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HomeIndiaForeign media largely despairs at Modi & BJP’s Lok Sabha triumph

Foreign media largely despairs at Modi & BJP’s Lok Sabha triumph

Major publications across the world have reported and commented on the 'landslide' verdict.

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New Delhi: The foreign press was always going to take note of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections. And so it came to pass, with major publications across the world reporting and commenting on the verdict.

Pakistan

Pakistan’s Dawn seems to have been keeping a close eye, dedicating an entire section of its website to the Indian elections.

‘Modi wins second term by landslide, pledges inclusive govt’, reads the headline.

“In projecting himself as the choreographer of air raids on Balakot across the border, Mr Modi severely bruised a fractious and unequal opposition,” it writes, somewhat stung. The Balakot strikes sought to destroy terror camps in Pakistan, which were allegedly run by terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Dawn says Modi “shrewdly projected himself as the leader of choice against a confusing array of claimants in the opposition”, but wrongly states “it was only in the last leg…that the Congress first admitted that (Rahul) Gandhi was not a prime ministerial candidate”.

In its editorial, titled ‘After Modi wins’, it is more critical of the win.

“The results are astounding, and depressingly show that religious hatred and sectarian politics can be exploited to lure voters,” it writes.

Dawn also spells out its expectations: “Now that elections are over, we hope that Mr Modi will rein in his rhetoric that had encouraged Hindu extremist groups to step up their intimidation of minorities.”

It ends with some flag-waving, saying of the peace talks: “Despite the string of hostile snubs from the Indian government, Pakistan has shown restraint and pragmatism.”

The News International, meanwhile, terms Modi’s win as “dramatic”, but adds that it is only the reflection of a global trend. “His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting harsh positions on protectionism, immigration and defence,” it says.


Also read: Modi’s victory makes headlines from Kashmir to Kanyakumari


China

South China Morning Post, in an article titled ‘Economic slowdown looms even as Narendra Modi celebrates resounding victory’, writes: “Since Modi’s performance on the economic front has been questionable, many wonder if his results seem like a validation of the BJP’s politics over the last five years — from routinely engaging in communally polarising rhetoric to often backing those accused of inciting violence against minorities.

“…for Modi, the next five years could mean a careful mix of social welfare, hard nationalism and taking a hard line on issues of national security.”

Western press

New York Times goes with an elegant ‘Modi and B.J.P. Make History in India. Gandhi Concedes’ to announce his victory. The paper says he delivered a “thundering speech” to party workers by “striking a populist tone and evoking mythical Hindu figures engaged in war”.

“So crushing was the defeat of Congress that even Mr Gandhi, the scion of India’s most famous political dynasty, lost his seat in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh,” it writes.

Washington Post says of Modi’s win: “…Voters endorsed his vision of a muscular, assertive and fundamentally Hindu India.”

In its opinion section, NYT carries a harshly-worded piece by writer Pankaj Mishra, titled ‘How Narendra Modi Seduced India With Envy and Hate’. Mishra writes that “India has suffered variously from his raw wisdom”, referring to demonetisation, a factor largely forgotten by the Indian press in its celebration of Modi’s win.

“India under Mr. Modi’s rule has been marked by continuous explosions of violence in both virtual and real worlds,” says Mishra, who thinks schemes like Swachh Bharat were “garishly advertised”.


Also read: Media hails Modi, Hindu & Telegraph compliment him, HT asks if it is time for Gandhis to go


“Modi’s near-novelistic ability to create irresistible fictions has been steadily enhanced by India’s troll-dominated social media,” he seethes, and spares no sympathy for Gandhi, “a live mascot of India’s defunct dynastic politics and insolvent ideological centrism”.

He adds a warning: “This week, he (Modi) triumphantly reaped one of the biggest electoral harvests of the post-truth age, giving us more reason to fear the future.”

Adam Taylor, in a column titled ‘India’s Modi has been a bellwether for global populism’ in the Washington Post, says the election ultimately “boiled down to one simple question: Should the divisive Narendra Modi be prime minister for five more years?”. The answer, he writes, “appeared to be a resounding yes”.

Taylor goes on to analyse Modi’s tenures as chief minister of Gujarat and then as PM, remembering “he had been barred from entering the United States in 2005” for his alleged involvement in the 2002 riots, and that in 2014 and the years to come, he “branded himself internationally as an economic reformer”.

“Modi has done little to reject extremists,” he grimly notes, adding “the lessons he imparts to the world have been worrying”.

In the UK, The Guardian paints a rags-to-riches portrait of the PM in ‘Narendra Modi: from impoverished tea seller to master of political theatre’.

“His mastery of political theatre, and finger on the pulse of Indians, has now secured him the strongest mandate of any leader in decades,” it says, but adds a few words of caution. “…It will do little to create jobs, alleviate financial stress in the country’s vast agriculture sector or grow the economy on the backdrop of a US trade war and a global slowdown.”

Elsewhere

Israel’s Haaretz uses news agency Reuters’ report on Modi’s victory but carries an opinion column that isn’t thrilled by the victory.

In “Modi the ‘Hindu Messiah’ Manipulated Hope and Hate to Win India’s Election”, Khinvraj Jangid, professor at O.P. Jindal Global University writes that Modi campaigned “more as leader of India’s largest cult, his popularity barely dented by his obvious failures”, adding “he is selling illusions of grandeur — and Indians are still eager customers”.

There’s also the Gulf News website, which opens up to ‘Tsunamo 2.0’, where it declares: “BJP storms to power with unprecedented show in decades”.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. They sound like the world is coming to an end. they should worry about their own country and leave us to worry about ours.

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