Kolkata: Nobel Laureate and renowned Economist Amartya Sen took a dig at PM Modi’s victory in the recently held LS Elections saying ‘he has won power not battled of ideas.’
In an article published in the New York Times, Sen who has raised his voice against Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva ideologues pointed out that Modi had changed his own discourse since 2014 as he had “accomplished little” of what he had promised and so could not brag about his promises he made earlier in this election campaign and rather remained silent on those issues yet focused on nationalism, national security and fear of Pakistan, newsclick reports.
“Just as the Falklands War in 1982 shored up support for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain, who dramatically gained in popularity, the border battles with Pakistan in February helped Mr. Modi immensely in the elections”, he said.
He further pointed out the key issues that were never solved during Modi’s first term. “Unemployment is very high, a 45-year peak, economic growth is faltering and uneven in its impact, elementary health care remains comprehensively neglected, and there has been no striking decrease of red tape and corruption,” the economist noted.
Despite a huge 200 million Muslims presence as Indian citizens, he says BJP’s victory came disproportionately from the majority community that is Hindus.
Noted London based newspaper The Guardian in its editorial has also commented that Modi’s victory was “bad for Indian soul” adding that the world did not need another national populist leader who pursued a pro-business agenda while “trading in fake news and treating minorities as 2nd class citizens.”
Modi, he says, is as a “a fiery orator” who “has been able to influence others’. He has well made political use of hatred and loathing — for not only people with different ways of life (leftists, rationalists, liberal intellectuals) but also people with different origins and religious beliefs, such as Muslims.
None of the former BJP leaders would certainly be unable to compete him he adds.
In Indian politics, he said: “the Hindu nationalist movement has won something in terms of power but nothing particularly serious in the battle of ideas. Pragya Thakur, a B.J.P. activist, said recently that Mohandas Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, was a patriot. This embarrassed even the B.J.P., which made her formally apologize. He added that now even she would enter the Indian Parliament, which is a victory in terms of power, “but not in the battle of ideas”.
The noted economist deeply regrets that the Opposition had not paid the required attention to the “battle of ideas”, and instead called for greater engagement in that area, while emphasizing that the first thing was “not to confuse the two battles”.