Modi on defensive as protests flare
Indian prime minister now seen by faithful as a ‘monster’, write Jeffrey Gettleman and Hari Kumar
Nidhi Tiwari is an upper-caste Hindu. She voted for India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, at the last election. She lives in Mr Modi’s constituency, Varanasi, a holy Hindu city. She was, up until last week, one of the millions of bricks in his base.
But Ms Tiwari, a university student, has turned against Mr Modi, joining the growing protests sweeping this country after he pushed through a contentious citizenship law that more and more Indians see as anti-Muslim and a blow to India’s foundation of tolerance and secularism.
“I used to see Modi as a strong leader, as the person India had been waiting so long to get,” Ms Tiwari said. “Now, I see him as a monster.”
Until this outpouring of anger, Mr Modi seemed unstoppable. Riding a populist wave, he was pushing ahead with plans to bring India closer to becoming a Hindu homeland, a divisive dream harboured by his political party whose roots lie deep in a Hindu-centric worldview that poses an existential threat to India’s large Muslim minority.
Now some of his support is beginning to crack, even in strongholds like Varanasi. For the first time, Indians are standing up to Mr Modi in a widespread and forceful way. How this plays out in the next few weeks could have a seismic impact on India.
The protests are jumping from city to city. They are drawing in an increasingly broad cohort of Indian society, including former Modi fans and many non-Muslims.
If they succeed in slowing him down or changing his course, it could be a lasting victory for the secular version of India that the founders envisioned as a multicultural nation encompassing a dizzying diversity of languages, religions and geographic identities.
If the protests fizzle, Mr Modi’s vision of a Hindu nation could draw closer.
“This is undeniably the biggest pushback Modi has faced from civil society since coming to power in 2014,” said Milan Vaishnav, the director of the South Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Varanasi, a city of temples along the banks of the Ganges River that Mr Modi repeatedly returns to for spiritual strength — and for votes — reflects his challenge. He still has a lot of support, but parts of the city have erupted beneath him.
Muslims, students, left-leaning professionals, lower- and upper-caste Hindus have poured into the narrow, brick-walled lanes yelling, “Down with Modi!”
Police have responded by beating people up, kicking in doors, shutting down the internet, arresting scores, and in one incident charging into a crowd and setting off a stampede that crushed a nine-year-old boy who was out riding his bicycle. As the protests have swelled across the country, hundreds of thousands have joined.
The demonstrations are still mostly confined to the new law that fasttracks Indian citizenship for migrants from neighbouring countries who are Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Parsee or Jain — all of South Asia’s major religions bar one: Islam.