Modi’s long silence

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi of India tweets frequently and considers himself a talented orator. Yet he loses his voice when it comes to speaking out about the dangers faced by women and minorities, frequent targets of the nationalist and communal forces part of his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Indians took to the streets to protest their government’s callous response to the horrifying rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in which supporters of his political party have been implicated. Modi, though, has barely spoken about this crime and other cases involving his supporters.

Until last week, he declined to address the attack on the girl by men who wanted to frighten and drive away her nomadic Muslim community, the Bakarwals, from an area that is dominated by Hindus.

Modi remained quiet as state lawmakers from his party attended a rally in support of a man who had been arrested for the crime and joined in demands by locals that the investigation be taken away from state officials, some of whom are Muslim.

Modi has also been reluctant to talk about a teenage girl’s rape accusation against a state lawmaker from his party in Uttar Pradesh, governed by the BJP. He and his brother are also accused of conspiring to kill the girl’s father.

On Friday, Modi said that these cases had brought shame on the country and that “our daughters will definitely get justice”. But his remarks ring hollow because he waited so long to talk about the cases.

Modi has exhibited a pattern of silence and deflection that is deeply worrying to anybody who cares about the health of the world’s largest democracy.