 billion people will teach you some humility. And it looks like it will need to be a grand coalition with a few regional parties roped in. But let’s say he does get all the power to enact any change he wants anywhere in India. I can see how you may be a little less secure. But take the North East of India. I don’t know how much you know about it. Most Indians don’t. Manipur is my interest. It has been run by Congress UPA for over a decade. I am slightly more reasonable about life than you. I want one change there removal of the AFSPA. It’s a highly irrational law and people who know nothing about it and Manipur tend to start screaming it’s needed a necessary evil. Not sure what they think it is exactly. There are many problems with it many learned opinions from several Indian Judicial Commissions urging at least it’s amendment if not repeal. Leave that aside Mr Modi could bring change for the all the reasons you have given. May I summarize your view of him as a opportunistic religious fascist along the lines say of Adolf Hitler. (He wasn’t so much into religion perhaps but basically someone most people and some versions of history should judge a bad man). There’s no development in Manipur. A few rich people put up new gated villages. But no roads, basic utilities even if you are a VIP. In Imphal an armed police commando stands every fifty metres with armoured personnel carriers at main junctions on main roads. Yet a hand grenade attack or IED can go off senior ministers alleging that this or that branch of the police must have placed it no one else could have. They’ll use Meira Paibees to throw hand grenades. They walk out of car throw a grenade in the middle of a busy market go back into the car and be driven off and nobody sees anything. As for so called insurgencies. Their leaders with DGs of Police and Paramlitaries, Politicians and NGO directors openly banquet at the Imphal Classic Hotel to celebrate the division of the annual development budget. During the elections yesterday outer manipur rebel cadres given the chance to vote to use democracy rather than violence to acheive their aims turned up with AK 47s on their shoulders even though all weapons are said to have been made useless or handed in. India is divided. I am guessing you are traditionally a Congress UPA man. The West tends to prefer them. Very corrupt but more prepared to work with Western Businesses and not involved with religion. You might fancy AAP. I know Irom Sharmila does. Don’t know if you have heard of her. Mr Modi has not contacts with the families who run Manipur be they from the insurgents the paramilitaries the netas or their babus. One of the big complaints of the BJP over a 2 billion rupee fake tender award was that it was done in Delhi in secret and only Congress UPA babus were invited to tender. They weren’t arguing for honesty and transparency just pointing out their Babus didn’t get a share of the corruption. So what could Mr Modi do if he is half as nasty and diabolic as you imagine. First he could use the AFSPA to full effect. Send in full regular detachments of the Indian Army and if take out every one who does anything to disrupt the economy. As you pointed out as Dr Singh pointed out he is responsible for one genocide has gotten away with it no one cares about Manipur. If you fuck with him he will take out not only your entire famly but your home village if need be your whole tribe. People know he is serious and the drug using twats with the guns will put their guns down. It’s one thing to ambush your cousin brother who is also high on something whose family paid several million rupees to get him the post of subinspector in the police commandoes who is completely clueless how to patrol. It’s another to take on the immense fire power of the second largest army in the world if they are given the green light to kill everyone there if necessary. They can build roads and a basic infrastructure. If anyone really gets high and challenges him he’d be happy for the chance to make a brutal example of them. With the AFSPA no law will have broken. If the ICC want to make an issue of it they will have to take on Sonia Gandhi and her line too and the West doesn’t want that. He may be as evil as you say. But if he is elected sometimes a different kind of evil can take out the scum who currently rule in Manipur whose disgusting vicious behaviour you do not comment on because rationally who gives a fuck about Manipur. it’s good to chat. I am sure Indians have their own reason for voting for him. Sometimes it’s just because representative democracy gives you only one real power to remove the government from time to time and if you don’t they tend to get more smug and arrogant. He may be evil but he isn’t stupid. He wants to be accepted in the West. He wants History to judge him a great statesman. He could easily improve the lot of the NorthEast where his strong arm past will convince cowardly bullies better to cash in and bugger off or stay and obey the law. Or maybe he’ll do something more stupid. Create a new Hindustan and kick out everyone who isn’t a brahmin. I am interested to see what happens next.
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Agree 100%. Thank you for this post.