India’s current government is led by the Bharatiya Janta Party or the BJP. It is also the country’s largest national party. It was formed in 1980, though its origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was founded in 1951. The Jana Sangh was closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization that continues to play a significant role in shaping the BJP’s ideology.
The party first came to power at the center in 1996, but its government lasted only 13 days. It returned to power in 1998, forming a coalition under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. His tenure saw India conducting nuclear tests in 1998, economic reforms, and a focus on infrastructure development. However, the BJP lost power in 2004 to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The BJP made a historic comeback in 2014 by securing 282 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, with Narendra Modi as India’s prime minister. Major policy changes include the revocation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 that criminalized triple talaq in India.
The government’s handling of several protests and crises has faced widespread scrutiny. The 2020–2021 farmer protests, which were sparked by the controversial farm laws that were later repealed, drew significant public attention, with criticism directed at the use of force and the management of the situation. Similarly, the government’s response to the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests raised concerns over its handling of dissent, particularly the use of force. The BJP’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic also attracted criticism, especially regarding the lack of transparency around the death toll, shortages of medical resources like oxygen cylinders, and inadequate preparedness during the second wave.
Additionally, the ongoing inter-tribe conflict in Manipur, which erupted in 2023, has faced criticism for the government’s perceived failure to take adequate action, with accusations of poor crisis management and insufficient intervention in addressing the escalating violence.
Indian Army has alerted around 17 March , 2018 that Chinese hackers could steal or take away information urging that more care may be exercised by WhatsApp users in India. There is another concern in news in India came to focus on 21 March , 2018 , allegedly involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica in Indian elections. These news pieces on themes of communication system and cyber look to be corresponding to the one this Vedic astrology writer had brought out last year on 19 October , 2017 , in article – “ Astrologically speaking , some highlights for India in coming year 2018” – published at theindiapost.com , simultaneously at wionews.com on 19 October , 2018. The text on the point in the article reads as :-
“ (1) Mid-March to 31 May 2018. ……………Communication systems including cyber could also be in focus for concern”. So concern is in focus just about mid- March and has obviously conveyed concern.
Facebook and Cambridge Analytica are also reportedly in focus in second half of March , 2018 in the context of US elections in recent past. It may be apt to bring out here this writer’s alert prediction of 11 October , 2017 in article – “ Astrological probable alerts for the United States in 2018”- published in monthly Webzine of Wisdom Magazine from the US at wisdom-magazine.com/Article.aspx/4647/ on 1 December 2017. The alert prediction on the point in the article reads as :-
“ Mid-March 2018 to 30 April 2018……….Travels , communications systems , cyber , ….could be in focus”.
If Facebook has lost $ 60 billion in market cap since this issue surfaced, there is clearly a problem with unauthorised access to privileged data. We must accept that no cache of data, including highly classified data bases maintained by governments, far above Aadhaar’s pay grade, is completely secure. How that data is used to influence the behaviour of consumers or voters may often cross ethical boundaries. This is something we will have to live with. I don’t think either the Congress or the BJP should believe CA can help them win – or avert defeat – in 2019.