India today is ruled by a dictator, nationalist and a fascist. That is the claim of many in the western media, including the BBC. In India, most people revere him, including many Muslims. For downtrodden Muslims, his Adhaar card system has lifted them from abject poverty, which no other government before has done.
The truth of India is much more nuanced, and its vast ocean of diversity and inclusion grossly misunderstood and misrepresented in the West. While leaders come and go nobody can take this vast spiritual wisdom away from our motherland. In many ways Modi is a pioneer and visionary.
Modi is seen as a catalyst of growth, opportunity, equality and self-rule. Britain in contrast is seen as the mother of all democracies and home to the BBC the world’s “greatest” public media. Who is right? Which country is perfect?
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Why has India been given the global leadership of the G20 when it is ruled in such a totalitarian way? 1.4 billion people are being governed by a divisive leader, according to the Western liberal press.
India-born Arundhati Roy is one of its favourite writers, with a pen mightier than many swords. The media love to promote Indians who are critical of India – you cannot accuse them of racism then.
Yet India’s slogan for the G20 is ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – the whole world is one family. This includes all living beings not just humans. Have you wondered why a totalitarian would select that? And have you experienced Indian hospitality and selfless generosity towards its guests?
Who is really right? Is Modi a modern-day Trump? Will Modi eventually become a Hitler? Are we being conned by charisma and ‘strong’ leadership? I attended a recent politics scholars’ conference on totalitarianism and fascism in different parts of the world and they all agreed after decades of research that no two countries are the same.
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Yet so many scholars and writers rush to judgment on Modi without listening to a single speech or personally watching his character and actions in his own land and profound language. Did you know that he celebrates Eid like all the other festivals? Whilst primary research is accepted as a pillar of social science, it is abandoned by so many writers and scholars on the Modi issue. Some of the world’s best accountants, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs in the world originate from India.
It has been revealed that Britain has no national food or energy strategy and its financial system legally facilitates corruption and fraud from all over the world. Yet it’s portrayed as a pure democracy with the rule of law – which India is not. Is it the mother of all hypocrisies too? Many Britons seem to think so, let alone foreigners. Just as a family needs to first look after its own food, health and shelter, I believe India is doing that with the leadership of Modi. Liberal Britain is not. Nationalism should not be a swear word.
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I personally think Modi is an imperfect but kind human leader for a new self-sufficient India. I also think no one can rule 1.4 billion people and be selected by a majority of highly political and informed Indian citizens twice, if they were fascist or fraudulent or narcissistic. We need to allow India its own freedom to choose. Britain tried to rule and exploit it for centuries and now we are ruling it through media power, like the latest BBC documentary on Modi. This is deeply damaging.
It is a large and complex democracy with a history of external domination. Let the country ask its own questions of Modi through the ballot box. It’s been robbed and exploited for far too long. Powerful nations fear its rise, because of their own insecurities.
Professor Atul K. Shah [@atulkshah] teaches and writes about Indian wisdom on business, culture and community at various UK universities and is a renowned international author, speaker and broadcaster.