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Dispatches

1) Carole Dieterich(New Delhi, correspondance) et Sophie Landrin(New Delhi, correspondante), “Arundhati Roy, écrivaine : « En Inde, les idéologues du parti de Narendra Modi vouent ouvertement un culte à Hitler et à Mussolini »; L’autrice dénonce, dans un entretien au « Monde », la dérive fasciste du gouvernement de Narendra Modi. Selon elle, le message du suprémacisme hindou s’est infiltré partout, avec l’objectif de faire des musulmans des citoyens de seconde zone. Propos recueillis par Carole Dieterich(New Delhi, correspondance) et Sophie Landrin(New Delhi, correspondante), Le Monde, le 30 Septembre 2023 (à 12h00, modifié à 14h19);

2) Sophie Landrin (New Delhi (India) correspondent) and Carole Dieterich (New Delhi (India), “Arundhati Roy: ‘In India, the political thinkers in Modi’s party openly worshipped Hitler and Mussolini’; The award-winning Indian novelist condemns the fascist drift taken by Narendra Modi’s government. According to her, the message of Hindu supremacism has successfully infiltrated everywhere, with the aim of turning Muslims into second-class citizens,” Le Monde, September 30, 2023 (12:00 pm, updated at 12:57 pm, Paris time);

Analysis

Winston Churchill opposed Independence for India for many years, though after World War II he acquiesced in India’s independence on August 15, 1947, following the separation of India and the establishment of Pakistan on August 14.

Churchill justified his opposition to Independence on the ground that it would lead to massive slaughter.

The Partition of India in 1947 did indeed lead to mass dislocations and deaths. Wikipedia suggests that 14-18 million people migrated, and that a million people died as a result of the partition.

Not withstanding these events, With inspired leadership India became a multi-cultural state and the largest functioning democracy in the world.

In 2014, Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi of the BJP party prime minister and was returned in that role as a result of elections in 2019. During his tenure in office, there has been a considerable weakening of Indian democracy as pro-Hindu policies have become more prominent.

Sophie Landrin and Carole Dieterich present the views of Arundhati Roy, a famous author and outsoken critic of the Modi government.

Roy provides a powerful critique of the weakening of democracy in India under Modi, and the growth of Hibdu nationalism and what she terms “fascism” in what was once the world’s biggest democracy, a country today with some 1.4 billion people.

She points to the growth of authoritarianism in India and what she describes as a Hindu-nationalist and “fascist” state controlled by Narendra Modi.

She is also critical of Emmanuel Macron of France and American President Joe Biden for kowtowing to Modi at the G-20 summit held in in New Delhi in September, ignoring thev erosion of democracy in India in deference to economic interests and in the American case a desire to find a counter-weight to the rising power if China.

Rather than try to summarize her analysis, I strongly recommend that readers read the interview in its entirety. Roy provides a succinct and coherent summary of what has been going on in India in recent years. Rather than reading a number of more superficial articles, it is well worth one’s time to read the whole interview.

The TrenchantbObserver

The Trenchant Observer

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