Terrorist attack in Kashmir

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Indians lined up to vote amid unprecedented security in the eastern state of West Bengal on Sunday as the final phase of a massive, staggered election got underway to decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns for a second term.

Tight security as Indians vote in final phase of mammoth election

Hindu holy men stand in a queue inside a polling station to caste their vote during the final phase of general election in Kolkata, India, May 19, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Around 900 million Indians are eligible to vote in the seven-phase election, with vote counting to begin on Thursday.

The grueling 39-day poll began in the wake of aerial clashes and escalated tensions with neighboring Pakistan, which Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used to focus its campaign on national security.

The main opposition Congress party and other regional blocs concentrated on the government’s economic mismanagement and inability to create jobs in their attempt to win voters.

However, the campaign turned increasingly personal and vitriolic in the final stages and clashes between rival groups marred polling in West Bengal.

India’s election commission suspended campaigning on Wednesday, a day early, after violence in the state’s capital, Kolkata.

Security was tight around voting stations in Kolkata and surrounding areas where people will cast their vote on Sunday. Around 57,000 policemen have been deployed and more than 400 quick response teams are on standby in case of any trouble, according to the chief electoral officer in Kolkata.

Amitava Ganguly, an employee of a private power utility, said there was polarization along communal lines in West Bengal.

“I have never seen such an election before,” Ganguly said.

The BJP is attempting to make inroads into West Bengal, which has the third highest number of parliamentary seats among Indian states, to offset likely losses elsewhere but has met stiff opposition from the regional Trinamool Congress party.


More than 100 million Indians are eligible to vote in the final phase, covering 59 seats in 8 states. India’s parliament has a total of 545 seats, out of which the BJP won 272 in the previous general election in 2014 to secure a single-party majority for the first time in around three decades.

Neelanjan Sircar, a political science professor at Ashoka University near New Delhi, said opposition groups were looking to tap into anger against Modi and the BJP’s strong grassroots machinery that helped it win in 2014.

“To me, this election is very much a battle between voter accountability and party organization,” Sircar said.

The well-funded BJP dominated most of the campaign, allowing Modi to set the agenda.

His decision to bomb a purported militant training camp in Pakistan, soon after a suicide attack in the disputed Kashmir region killed 40 policemen, boosted his support.

The opposition lacked a strong counter punch but the drawn-out, seven-phase election still appeared to tighten. Congress and other regional parties sense an opportunity to oust Modi.


Modi’s jobs deficit: J&J’s largest India plant idle three years after completion

It was supposed to be Johnson & Johnson's biggest manufacturing plant in India. It was to eventually employ at least 1,500 people and help bring development to a rural area near Hyderabad in southern India.

Yet, three years after the U.S. healthcare company completed construction of production facilities for cosmetics and baby products on the 47-acre site, they stand idle.

Two sources familiar with J&J’s operations in India and one state government official told Reuters production at the plant, at Penjerla in Telangana state, never began because of a slowing in the growth in demand for the products.

One of them said that demand didn’t rise as expected because of two shock policy moves by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: a late 2016 ban on then circulating high-value currency notes, and the nationwide introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) in 2017.

Aimed at rooting out corruption and streamlining the tax system, the double whammy of ‘demonetization’ and GST – were two of Modi’s signature policy moves. But instead of encouraging economic activity as intended, they did the opposite, at least in 2016-2018, by sapping consumer demand, according to some economists.

Many businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, complained publicly – some in their financial statements - that they suffered a drop off in orders. The suspended J&J project stands as one of the most vivid examples of the impact on the broader investment picture.

In the first month after demonetization, some business surveys showed that sales of products such as shampoos and soap fell more than 20 percent.

Lack of jobs growth and a farm-income crisis because of low crop prices have hurt Modi in the current general election, according to several political strategists.

Still, Modi and his ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party are expected by many of the strategists to be in a position to get a second term – probably with support of some other parties - when votes are counted on Thursday, partly because of his strong stance on national security issues.

BIG INVESTMENTS, GREAT EXPECTATIONS
A range of Modi’s business policies, such as capping prices of medical devices, forcing tech companies to store more data locally and stricter e-commerce regulations have in the past two years hurt plans of American multinationals such as J&J, Mastercard, Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.

The groundbreaking of the J&J facility in Penjerla, its third in the country, was carried out with much fanfare in 2014, attended by Telangana state’s Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao, who hailed the foreign investment as a big win for local communities. A document dated April 2017 that lists products the company planned to make at the facility, submitted to the Telangana government and reviewed by Reuters, names baby oil, baby shampoo, baby lotion, baby hair oil, face wash and creams.

Shaukat Ali, running a tea shop under a bamboo stall on barren land outside the plant, said local workers check in routinely for possible vacancies at the J&J site, but nothing has come up in years.

At the local pollution control board office, the member secretary Satyanarayana Reddy said the J&J plant had all the required approvals and he was not sure why it hadn’t started production.

“It is unusual for such a big plant to stay idle for so long,” he said. “But there is no problem from our side.”

Chandrasekhar Babu, an additional director at the Telangana industries department, said a J&J company official told him the plant hadn’t started due to lack of demand.

GST and demonetization were two key reasons the plan didn’t kick off, one of the sources said, adding that lack of consumer demand since then dented company’s plans.

PLANNED FURTHER EXPANSION
Local officials had hoped the initial J&J plant would be only the beginning. After the groundbreaking in 2014, Pradeep Chandra, who was Telangana’s special chief secretary of industries, told Business Today magazine that “based on the extent of land (J&J) have acquired we believe that they are looking at much larger expansion here.”

Local media reports at the time said the J&J facility would employ some 1,500 people.

A J&J official, who was not identified by name, was reported subsequently in December 2016 in India’s Business Standard assaying that the $85 million plant would be operational by 2018 after it had overcome procedural delays. The official was quoted as saying the company had earmarked an additional $100 million for expansion.

Vikas Srivastava, the managing director of J&J Consumer(India), who was at the 2014 groundbreaking, did not respond to calls for comment.

Reuters also talked to two workers outside a sprawling Procter & Gamble facility making detergents and diapers, which is next to the J&J plant. They said they were part of the P&G plant’s production team and the plant had been running below capacity.

A P&G spokesperson denied that, saying the plant was “operating at full capacity in line with our business plans”. “India is a priority market for P&G globally and in recent quarters, P&G’s business in India has registered strong double-digit growth consistently,” the company said.

The weak rural economy, where most Indians work, has also hurt growth in sales of basic items such as detergents and shampoo in the past year.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd, an industry bellwether that would compete with the likes of J&J and P&G in some categories, said its volume growth shrank to 7 percent in the quarter ended March 31, down from double-digit growth in the previous five quarters.

The company warned that the daily consumer goods segment in India was “recession resistant ... not recession proof.”

 

[seek10]

According to exit polls after the last phase today, BJP is expected to win huge. India Today Exit Polls are based on 800,000 views. This is the first time, they did it on every parliament seat to come to this conclusion. It is mainly driven by retaining the most of the seats from state of Uttar pradesh (which has maximum 80 seats ), and making big wins central eastern states ( West Bengal and Odissa) where there was no big presence. Modi was very popular among the young voters.

Elections 2024, Lok Sabha, Assembly Election News Headlines, Election Updates - India Today

Elections 2024: Read latest Lok Sabha and Assembly Election News headlines and updates, find election 2024 photos and videos. Stay connected with India Today for Lok Sabha, Assembly Election Live Coverage and breaking general election related news.

www.indiatoday.in

Lok Sabha Election: Exit poll results suggest big win for NDA, a possible second term for Narendra Modi - The Economic Times

Nearly all the exit polls predict the NDA led by Narendra Modi to come back to power with nearly 300 seats.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

We have to see whether these exit polls will come out to be true or not on May 23rd.

 

[seek10]

here is good amount violence in the state of West Bengal, the current Anti-Modi chief Minister was desperate to hold on to her control and to block the inquiries of financial misdeeds. BJP used its Hindu card to create a viable opposition in the state( where old ruling communist govt which ruled for decades disappeared from the scene) making this campaign more bitter and desperate.

I agree, very educational and it is a nice personal account of the current affairs making the news in Social and Political platforms.

It's like a quick History lesson in a College course. Maybe, we should start calling Seek10 - Professor Seek 10?

I don't think I know lot of stuff about India. Those who lived in India knows, it is extremely diverse nation with varying temperaments, social hierarchies, different types of injustices but also with common set of religions, currency, corruption and other problems. It is hard to know the entire nation. In fact, I only lived in 2 states in my life there, though i temporarily visited another 6 states. But, I do interact with many folks with other states as a part of my work.

Why I am writing this?. I have some opinions of the nation and how things are though. I wasn't paying much attention for the last 20 years except skimming through. Over the years when i read news about , I tried to validate it with my understanding. Most part, India is not part of Western discourse until 2014. Things changed in 2014, mainly BRICS and Modi style of functioning. I have read many articles what looked to me seeing through the Western lens.

During the recent Indo-Pak conflict, I came across certain video's , that lead to reading the series of books which I am reading, validating the opinions and reviewing. It is a way of networking for me and let it out of my system so that they won't become thought loops. Most of what I am writing is what I learned from the books or articles that i felt relevant and answering to my own questions.

 

[angelburst29]

Why I am writing this?. I have some opinions of the nation and how things are though. I wasn't paying much attention for the last 20 years except skimming through. Over the years when i read news about , I tried to validate it with my understanding. Most part, India is not part of Western discourse until 2014. Things changed in 2014, mainly BRICS and Modi style of functioning. I have read many articles what looked to me seeing through the Western lens.

In the United State, news media rarely publish events from India, unless it is Political or a major event. In the last few weeks, coverage has been on the election. It is refreshing to learn more about the Country and the diversity that makes up many of the Countries population.
For me, the Caste system has always been confusing, especially where Marriage is concerned. From what I understand, you have to marry within your Caste? I'm not sure, if it is meant to keep ethnic groups together, so they share the same traditions? Some Nationalities, like Greek or Italian (for example), at one time, would only marry within their own ethnic group. That was the case, for generations - in my own Family. Problem there, the families migrated to a different Country and some of the next generation - married out of their ethnic group and broke tradition.

Getting back to India, for the research I have done on BRICS, it has it's benefits for improving relations with other Countries and working within a economic system in fair trade and goods. So, India is taking steps to improve it's economy and working on an International level.
I'm not sure how China's Silk Road might fit in but there is progress in that direction, also.

 

[angelburst29]

Politician, family members among 11 killed in India ambush
Eleven people, including a lawmaker and four of his family, were killed in an ambush by tribal separatists in the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, a senior police official said on Tuesday.

Heavily armed militants fired automatic weapons at the five-vehicle convoy of Tirong Aboh, a member of the legislative assembly for the state seat of Khonsa, in the Tirap district near the border with Myanmar, the police official said.

“We are yet to ascertain the group responsible for the attack,” the police official, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to talk to the media, told Reuters.

The area where the ambush took place is very remote, making investigation of the attack difficult, the official said. "Extremely shocked by unfortunate incident of killing of Khonsa MLA Tirong Aboh along with several others by insurgents," Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted.

India's Hindu groups to double down on demands as Modi set for big win

A Hindu temple on a disputed site, life in jail for killing cows and ending the autonomy of India's only Muslim-majority state are some demands Hindu groups plan to push Prime Minister Narendra Modi on if he wins the general election as expected.

Factbox: As Indian election dust settles, jobs, trade, security high on government's to-do list

Exit polls after the end of India's general election on Sunday showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies retaining power with an overwhelming majority.

Modi set to return to power with a bigger majority, exit polls show

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to return to power with an even bigger majority in parliament after a mammoth general election that ended on Sunday, exit polls showed, a far better showing than expected in recent weeks.

Exit polls cheer India's ruling party; markets set to rally

Indian equities, rupee and bonds are set to rally on Monday after almost all exit polls suggested that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was likely to secure a clear mandate at the 2019 national elections.

 

[seek10]

I will review the next book I read "India: Siege within The challenges to Nation's Integrity" which talks about its internal challenges.

This book split into 3 parts. First part is about Indo-Pak parition and Linguistic reorganization of India. Second one is about history of Sikh religion as a inbetween religion of Hindu's and Muslim's and third part is about Kashmir. I will focus on the first part, in which I will skip the Indo-Pak part that is already covered before in some part.

If one wants to know the demands of the Muslim league that asked for separate nation based on religion, It will be like this map. Of course, they didn't get it and it is impractical and unsustainable.

Introduction of the book starts with:

Carving up countries and kingdoms is as old as history. Boundaries, until quite recently, were no more than a measure of military strength or royal/national ambition. Partition was therefore the unsurprising fate of the defeated, or the merely unfortunate. Before Europe set out to carve the world, it was busy carving itself up. The process was partially parallel; as some European powers seized the world, others tried to seize Europe. The logic of conquest in the tumult of nineteenth-century Europe often demanded partition. When wars were won by alliances, a division of the spoils became necessary. Victors supped on the vanquished, and sated themselves until their mistakes or miscalculations led to another shift in the balance of power, and perhaps role reversal. A country unlucky enough to be both strategically placed and weak, like Poland, was continually being redistributed in the name of someone else’s security. Maps were redrawn at great conferences or in secret deals, where greed, deceit, chicanery and maneuvering between kings and diplomats were far more complex than the comparatively straightforward encounters between generals on a battlefield.

Linguistic reorganization of India

Europeans who have seen the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian empires collapse into small countries reborn on the basis of language find it particularly difficult to understand why the South Asia regions of the British empire did not suffer a similar destiny. By the eighties, at the latest, India also should have splintered into a mess. The Indian experience has not been without its moments of danger. If there was one Potti Sriramalu to give his life to establish linguistic states, there were many in India who gave their lives to prevent the national language of the country, Hindi, from becoming an instrument of subjugation.

On 12 September 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India gathered to debate what would be one of the most crucial decisions they would take, the resolution on the national language of free India. On one side were those who wanted the soonest possible end to the use of English and the soonest possible conversion of Hindi into the official working language of the country, on the principle that Hindi was understood by 140 million out of the 330 million who populated India in the forties. The other side saw in this the end of coexistence. Many members were to warn the Constituent Assembly that if Hindi became the language of economic or cultural domination, the country would break. The moderates wanted the continuation of English as the official language until an acceptable version of Hindi could be evolved. The Congress Party had committed itself to Hindi twenty-five years before, when the Congress Working Committee had agreed on Hindi as the national language of free India (it was a one-vote majority, incidentally), but the scheme was to allow two concurrent scripts for Hindi, both Devanagari and Urdu. But that was 1924. India had not been divided; the Congress claimed to represent both Hindus and Muslims, and had to satisfy the sentiments of both in its resolutions.

Mahatma Gandhi, however, had always pleaded for the acceptance of a merged Hindi–Urdu tongue, Hindustani, as the national language, rather than a Sanskritized Hindi with its overtones of communal fervour. The language he envisaged would be an open one, absorbing words and influences from Urdu and other Indian languages to make it a symbol and definition of an Indian culture rather than the preserve of Banaras (now Varanasi). But by 1949 Urdu had become the national language of Pakistan. In the backlash of the terrible partition riots, the Indian Muslim’s voice was muted; Only a Jawaharlal Nehru could stress the need to maintain a relationship between Hindi and its ‘sister Urdu’. Other ideas had been thrown up, too:for instance, the use of the Roman script instead of the Devanagari script for Hindi. (This is not as difficult as it might seem; Hindi journalists using the English telex communication system regularly send their stories in the Roman script.)

However, there was broad consensus that if there had to be a national language, it could only be Hindi. There was also strong argument over how to go about it. The dangers of a mistake in the language policy could be traumatic; everyone realized that. The President of the Constituent Assembly, Dr Rajendra Prasad, warned before allowing the debate to open: ‘If it does not meet with the approval of any considerable section of the people in the country, whether in the North or the South, the implementation of the Constitution would become a most difficult problem. The question of language is to be carried out by the country as a whole. Let us not forget [that] there is no other item in the whole Constitution of the country which may be required to be implemented from day to day, from hour to hour, almost from minute to minute in actual practice.’

Jawaharlal Nehru was equally specific: ‘We are on the threshold of a linguistic revolution in India and we have to be careful that we give it the right direction, the right shape, the right mould, lest it go wrongly and betray us in the wrong direction.’ He reminded the Assembly of Gandhi’s views when he said that Hindi should be ‘inclusive’ and, second, that it ‘should not be forced down on anyone’. Some idea of how passionate reactions’ could get was available in the august Assembly itself. Sardar Hukum Singh, from East Punjab, a prominent Sikh leader, had originally supported the idea of Hindi as the national language in the Devanagari script. During the three-day debate he shifted his position. Speaking on the last day, he said: ‘I have now changed my mind. The enthusiastic supporters of Hindi have alienated my sympathy and now I agree with Mr Anthony [Frank Anthony, the Anglo-Indian leader who was pleading for the retention of English in many spheres], I am one of those who have withdrawn their support from Hindi in the Devanagari script simply because of the fanaticism and intolerance of those who support it.’

THE MAN WHO CHANGED THE MAP OF INDIA

While the Tamils were the principal inhabitants of the Madras Presidency, they were not the only ones. Spread across eleven of the districts of the British-created Presidency were the Telugus, the people of Andhra (the rest of the Telugu population and its land were ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad). They had raised the demand for a division of the Madras Presidency and the creation of their own state. There was nothing new in this. In both its 1916 and 1920 sessions the Congress Party had accepted the principle of linguistic states after independence. But in the aftermath of partition, Nehru’s commitment to linguistic states began wavering, as did Home Minister Patel’s. Responding to a discussion on the subject in the Constituent Assembly on November 1947, Nehru said coolly, ‘First things come first, and the first thing is the security and stability of India.’ Rather than implement the Congress promise, the government appointed the Dar Commission to re-examine the concept of linguistic states.
...
The British had divided the country ‘by the military, political or administrative exigencies or conveniences of the moment’ (Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms, 1918). ... In 1947, India inherited 565 kingdoms of varying sizes and importance, constituting more than two-fifths of the subcontinent. Of these, 215 small princely states, with a total population of a little more than 19 millions, were married to the existing provinces; 61 states, with 7 million people, were given to the central administration; and 275 states, with 3 5 millions, were converted into the provinces of Rajasthan, Madhya Bharat, Travancore–Cochin, Saurashtra, and the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). The three major kingdoms, Hyderabad, Mysore, and Jammu and Kashmir were left as they were. The determined Sardar Patel made his last great contribution to his country by effecting this integration, but this was not quite what the people wanted. They wanted to live within the boundaries of their languages and cultures, not by the needs of administration.

At 6.30 a.m. on the morning of 12 March 1931, Mahatma Gandhi, his walking-stick keeping the pace, set off on a march that would take him to Dandi, 241 miles away at the edge of the Indian Ocean, where in the dawn of 6 April the Mahatma would scoop a handful of salt and once again launch a national upsurge that would electrify the world. One of the seventy-nine disciples who accompanied Mahatma Gandhi all the way on the Salt March was Potti Sriramalu. The Mahatma himself often praised this disciple for his total dedication and commitment. On 20 October 1952, this Gandhian decided to do to the Indians what his master had done to the British – test the strength of a mighty government against one man’s faith. He began a fast which, he said, would end either in his death or in the creation of a separate Andhra state. Prime Minister Nehru, who had perhaps forgotten in the worry of governing his free India what a Gandhian could do, issued a few appeals to Sriramalu to end his fast, then ignored him. At 8.40 p.m. on 15 December 1952, Potti Sriramalu, lying on a bed at the house of Bulusu Sambamurthy in the Mylapore area of Madras, lost consciousness. By 11.20 that night, on the fifty-eighth day of his indefinite fast, Potti Sriramalu had died of hunger.

Jawaharlal Nehru was busy building his new India in the House of the People all that day. He had presented the preamble to his first Five-Year Plan to Parliament. It was a great day, he said, for the nation; the Plan was the first attempt to create ‘national awareness of the unity of the country’, and he spoke of this as the first step in the march towards a ‘classless society’. The emotions of unity were going to be tested severely on a different plane the next day.

As the news of Sriramalu’s death spread, a roar rose in all eleven Telugu districts of the Madras Presidency; spontaneous demonstrations broke out. In Vijayawada, the mob took over the railway station for five hours. (Not wanting to put too holy a face on their anger, the crowd used the trains at their temporary command to carry home the goods they were looting.) Violence was widespread and the police had to open fire. Newspapers estimated the damage at more than Rs 20 million (and those were days when the rupee had far more value). Within twenty-four hours Nehru’s carefully orchestrated concept of a strong Centre and four administrative zones had collapsed. On 18 December, the Indian Cabinet decided that the state of Andhra Pradesh would be formed. The other states, up till the formation of Punjab in 1966, followed in logical sequence to that decision. A three member States Reorganization Commission, headed by Saiyid Fazl Ali, with H.N. Hunzru and K.M. Panikkar, was set up on 29 December 1953. After studying 2,000 ‘well-considered memoranda’, travelling 38,000 miles and visiting 104 places, and interviewing over 9,000 persons, it presented, on 30 September 1955, the basis of the linguistic division of India.

This committee would recommend 14 states, 9 union territories and this will go further divisions and mergers in future.

when I read about Sriramalu in the History lessons as a kid, I wondered one (MK Gandhi) fasts to death for unity and another (Sriramalu) for division. I wondered what makes "border"?. These are the types of questions that can't be asked at that age without facing raised eye brows. But all those little doubts fell into the bucket of questions "If my parents are not that educated, Where does thoughts comes from?". Though the Soul and reincarnation concepts are common staple of Hindu religion, it never occured to me that Soul and thoughts can be related at that age. There is famous quote that stuck in the head from History lessons "Nation doesn't mean Land, It's people" { means what they want} attributed to grand old man of Congress called BG Tilak. This is the origin of linguisitc reorganization of nation.

Irony of the situation is Telugu people(even to this day) are one of the least anti-Hindu people when compared with Tamil's who are fiercely anti-Hindi and Bengali's that compete with Tamils in this area. Those who wants more on this here here.

That's is how India redrawn based on ' determined Individuals' Whether it is MK Gandhi (exposing and forcing British to leave and leading the entire nation), Sardar Patel( convincing majority of 565 princely states to join India) and Nehru (Who gave the much needed stability and direction for decades). In this Modi era, there has been repeated accusations that Nehru-Gandhi dynasty didn't do any thing or not done enough the potential. It only has partial truth in it.

But there are bigger problems at that time, Tamilians wants their own nation, though politically they are weak.

Demand for Separate Tamil Nation:

This is nothing to do with Srilankan Tamil problem of 1980-2010, but common factor is their independent linguistic affinity. Though I lived in a state next to it, I didn't even know the history of Tamil Nadu or the origins of their Anti-Hindi temperament until I read this book. The following is specific to this state.

THE RISE OF THE JAILBIRD

All that the Bengalis of Pakistan wanted was respect and equality. Instead they got a country{1971}. What the Tamils of the South India state of Madras wanted was a country; they were content to settle for respect and democracy. The comparison best illustrates the unifying quality of a democracy against the destructive capacity of a dictatorship. India’s Tamil problem was, in fact, much more serious than Pakistan’s Bengali dilemma. To begin with, it was perfectly legal in India to advocate secession. Till 1963 the Indian Constitution granted any political party the right to preach separation. Related to this situation were the demands of regionalism and language. Hindi, being the tongue of the largest segment of the country, was made the national language in the Constitution, but there was no way that the southern states or Bengal would accept its unbridled use. Language has always been an explosive issue anywhere in the world, for good reason, and India, too, often tumbled dangerously over this problem. There are nearly 900 identified dialects in India; Kashmiri, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Assamese and Urdu each claim enough adherents to populate a larger than average European country; Hindi could claim a continent by itself.
...
E.V.Ramaswamy Naicker (or ‘EVR’ as he is known) began traditionally enough, joining the Congress Party and by virtue of his social status soon becoming one of the general secretaries of the Madras Congress. He was still in the Congress when Dr C. Nadesan Mudaliar began, in 1914, the Dravida Association. Its aim was to help the development of the Dravidian peoples of South India (as opposed to the Aryans in the North). The special enemy of this movement was the Brahmin caste, a small minority dominating the South thanks to the oppressive caste system. For instance, till the twenties no untouchable could walk on the streets in the kingdom of Travancore, much less raise his or her eyes in front of a person of a higher caste. The Dravida Association evolved into the South Indian Liberal Federation, which started a daily called Justice. The paper gave its name to a political party called the Justice Party. In the mean while, EVR was fighting a parallel war to free the Congress from the hold of the Brahmins. This brought him into inevitable conflict with the doyen of the Brahmins, the Congress stalwart, C.Rajagopalachari; eventually EVR joined the Justice Party.

EVR was ferocious in his opposition to the iniquitous caste system. His philosophy was simple and practical. He likened a religion which allowed caste to malaria, and used to say that his search was not for the medicine but for the mosquitoes who spread the disease. The caste system was based on the Purana which, said its devotees, had been uttered by the gods, so he became an atheist. The Brahmins were the agents of those gods, so he would war with them. Till the day he died at the age of ninety-four, EVR was unrelenting both in his atheism and in his war against Brahmins.
...
In 1935 EVR started the aptly named Self-Respect Movement: there is till this day a Periyar Self-Respect Propaganda Institution at 50 Sampath Road in Madras which publishes EVR’s work. Sample: ‘The Aryans who came to India to eke out their existence concocted absurd stories in keeping with their barbarian status… The blabberings of the intoxicated Brahmins in those old days are still faithfully observed in this modern world as the religious rituals, morals, stories, festivals, fasts, vows and beliefs.’ For EVR, the Hinduism of caste and Brahmins was a result of the northern Aryan colonization of the country – the same Aryans who had driven the Dravida communities away from
the Gangetic plains by conquest and subjugation, and then maintained their power by religious and cultural domination. Inherent in his doctrine was the separation of the Aryan North and the Dravidian South; and the destruction of the southern Brahmins was necessary because they were the true agents of the Aryan North. The reason for the powerful sentiment against Hindi in the state is because the language is seen as only the latest instrument of the northern Aryan imperialism against which EVR warned his fellow men.

However, in the crucial elections of 1937 the Congress, led by a Brahmin, C. Rajagopalachari, smashed the Justice Party,... winning every seat but one. The Congress had ably exploited the one serious contradiction in the Justice Party: its leadership was dominated by the landlord. Against this, the Congress identified itself as Gandhi’s party of the peasantry. The untouchables, of course, did not have a vote then. The Congress formed a government and C.

Rajagopalachari became the Prime Minister (as the regional designation was then known) of Madras province. But no sooner had he assumed power than he did something which resurrected EVR, who had in the wake of the defeat been named chief of the Justice Party. Rajagopalachari, in pursuance of the national Congress policy, made Hindi compulsory in the schools. It was a weapon made for EVR: once again a Brahmin was becoming a ‘tool’ of North Indian imperialism, ‘destroying’ the Tamil language and culture.

EVR launched an anti-Hindi agitation; this was to flower into the movement which would, by 1967, bring his successors to power in Madras. The Congress government sent EVR to prison (and deliberately put him in one of the hottest places in the region, Bellary). For two years EVR was behind bars; in fifteen years he went to jail twenty-three times and got the nickname ‘jailbird’. But during those two years in Bellary, the anti-Hindi movement caught the imagination of the people. Since he could not be physically present, EVR’s picture or statue would be placed on the dais at public meetings. After he was released, EVR was formally honoured by his party with the title of ‘Periyar’, or the man of genius, at the Madras conference of 28–30 December 1938. Such was his popularity that the Congress now tried to buy him over. In 1939, his old foe Rajagopalachari offered EVR a place in his government.

Periyar refused. He had other plans. He could see the shifts taking place in the Muslim League. And he began to argue that if the North Indian Muslim could not live with the North Indian Hindu, when the two had so much in common (origins, language, food), how could the Dravida, and in particular the Tamil, be expected to coexist with the North? Their language, script, food, features – everything was different. EVR now articulated his cry for ‘Dravida Nadu’, a Dravida nation. In its fuller concept, it would be a separate federation of the four southern lingual blocks – the Malayalis, the Kannadigas, the Telugus and the Tamils. But even if this was not possible, there was no question but that there should be a separate Tamil country, ‘Tamil Nadu’. (The name is today a reality, but the area remains within the Indian Union, of course.)

At this point, EVR doesn't have support of the people, but that is the types of seeds that will grow by 1967 that brings them to the power. Though the party split to become bitter rivalries , fierce anti-brahmin sentiments persists today in this state.

In 1944, the man who had already risen to become EVR’s deputy, a brilliant orator called C.N. Annadurai, moved at the Salem conference the resolution changing the name of the Justice Party to Dravida Kazhagam (DK) and asked all the party’s leaders to relinquish the titles that the British had given them. However, the DK did not feel confident enough to contest the 1946 elections leaving the field free for the Congress. An added problem had arisen. Annadurai had begun chafing at the eccentricities of the Periyar, and his view was shared by the bulk of the party, which went with him in the split of 17 September 1949.

I will conclude in the next post.

 

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I will conclude in the next post.

The Lost WAR (with China) that United the Nation

The Roll-call of Honour
...
In 1952, the old man {EVR} announced that he would publicly burn the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, which told of the war between Rama and Ravana, and had the pleasure of receiving hundreds of telegrams from outraged Brahmins pleading with him not to desecrate their holy book. In 1958, he organized a programme to burn the Indian Constitution to symbolize the Tamil demand for secession. But while the old man concentrated on the newspaper headlines, his followers in the DMK were hard at work.
{DMK wasn't ready for 51-52 elections. The party won 15 seats in the State Legislature in 1957 and the secessionist Annadurai became a member of the legislative system. By 59 DMK won Madras Corporation, and got its first elected official, the Mayor. Annadurai duly became a Member of {Indian} Parliament. In the 1962 elections, it continued its improvement, winning 50 of the 173 seats in the State Legislature}

1962 was to be a crucial year in the history of the country.

In April 1962, when Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai rose to speak for the first time in the Rajya Sabha { the upper house of Indian parliament in Delhi}, on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, he brought all his oratorical skills to plead for his Dravida Nadu. He asked the members to ‘bestow deep and sympathetic thought’ on his people’s need to be separate from ‘northern imperialism’. ‘I am pleading for separation of Dravida Nadu not because of any antagonism, but because, if it is separated, it will become a small nation, compact, homogeneous and united… Then we can make economic regeneration more effective and social regeneration more fruitful.’ His other target, of course, was Hindi.

In June 1962, the tone was similar during the debate on the Finance Minister’s speech (the best of Annadurai’s speeches in the Rajya Sabha have been collected in Anna Speaks, edited by S.Ramachandran, Orient Longman, 1975): ‘I must say categorically that neither cannons nor contempt is going to deter me from the mission to which I am wedded. About that there can be no compromise.’ But by October that year, something radical had happened: Chinese cannon had opened up in the north, and the Indian mind, so far completely involved with peace and the ‘bhai-bhai’ slogan, suddenly had to tackle not only the war with China but also the humiliation of defeat. Brigadier J. Dalvi, who commanded a brigade and ended up as a prisoner of the Chinese for seven months, describes the war thus in his famous book, Himalayan Blunder (Orient Paperbacks): The Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 was restricted to a small fraction of the opposing armies: was fought in a small, remote corner of the border and lasted a mere month – with only ten actual days of fighting – and yet it is a fact that it did initiate profound changes in our international standing, domestic politics and economic progress.’

The war deeply affected the Indian psyche. It was as if suddenly the adolescence was over and the country had to mature through a most painful crisis. The protective figure of Nehru collapsed. There was pain felt at this, but in that pain was also the recognition that the time of holding on to anyone’s hand was over. A shattered Nehru aged quickly and in twenty months he was dead. In those ten days when it seemed as if the Chinese would march across the Himalayas or seep through into Assam, capturing Gauhati, there was the realization that freedom and nationhood could not be taken as casually as the country had tended to do. That hour of defeat became the country’s most regenerative; one emotion swept the nation as nothing before had done. There were many fortunate outcomes of that humiliating defeat in 1962 – for Instance, if the country had not been shocked into remedial action, the Indian army would not have been able to meet the Pakistani challenge in 1965 and Kashmir would have been lost, leading in turn to a downspin of despair. But one of the most unexpected benefits was the surge of patriotism and the collapse of secessionist feeling.

Annadurai first read the news of the Chinese invasion in a jail in Vellore; he was serving yet another minor spell of political imprisonment. Madras, or the future Tamil Nadu, was at the other end of India from where the war was taking place; in fact, the North which they hated was under attack, the South being completely unaffected. But the first thing that Annadurai did on being released on 2 October was to place a ‘moratorium on all DMK activities, agitational or otherwise, and direct its entire energy and place its entire apparatus at the disposal of the Government of India to thwart the ambitions of the aggressor’. As Annadurai told Parliament; ‘I enter the name of the DMK in the rollcall of honour that is being now formulated for the safety, for the dignity and future of this country, this nation.’ As the editor of Annadurai’s speeches, S. Ramachandran, says in his introduction to Anna Speaks: ‘In a sense, 1962 was also the finest hour for India, because the misfortune brought the Indian people together, made them forget their differences and take a united stand against the aggressor.’ In September 1965, Annadurai confirmed in an interview with the Illustrated Weekly of India (26 September issue) that ‘we have since withdrawn the demand for Dravida Nadu. We first realized its dangerous potentialities at the time of the Chinese aggression.’ The government of India did not sit on the opportunity. In 1963, with support from all sides of the House, it excised the clause in the Constitution of India which had been an obvious loophole. Law Minister A.K. Sen tabled the 16th Amendment Bill, 1963, to change Article 19 of the Constitution to make any secessionist party ineligible to contest the elections. ... Soon the DMK formally gave up its call for secession, and began preparations to become instead the ruling party of its state. This was the key. The very fact that it was able to rule in Madras made the DMK call for secession largely redundant. But there was one more major battle left for the DMK to fight before the party and the movement were integrated fully into India.

Delhi did tried to impose Hindi one way or other next years, fearful of 'Hindi Imperialism' Tamilians will take to streets with self-immolations, suicides swith slogans 'sacrificing for Tamil', ‘Long Live Tamil'. Bengalis will join with their slogans ‘We’ll speak no Hindi, read no Hindi and hear no Hindi music.’ (Of the three, the last was probably the most difficult sacrifice since popular Hindi film music is a rage all over the country.).

What were the demands? The Tamils did not want Hindi to be abolished as the national language; they knew this was impossible. What they wanted was to give legal shape to what became termed the ‘Nehru assurance’ – that Hindi would not be imposed on those who did not want it. It was Nehru’s vision which was again coming to the rescue of this country. The philosophy of the ‘Nehru assurance’ can be best summed up by a quotation from his speech to the Constituent Assembly on 13 September 1949: ‘We must have our own language. But English in India… Are we to make a democratic or authoritarian approach? I venture to put these questions to the enthusiasts of Hindi because in some of the speeches I have listened to here and elsewhere, there has been very much the tone of authoritarianism. That is not only a fundamentally incorrect approach but also it is a dangerous approach. If you consider the question from wisdom, it is not helpful to the development of Hindi if you force down any language upon a people or a group who resist that. Certainly in the democratic context of India it is an impossibility. Therefore you will have to win the goodwill of those groups of Indians whose mother-tongue is not Hindi. You will have to win the goodwill of those who speak a variation of Hindi called Hindustani, or Urdu. If you do something which will appear to others as an authoritarian approach it will fail.’

All this made Annadurai and his ideology legendary for Tamilians. His party did split later. Competing split parties( AIADMK and DMK) of had been ruling this state for since then ( 50+ years). Only thing national parties can do is create partnership with them according to their convenience which tend to change from time to time. Ex: BJP was DMk's ally in 2014 elections and now they are ally DMK's competitor AIADMK. Tamils and Bengali has so much strong linguistic and cultural identity with their states that any body will be careful in touching their sensibilities.

Harrison { AP jouranlist who covered South Asia in 50's and later wrote a book called "The Most Dangerous Decades"} had seen the India of the early fifties, and he wrote his book in the second half of the decade. He had witnessed the passions generated by Potti Sriramalu’s sacrifice, the still unresolved secessionist demand of E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, the doubt and cynicism of the Bengali, and the new doubt in the Kashmiri commitment. He had heard Nehru himself warn over and over again that linguistic states might open the ‘Pandora’s box’ that would fragment the land. (Nehru had accused the British, who lived by ‘divide and rule’, of wanting to ‘fragment and leave’.) Harrison had seen Jinnah’s successful bluff give rise to hope in a hundred breasts. Many were convinced that they too could become prime ministers and governor-generals in their own backyards. When he was writing his book. Maharashtra and Gujarat were still part of the merged Bombay State; it would require another spell of public violence to achieve their separation by 1960. And Harrison had seen the inability of the Congress government to give the one minority in the country with a geographical base, the Sikhs, a state for themselves, for fear that they might use that to declare their own Sikhistan.

Most of states had similar struggles but very reduced scale in violence and visibility.

Kashmir’s Sheikh Abdullah, the man who had kept his Muslim followers away from theocratic Pakistan, was languishing in jail{1960}. Selig S. Harrison looked at this Indian potpourri and had a great deal to be despondent about in the late fifties. But one by one, these problems were almost imperceptibly solved – with time and democracy. The other Asian giant, China, shut off the world and began mixing totalitarianism with compassionate economics. India continued her experiment in full public view, leaving all her doors open for anyone to come and examine her warts, even if the visitor wanted to concentrate on the warts to such an extent that he didn’t notice the face at all.

‘India’s struggle for national survival is a struggle against herself. As a civilization and as an integrated cultural whole, India has shown a power of survival rivalled only by China. But multilingual India’s separate territories have failed as consistently as Europe’s to hold together as a political unity… India is a whole world placed at close quarters. Nowhere do so many linguistically differentiated peoples, all of them so self-aware, all numbered in millions and tens of millions, confront each other within a single national body politic. The prospect that “anarchy”, “fascism”, and “totalitarian small nationalities” will each torture this body politic, at one time or another in the decades ahead, is a measure not of some endemic Indian incapacity but of the challenge built into Indian nationalism,’ wrote Selig Harrison in 1960. And this was not the most pessimistic part of his conclusions.

But multilingual India’s separate territories have failed to disintegrate, a quarter of a century after 1960. Anarchy is a word that has been sometimes used to describe Indian politics, but no one now uses it to define the polity. And the flirtation with Fascism did not come from Mr Harrison’s dreaded Communists, but from a democrat who chose wisely to return to democracy and did so very successfully: Mrs Indira Gandhi. Instead of the emergence of totalitarians in the nationalities of the South, the only unusual ripple India has had, after Mr Harrison’s time, is a couple of film stars who transcended the dividing line between two kinds of drama{movies and politics}, to become elected chief ministers of their states.

2 films stars he is mentioning are M.G. Ramachandran in Tamil nadu who split from DMK to create AIADMK and N.T Rama Rao that created party called "Telugu Desam" in Andhra Pradesh ( "Desam" means "Nation", though he never asked for separate nation) in early 80's. He started with a popular slogan "Self Respect for Andra people" and win massive majority and very good intentions. Soon back stabbed, out of power came back to power within a month with massive street shows. But soon, he marries a woman, that lead to family coups. The winner of coup, his son-in-law is the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

you will see lot of movie actors in Indian politics with one major difference. South Indian politicians who comes into politics comes with a with their fan base that becomes party cadre, while the north indian movie actors are only comes into politics to just attract their crowds that won't become party cadre.

The only real danger that India still faces comes from the same theocratic interests which created Pakistan in 1947; the other dangers have been or are being resolved. In the 1940s the Muslim priests played the divisive game, with help from many quarters, since they knew that their future was bleak in a democratic and secular society. In the 1980s the Sikh priesthood has intensified a similar battle. The Muslim mullah succeeded partly because the secular politician did not know how to confront him; the Sikh sant is hoping for the pattern to repeat itself. All the priest hopes for is a temporary anger to sway his community; this anger can be used to destroy unity and transfer yet another region into theocracy’s hands. For the politician on the other side, the challenge is extraordinary: the balance has to be found between serving a minority’s economic needs and its emotional and religious fears, and maintaining the democratic environment where the majority may, in fact, resent any particular attention being paid to the minority.

In 1980's goon turned Self declared savior called Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale will demand for Separate state called "Khalistan" from Indian state of Punjab while killing indiscriminately any body opposed( Sikhs or Hindus or Muslims) while hiding in their mecca Golden temple in Amritsar where police or military was allowed in . He was killed in a military operation while damaging the Sikh's revered Golden Temple thus alienating Sikhs. This lead to killing of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh body guards, that lead to the violence against sikhs ( estimated 2000 killed ) in Delhi and adjoining areas. Even to this days, well off Punjabi expatriates in US and Canadan sikhs with close connections with their Sikh politicians dream of 'Khalistan', though Sikhs of Punjab forgotten about it in a decade. That is the reason why Modi snubbed Canadian PM Justin Trudeau during 2018 visit.

There are some areas in Indian North East would see similar issues which are more or less forgotten or under control.

I will close the review of this book here.

 

[angelburst29]

About 500 masked men carrying guns and machetes attacked Indian election officials in a remote northeastern state and made off with computerized voting machines, officials said on Wednesday.

May 22, 2019 - Masked attackers snatch voting machines in northeast India
India’s mammoth election staggered over nearly six weeks ended on Sunday and were largely peaceful.

But political parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance have alleged tampering of voting machines and intimidation of election officials in isolated areas.

On Sunday, a team of officials was traveling through dense jungle to a polling station in Arunachal Pradesh when it was ambushed, District Magistrate Rido Tarek said. Some of the attackers opened fire but there were no casualties, police said.

The team was on its way to Koloriang constituency for a repoll set for Tuesday following allegations of malpractices during the voting in April.


NDA promises to boost India's economy; Congress calls exit polls fake

The National Democratic Alliance has promised to rev up growth, double farmers' income and boost infrastructure spending in the next five years, after exit polls showed it would retain power when general election votes are counted on Thursday.


India's Modi shows confidence as opposition dismisses ominous exit polls

Political allies swathed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a victory garland on Tuesday, seeking to project confidence he would win a second straight term in a general election, but the opposition Congress party dismissed predictions it would lose.

 

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According to exit polls after the last phase today, BJP is expected to win huge. India Today Exit Polls are based on 800,000 views. This is the first time, they did it on every parliament seat to come to this conclusion. It is mainly driven by retaining the most of the seats from state of Uttar pradesh (which has maximum 80 seats ), and making big wins central eastern states ( West Bengal and Odissa) where there was no big presence. Modi was very popular among the young voters.

Elections 2024, Lok Sabha, Assembly Election News Headlines, Election Updates - India Today

Elections 2024: Read latest Lok Sabha and Assembly Election News headlines and updates, find election 2024 photos and videos. Stay connected with India Today for Lok Sabha, Assembly Election Live Coverage and breaking general election related news.

www.indiatoday.in

We have to see whether these exit polls will come out to be true or not on May 23rd.

Now the results are coming out. It is clear that Modi is back with much bigger majority. Even Congress President Rahul Gandhi lost his seat in Family stronghold( for 5 decades) Amethi, UP, though he won another seat in South. Rahul Gandhi offered to resign as the president of the Party. We have to see whether his resignation is accepted or not, given as it is family dynastic party.

 

[angelburst29]

Now the results are coming out. It is clear that Modi is back with much bigger majority. Even Congress President Rahul Gandhi lost his seat in Family stronghold( for 5 decades) Amethi, UP, though he won another seat in South. Rahul Gandhi offered to resign as the president of the Party. We have to see whether his resignation is accepted or not, given as it is family dynastic party.

India's Modi stuns opposition with huge election win

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored a dramatic election victory on Thursday, putting his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its majority on a mandate of business-friendly policies and a tough stand on national security.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi faces backlash over election drubbing

Rahul Gandhi is set to face a backlash from within the main Indian opposition Congress party after it suffered a mauling for a second general election in a row from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party.

India's Rahul Gandhi loses parliamentary seat in family bastion

Rahul Gandhi, the president of India's opposition Congress party, said he had lost his own parliament seat in a family borough in a northern state in the biggest upset of the election on Thursday.

Indian PM's close ally, Amit Shah, helped craft winning election strategy

With India's ruling Hindu nationalists headed for a stunning election victory on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's powerful right hand man, Amit Shah, could reap his reward as a potential home minister, an analyst and a party official said.

Instant View: India PM Modi's party storms to thumping majority in election

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday swept to a huge election victory, giving his party a mandate to pursue policies that put Hindus first, are mainly business-friendly and take a hard line on national security.

India's foreign minister congratulates Modi on election victory

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has won the general election, a senior party leader said on Thursday.

Pakistan PM Khan congratulates India's Modi on election victory, calls for peace

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated India's Narendra Modi on the runaway election victory of his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Roads, boats and elephants: How India mobilized a million polling stations

India's seven-phase general election, the world's largest democratic exercise, has come to an end after 39 days.


Trump hails India's Modi for election win

U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a big election victory that put his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its parliamentary majority.


Putin congratulates Indian PM on his party’s election win in telephone call
According to preliminary results, the National Democratic Alliance led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has won the vote

MOSCOW, May 23, 2019 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a telephone call to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to congratulate him on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election win, the Kremlin press service said, adding that Putin had earlier sent a congratulatory message to Modi.

According to the press service, the parties "confirmed their readiness to fully contribute to the strengthening of friendship between the people of Russia and the people of India and the development of privileged strategic partnership, as well as to continue closely coordinating their activities on the international stage." The two leaders also agreed "to maintain personal contacts."

 

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India's Modi stuns opposition with huge election win

'Stuns' is a understatement. 5/22 night(EST) , I logged to 'India To day' website at 10 PM (next day Morning in India) to just catch a glimpse of what is happening before I sleep again. I thought things will be clearer in next 10 hours, so I was not planning for sit down. IndiaToDay has a Live election coverage with very nice real time dashboards with real time data fed from the election commission and other sources and their panel of pundits analyzing the 5'W's( Why, what, when etc.) and 'H' region/state/parliamentary seat wise with the knowledge of Identity( castes,economic conditions,castes,religions) configurations and historical voting patterns. Thinking I will watch for just another 30 min, I ended up watching another 6 hrs until 4AM.

This is not just extra 20 seats moment over 2014 Modi Wave tally. It looks to many that this election makes Modi a Legend in Indian political history. Last time, an incumbent government came back with majority is 1971 when Indira Gandhi came up with a promise 'Garibi Hatao' (Remove Poverty). There is another occasion Congress came back to power in 1984 with clear majority, but it is a sympathy wave after assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh body guards.

Weeks before election counting day, Times magazine put Modi's photo on cover with a title 'India's Divider In Chief'. But these results would show it's the opposite. I watched non-Indian websites like CNN,ABC and others when the exit polls was announced. Coverage was minimal or Silent when compared with how it was covered in 2014. Only coverage was in little bit here and there in financial news.

​

After IndiaToday exit polls predicting massive landslide victory for Modi came (3 days before), no body was ready to believe it. Probably even many BJP folks thought it is too much. But the signs were there from the individual journalists who were touring many regions. After exit polls, one journalist commented, this poll patterns shows as if it is like 4 different countries. The skepticism is, there are occasions opinion, exit polls failed to materialize (Ex. Trump, Brexit, last week Australian elections etc.).

We need to remember just 5 months back, BJP has some defeats in 4 state elections in (some in hindi heartland states and one in south)and narrow victory in Modi's home state of Gujarat 1.5 years back. When the election results starts flowing, it was clear that Modi was not losing much, opposition is not gaining much either. Here is the summary of geographical distribution. numbers in bracket are number of seats.

By Geography:

• Kerala(20): Malayalam speaking south Indian state went to Congress with Rahul Gandhi winning his 2nd seat. BJP doesn't have much presence here, but hoping to make a presence. But, BJP strategy of supporting the traditional view of Woman not entering the 'Sabarimala' temple simply back fired. Congress lead group swept the state.
• In Tamil speaking Tamilnadu state(38): BJP and its ally ruling AIADM took a beating. This is Anti-incumbancy wave for the ruling AIADMK party mainly due to serious rifts in the partyand death of their iconic leader Jaya lalitha .
• In Telugu speaking south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh(25) and Telangana, it is split result.
  • In AP(25), it is anti-incumbancy wave( Where BJP is a minor party hoped to make some presence on its own, but completly failedin the wave),
  • Telangana(17): , it is split verdict though ruling regional party TRS whichhad a landslide victory 5 months back. BJP made a wave by beating the sister of CM. Next time, one can expect BJp presence.
• Kannada speaking state of Karnataka(28): It is sweep for BJP. 5 months back, BJP has a narrow defeat with maximum number of seats. but 'Anti-Modi' alliance formed govt. there.
• Marathi speaking Maharashtra(48): This has 2nd largest seats( 48). BJP and extreme right wing regional party Seva Sena along with Congress are big parties. BJP and Siva Sena are both affiliated to RSS(Hindu promoting group). They fought together in 2014 swept to power. but After 2014 election,Siva Sena was moving away from BJP accusing it for not building Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. But they were able create alliance again. Result is they swept the state despite severe drought and farmer distress. It's the confidence in Modi.
• Hindi Belt States and Modi's home state of Gujarati speaking Gujarat: This is BJP's strong hold and sends around 50% of seats for the parliament, but has seen defeats in Assembly elections 5 months back. It was a clean sweep for BJP. Many Big congress candidates lost.
  • Foul mouthed 'Sadhvi pragya' who created controversy just before elections saying 'Gandhi's killer is patriot' (and apoligized)won on BJP ticket. She won the seat of Bhopal, which is the capital of Madhya Pradesh state. This is where 1987 Bhopal gas leak happened when congress govt. was in power. She is walking talking time bomb and it is possible that she may soon be kicked out.
  • Bihar: Mineral rich, but poor land mass with serious caste related division. Here BJP is a ruling party with alliance smaller party. CM Nitish Kumar is from that smaller party and popular among people for his 'Development'. Modi gave lot more than he deserved to maintains the alliance contest for him to maintain a alliance. This is sweep for this BJP alliance.
  • State of Uttar Pradesh(80 largest of all):
    • Rahul Gandhi's first seat is Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. This seat is Family bastion for Nehru-Gandhi family for many decades. They can only blame themselves, as they never developed this rural area with roads and other basic necessities, while the BJP candidate (smriti Irani, a minister in Modi's government) developed those basic needs during last 5 years. This is a show-case seat for BJP. But, this 'development' strategy worked well for BJP very well all over place.
    • Last time BJP won 71 seats. They know they can't win that much again. There are caste vote bank based local big parties SP, BSP, congress and BJP. SP and BSP created alliance to take on Modi. Despite touting common 'Anti-Modi' ideology, they couldn't form the alliance and gave 63 seats to Modi instead of expected 30.
• Punjabi speaking Punjab(17): Here Ruling Congress CM was popular, so BJP couldn't make much excepting winning some few states putting movie stars.
• Jammu and Kashmir(6): Muslim dominated 3 Kashmir valley went to Abdullah's party. Remaining 3 seats from Hindu and Buddhist dominated seats goes to BJP.
• North Eastern States(22): These are much neglected( for 70 years) 7 sister states in a remote areas. No body thought BJP would make headway there. But BJP has big victories there. His plan of 'Gujarat Delivery Model' ( sanitation, 24 hrs electricity, cooking stoves/cylinders, loasn for small business and housing directly without bribes etc) and HIRA (Highways, Inland Waterways, Railways and Airways ) has a strong influence there.

The real battle is in so-called eastern states of where BJP doesn't have much presence, wanted to make its presence there for 5 years.

• Bengali speaking West Bengal(42): Used to be Communists strong hold, but ruled by Congress split away party TMC was ruling it. Modi's Right hand man,Possible Modi successor, main architect of this general election, president of the party 'Amit Shah' visited this state 91 times in the last 5 years creating shivers in TMC that resulted in some more than usual violence. BJP claims it lost 80 of his workers. End result is they won 19, little less than they hoped. Their strategy 'This time half, next time full'.
• Odiya speaking Odissa(21): This is a Here local socialist CM was popular for 'Development' but BJP could get 6 seats, while ruling BJD could get 13.

Population wise:

Young generation(Indian Milleneals): 65% of India's population are under 35. This is a very large work force from 1.3 billion people. There is a word that is coined 'Modi Bhakt' since 2014. Some Journalists say many of the younger generation obsessed with Modi it is like 'Modi Bhakt Cult'. some say, For this generation, India started in 2014 before it is backward jungle. Though Rahul Gandhi(48) was younger than the Modi(68), Rahul's eliticist incoherent western style 'Love and Justice' is a non-starter or comedy. Modi's Muscular style of functioning, rags to riches( means power), clear communication, results shown, packaged and promoted on Whatsapp is very attractive. They don't care what their caste is or their past hierarchies and they would say it has nothing to do with them.

Upper Caste: Until now, there is no upper caste vote bank per se. Now some say, Modi has created Upper Caste vote bank for him. If one has financial freedom, they won't stick to one party. For now they are with Modi. He even given 10% reservation for economically backward upper caste.

Tribals: With his 'Delivary Model' Modi significant impact on Tribals (North of West Bengal, Assam) replacing Congress's traditional vote bank. Election results shows that.

Scheduled caste/Back ward castes: Modi himself OBC (Other Back ward caste), but people doesn't see him that way. Given RSS life long Pracharak, often people think he is of upper caste. With his Deliveray Model, they are with him.

Other religions: 50% of the constituencies where muslims are significant ( > 30 %) Modi's BJP won.

If you see the pattern, despite 'Anti-Modi' ideology, opposition doesn't have any strategy or proper alliances. Even where alliances exist, there is no coordination in the cadres. BJP claims 110 million BJP memberships.

Despite so diversity, This country had been like this leaving aside periods of ruling empire's decline, where things tends to disintegrate.

​

In the end

'HAR BAAR' means every time​

While the western media can say he is dividing the nation, but in fact, it is his 'development' agenda that gave the credibility option.

2 repeating mantra is, arguments we see in Western media is, Muslims are feeling insecure so the country is divided. Whenever he talks of strong words against Pakistan, there is a splash of nuclear war in Western media. During recent interview Modi said: 'For 40 years, when Pakistan raised Kashmir issue, Only country supported India is Russia. Now the only country supports Pakistan is China. We worked on building awareness of terrorism across globe during 5 years.'

I know it is confusing with all the languages and religious/caste based diversity. Generalizing with one argument or two can be deceptive. so I felt like going in detail.

I am sorry for the long post.

 

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For me, the Caste system has always been confusing, especially where Marriage is concerned. From what I understand, you have to marry within your Caste? I'm not sure, if it is meant to keep ethnic groups together, so they share the same traditions? Some Nationalities, like Greek or Italian (for example), at one time, would only marry within their own ethnic group. That was the case, for generations - in my own Family. Problem there, the families migrated to a different Country and some of the next generation - married out of their ethnic group and broke tradition.

During my growing years, they used to say India is 40 years behind the West. Now things are changing rather fast. Before British captured India, its GDP is 24% of the Global GDP, but by the time it left India's GDP is just 4% with 300 million people. Given the history, India never looked to the West until 90's. Industrialization can't happen without money. Without serious Industrialization, People survived with what they have and as groups which happens to be castes that comes with hierarchies.

Whether Industrialization helped the people or not is completely different story.

Getting back to India, for the research I have done on BRICS, it has it's benefits for improving relations with other Countries and working within a economic system in fair trade and goods. So, India is taking steps to improve it's economy and working on an International level.

I'm not sure how China's Silk Road might fit in but there is progress in that direction, also.

Unfortunately BRI is connected to Kashmir. Being part of BRI means giving away Kashmir at this point. No Indian political party can risk of giving away that part of kashmir unless there is creative solution. If some creative solution exist, Pakistani Deep state will be biggest loser in it because 2 generations of Pakistani public brain washed into it. so this issue is not that easy. I don't think this is related to relatively good relations with with US as the some pundits speculate.

Only India among six countries opposes BRI

Qingdao: India was the only country on Sunday in the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation grouping which opposed China's ambitious Belt and Road Initi

kashmirreader.com

In his address at the summit, Modi, in a clear reference to the BRI, said any mega connectivity project must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries and assured that India will support projects which ensure inclusivity.

“Connectivity with the neighbouring countries is India’s priority. We welcome the connectivity projects which are sustainable and efficient and which respect territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries,” he said.

India has been severely critical of the BRI, the pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is part of the BRI, passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

At the same time, India can't be part of Anti-China alliance which US is hoping for. India was part of old Silk Road and i don't think India has any competition with China in its power status. Post WW II geopolitics rooted in binaries like US vs USSR, communism vs capitalism etc. But Nehru went with his Non-Alignment movement. Given that Nehru-Gandhi dynasty ruled until 2014(Mostly On-, minor time off), the policy more or less same, even if India opened the market for the West in early 90's.

The fear factor is "Hook Operator" style of foreign policy US deep state employs to create Vassals. Will West hook India to its knees. If that happens, India will disintegrate given the diverse identities. That is why Modi who calls himself "Chowkidar" (Security Guard) with his popular slogan of "I never sell the country" fiercely independent. One can say this is in response to his background of "Chaiwala' ( small tea seller), but he proved to be lot more than tea seller as a kid.

With Modi is back, he will keep the path as multi-polar. Who knows things may change. At this point, ground political realities doesn't support giving away Kashmir.

 

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Is Indian billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi - related to - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

Indian billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi appeared in a London court on Thursday where he heard that no date could yet be set for a full hearing over his possible extradition to India.

Indian billionaire jeweler Modi appears in UK court

Modi, 48, whose diamonds have adorned Hollywood stars such as Kate Winslet and Dakota Johnson, was arrested in Britain in March
over allegations of his involvement in a $2 billion fraud at India's state-run Punjab National Bank.

At a short hearing at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court, his lawyer Clare Montgomery said the Indian authorities had not yet produced full details of the evidence against him.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot agreed that no date for the full extradition hearing could be set and Modi was remanded in custody until June 27. Arbuthnot had denied Modi bail at a previous hearing over fears he was a flight risk.

Indian finance minister Jaitley asks not to join new Modi government, citing health reasons

Arun Jaitley, India's Finance Minister, has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to give him a ministerial position in the new government, citing health issues.

India's Modi to name ruling party chief Shah as finance minister: media

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to name Amit Shah, the chief of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the country's new Finance Minister after taking his oath of office for the second time on Thursday, according to several Indian media reports.

India PM to host China's Xi for informal summit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Chinese President Xi Jinping this year for an informal summit, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, after meeting several times over the past year to try to defuse tension.

BJP consolidates big vote win in West Bengal with opposition defections

 

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BJP consolidates big vote win in West Bengal with opposition defections

Three opposition state assembly members and more than 50 municipal leaders from West Bengal joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party on Tuesday, days after he was re-elected with big gains in places like the populous eastern state.

Rights groups call for investigation of killing of Pakistani activists
Human rights groups have called on Pakistan to investigate the killing of three people by the military during a protest by ethnic minority Pashtun people against heavy-handed treatment by the security forces.

Pakistani MP surrenders after deadly clash between protesters and military

A Pakistani lawmaker who escaped a deadly clash between the military and activists over the weekend was arrested on Thursday after surrendering to authorities, according to an elder in his constituency that borders Afghanistan.

Pakistan army says lawmakers critical of military involved in attack on checkpoint
Pakistan's Army on Sunday accused two lawmakers critical of the military of playing a key role in a clash with troops at a security checkpost in which three people were killed, setting up a potential confrontation with a vast rights movement the two lawmakers helped to found.

Two Indian fire officials suspended after coaching center blaze kills 22

Indian authorities said on Sunday two fire department officials had been suspended over a fire at a coaching center that killed 21 students and one teacher in the western Gujarat state, renewing questions about building safety standards.

Indian police file case against three over coaching center fire, death toll rises to 20

Indian police said on Saturday they had filed a culpable homicide case against three people as the death toll from a building fire in India’s Gujarat state rose to 20, with students attending coaching classes accounting for all those killed.

Battered Congress party closes ranks after election setback

The head of India's main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, offered to quit on Saturday after a crushing election defeat but senior party officials rejected his offer and called instead for a major internal shake-up.

Aide to winning BJP candidate Smriti Irani shot dead
An aide to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Smriti Irani, who recently defeated Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi for a seat in parliament, was shot dead overnight, police said on Sunday.

Surendra Singh was an aide to Irani, a former television actress and dogged minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet.

In one of the biggest upsets of the election that handed the BJP a second term, Irani beat Gandhi in the Amethi constituency, which had been held by his family almost continuously for the last four decades, in Uttar Pradesh.

Singh worked closely with Irani and distributed sweets and paraded with celebrating supporters on Friday, a day after the election results, his relatives told Reuters partner ANI.

He had gone to sleep on the veranda outside his home when unidentified gunmen shot him, Amethi Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar told Reuters on Sunday. “Some unknown people have fired on him and he died due to firearm injury,” Kumar said.

Seven people have been arrested, Kumar said, adding it was too early to draw conclusions about a motive.

Requests for comment from two BJP spokesmen went unanswered. An official at the BJP headquarters in Uttar Pradesh was unable to immediately provide any information.

 

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Here is one interview with Modi on Kashmir and other election topics with subtitles.