So what do Indians abroad (SF in particular) think of Modi and his bjp?
My parents' generation on the other hand range from moderate supporters, who have "some qualms" about e.g. Kashmir/Assam, to fervent supporters of his nationalist identity and agenda.
Having said that, surface level information I see displays similarities between Modi's nationalist policies/agenda and Trump's nationalist policies/agenda. As an outsider, being anti-Trump and pro-Modi seems conflicting to me is all. I could be wrong.
Then again, there’s also that group of “Hindus for Trump,” so what do I know.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/07/hindus-for-tru...
Issues they do care about, and which is likely true of most immigrant groups: - Immigration laws. A lot of Indian arrivals are quite educated, yet struggle with the current system to enter the US. Many favour the Trump plan for a merit based visa regime. - Foreign policy towards India and Pakistan.
Modi's popularity is a distinct formulation, and has to do with complex ideas of identity within multi-ethnic India. Only a tiny sliver of Modi's popularity has to do with his policies, and more with his Strongman persona.
This has been a major sticking point for me. I absolutely despise Trump and could never imagine supporting the GOP. (literally over my dead boy)
But, I acknowledge that Trump has had an agenda that objectively speaking, benefits Indians.
Democrats have favored Pakistan in many situations, despite them routinely supporting jihadist militia & terrorists in both Afghanistan and India + hosting some of the most wanted men in the US (literally Osama). The US generally has a trigger happy tendency to jump to conclusions about human rights violations in other nations, without any nuanced understanding of the ground reality. So, I would rather a trigger happy group that favors us, than one that doesn't.
I am in favor of more taxes, but as someone on an H1B, I can literally not access any of the social safety nets the extra taxation would afford. I am already near $100k in debt from student loans, and none of the loan forgiveness/ free education programs will be of assistance to me.
Democrats speak of open borders and welcoming immigrants, but have done nothing to solve the problems faced by Indians who come to the US in the most legal way possible -> Highly educated, high skill. The waiting period on green cards is a minimum 40 years for Indians. At the very least, Trump (or the one smart guy in the cabinet) has changed the way the h1b lottery works to favor highly educated immigrants. It still sucks and some things have gotten worse, but the democrats certainly haven't helped.
Lastly, for some reason, South Asians are not seen as a "minority" in the US (also faced by east Asians to some extent). There is a non-trivial amount of racism and internalized insecurities faced these groups and Democrats make no effort to talk about them, despite being loud about the same thing for hispanic and black communities. Jokes against Indians are not considered racist. Every popular Indian in US media is an awkward funny guy and lets not even talk about the "unsexiness" of Indian men.(Don't want to go into it too much, because it makes the comment sound like an incel. Even secure and well groomed Indians fully notice this, but will never speak of it outside male Indian circles, because honestly no one like complainers. Black women have this exact same problem in media, but they are slowly getting their voices heard and the representation they deserve). There is a reason a good chunk of Indians either borrow the 'preppy white person' or 'black rapper' identity, and that is because Indians have not found a way to be comfortable in their own culture yet. This is a hurdle that east asians seem to be getting past this generation. The school admission scandals have only further exacerbated this issue.
There is no question that the BJP is simply a better choice (least worst choice?) than what every other national party in India offers today. This is something even my most left wing peers agree to.
While the BJP govt. has a lot of problems, the anger around section 370 in Kashmir is among the least justified. Section 370 was meant to be a temporary provision in the constitution to better integrate Kashmiris. It failed miserably and 370 itself made it really difficult for the federal govt. from fixing it. Kashmiri local politicians have used the provision to hold Kashmir hostage by playing friendly with separatists, and threatening secession whenever convenient. The treatment of Kashmiris itself has not changed much since Modi came in power. It sucked then, it still sucks now. But, for the first time, the federal govt. has some power to change things. If anything, it was absolutely necessary to remove 370 to even start fixing the sorry state of the region. The house arrest of local leaders was seen as necessary by the Govt, because they were the main inciters of separatist violence.
What you need to understand is that every loud mouth in India is a goon. This is basically one group of goons complaining about the other taking power away from them. If either the media or the politicians cared about the common person, then they would step outside Srinagar for once interview a person in the rest of Kashmir.
Indians understand the smoke and mirrors of the system, and know not to trust empty words of the Congress and other left wing parties. This is exactly why people do not like the shallow insights provided by people like Hasan Minhaj or the author of this article, who was born in the 0.0001% of the country (literally the son of the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the country) and never lived any of his adult life there. It is impossible to understand India from the outside.
That being said, there are some red flags with the Modi Govt.
1. The literal red flag (saffron flag) : a pro Hindu agenda. It has not been pushed as hard as the media might imply. But, it is undeniable that it exists.
2. The consolidation of power. Modi is becoming the singular face of the BJP, and such concentration of power is never good
3. A thin cabinet, especially lacking competent statesmen <- The biggest one for me.
#2 Consolidation of power? Care to cite some data around this? Thank you.
#3 See #2 above. IMO, Modi's cabinet is the most competent of any party who ruled India so far.
I was born hindu, and even I can see that they have a very narrow definition of Hinduism. They support certain anti science fields like Ayurveda (not that it doesn't have merit, but they do not follow any scientific rigor). The whole cow thing they have going on is honestly a bit creepy. Some hindu nationalist groups have become more violent and Modi has made no effort to extend an olive branch to the Muslims.
#2
Major senior members in the BJP like Advani have been sidelined. Also, allies of the BJP have lost power as they have lost seats. Lastly, the Reserve Bank and the Judiciary have seen appointments (and firings like Raghuram Rajan) that are BJP favored. Thus, slightly reducing the independence of the different pillars of power.
#3
finance minister Arun Jaitley and former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj literally died. They were both among the most qualified candidates in the previous cabinet. Also, a lot of the cabinet members are career politicians and not necessarily experts in their respective fields.
Proof please?
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part_XXI_of_the_Constitution_o...
Wikipedia is a perfectly acceptable source when I am quoting something that is common knowledge.
The title of section 370 is literally : "Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir"
Here is the constitution itself : https://www.india.gov.in/sites/upload_files/npi/files/coi_co...
A ctrl+F on 370, and it is right there in the index.
I don't trust wikipedia. Anyone can make any edit