Daily Times

So what is the world supposed to make of the US president agreeing to multi-dollar deals with the Indian prime minister, in India, right when its capital is set alight by what is effectively state-triggered and state-sanctioned communal violence? There is a reason, after all, that people like the Kashmiris and Palestinians continue to live under the most oppressive forms of occupation. Clearly countries that have the power to change things prefer a world where markets and money matter more than laws and rights.

But how long can things continue this way. Interestingly one of the best examples comes from India itself, where much of the civil society has finally decided to put its foot down and confront the government’s fascist policies, come what may. And even as almost all of the international community watches silently as extremist Hindutva mobs kill Muslims and put Delhi to the torch, surely Modi must have realised some time ago that his policies have brought the government to an inflexion point.

Already India’s reputation as one of the world’s last standing bastions of secular ideals has been tarnished to a point from which it might never recover even if Modi and his right-wing hordes are sent packing immediately. Use of more violence, which means more deaths and injuries, to crush the protests risks triggering even more resistance in more of the country. And backing down at this point will very quickly rob him of the loyalty of Hindutva brigades that make the muscle of his government.

Yet there’s more that the Indian prime minister must consider. Nothing delivers the kiss of death to commerce like the toxic mix of religious persecution and communal violence, that too when it’s spearheaded by the state. The Indian economy is in a sharp nosedive. Not only have the most crucial indicators sunk to lows not seen in many decades, but Modi’s personal charm is also wearing off and a good $40 billion bet, which saw the world’s richest investment banks and hedge funds park their investments in Indian markets, is unravelling.

So what has Modi really gained by all this? The weight of hatred, violence and chaos hangs over the world’s largest democracy. And even though Modi will, sooner or later, be rejected by the Indian people, it remains to be seen what will become of the Indian state considering how deeply BJP has harmed its founding ideals. *