
India's pro-business Modi storms to historic election win - tokenadult
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/16/us-india-election-idUSBREA4E0XG20140516
======
cmadan
Here's a short summary to help others who haven't heard much about him.

Short background - Has been the Chief Minister (equivalent to Governer) of the
Western Indian state of Gujarat for 14 years now.

The Good

\---

* Achieved a very high GDP growth rate for Gujarat

* Made Gujarat a preferred destination for big industrialists to set up their factories since he gives land & clearances very readily.

* Developed infrastructure in Gujarat - built roads, highways, flyovers.

* Known to rule with an iron fist - a "my way or the highway" style of politician.

The Bad

\---

* Accused of not practising all inclusive development. Critics point to poor performance of metrics such as child mortality rates, education, Human Development Index (HDI) etc.

* Many believe that he did not do enough to stop the Gujarat riots in 2001 where 1000 people were killed. After this incident, the governments of US and UK denied Modi a visa to enter their countries

* Describes himself as a "Hindu nationalist", has a history of making communally charged statements although seems to have cleaned up in recent years focusing on development.

The Ugly

\---

* Believes homosexuality is unnatural and is against repealing an 100+ year old law which makes gay sex a criminal offence.

* Formed political alliances with leaders such as Yeddyurappa who has many cases of corruption pending and parties such as Shiv Sena who are notorious for using violence to target ethnic groups.

~~~
breitling
From what I've read about this guy, there seems to be a lot more to add to the
"ugly" column.

\- He equates the plight of muslims murdered in 2002 to a puppy run over by a
car [1].

\- He has been a life long member of party's most militant wing [2].

\- He's not shy about delivering flagrant speeches.

Seems to be a very divisive figure. If I were one of the minorities in India,
this would be a very disappointing day.

[1] [http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/narendra-modi-
puppy...](http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/narendra-modi-puppy-
reuters-interview-idINDEE96B08S20130712)

[2]
[http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/05/14/why_ind...](http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/05/14/why_indians_should_fear_a_bjp_election_win_siddiqui.html)

~~~
yepyepyep
I no longer live in India but have a large extended family that does. Being in
the minority, they are filled with paranoia about what this could mean. I'm
still skeptical if anything bad will happen but I am also not living there.

~~~
snambi
there is nothing to worry about. India has always been a secular country/land
from time immemorial. The idea of muslim hindu division is of recent times,
starting from british rule.

India has been ruled for many centuries by muslims and christians (british).

~~~
sachdevap
The idea of a Hindu Muslim division predates the British rule. It has been in
existence since the later Mughals[1] (Aurangzeb and his successors).

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#In_the_Mu...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#In_the_Mughal_empire)

------
cstross
Calling Modi "pro-business" seems like a bit of an over-simplication. He's a
member of the RSS (
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh)
), which is arguably a violently anti-muslim paramilitary group, as well as
leading the BJP
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party)).
It's not unreasonable to call the BJP centre-right on economic/business issues
... but they have other policies as well, some of which are rather disturbing.

I'm not Indian and have no connection to the sub-continent. But it does not
fill me with the warm fuzzies to read in wikipedia that:

"In 2005, Modi was denied a diplomatic visa to the United States. In addition,
the B-1/B-2 visa that had previously been granted to him was also revoked,
under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act which makes any foreign
government official who was responsible or "directly carried out, at any time,
particularly severe violations of religious freedom" ineligible for the visa."

~~~
discardorama
> I'm not Indian and have no connection to the sub-continent.

I am, so allow me.

1\. The RSS is not "violently anti-muslim", despite what you read on teh
internets. They have a Muslim wing, so to speak:
[http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-saffron-
muslim/...](http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-saffron-
muslim/article1-1174455.aspx)

2\. If the "BJP has other policies, which are disturbing", please enlighten
us. Just lobbing an attack and walking away doesn't do any good.

3\. The US denies visas to all sorts of people; including people like Nelson
Mandela. He (Modi) was investigated for the 2002 riots by Supreme Court of
India, and given a clean chit.

~~~
efuquen
I find it amazing the attitude that the 2002 Gujarat riots should be brushed
under the rug. There is still plenty of controversy about what happened there
and Modi's and the states role in those riots, regardless of what any Supreme
Court ruling has said. But I guess we should just let bygones be bygones and
forget the 1000+ deaths and 100,000s of displaced lives due to riots that are
widely believed to have been encouraged, if not caused, by the state.

[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
india-17200961](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-17200961)

~~~
discardorama
As I said, riots are far too frequent in India; even 1 riot is 1 too many.

I was in Delhi in 1984. I saw the result of Congress goons going after Sikhs.
And yet there was no Supreme Court enquiry. The Prime Minister (Rajiv Gandhi)
was never held accountable, since Delhi was a UT at that time.

How come no tears are shed for my Sikh brothers?

~~~
scarmig
I don't think you understand how this works. It's not "Congress gets one
communal violence pass free, it's only fair if the BJP gets a communal
violence pass too!"

~~~
discardorama
No, I don't think _you_ understand how it works.

If you are going to hold someone to a standard, then hold EVERYONE to that
standard. You can't just hold someone to an arbitrary standard just because
you don't like them.

~~~
prakashk
> If you are going to hold someone to a standard, then hold EVERYONE to that
> standard.

True. However, the question is, does it need to be stated explicitly every
time someone gets criticized, or asked to be held accountable for something.

> You can't just hold someone to an arbitrary standard just because you don't
> like them.

I don't think that was happening here. Modi wasn't being held to an "arbitrary
standard" because he wasn't "liked". His actions were the point of discussion
here.

------
darwinGod
To those very new to India's politics, there are few things to consider before
forming an opinion of Modi's involvement in the 2002 riots.

(a) The Government in power at the center was the opposition party ( Congress)
throughout the last decade. (2004-214). If they had the power to twist Supreme
court's arm (appointment of judges etc), they would have most certainly done
that, and influenced the outcome.

(b) The Government at the Center (2004-2014) has had at its disposal the main
investigative body of the country (CBI) to do any arm-twisting against Modi.

(c)Despite this, and despite intense media scrutiny in India, if the Supreme
Court- the highest court in India- has given Modi a clean chit on his
involvement in the riots, then sufficient respect has to accorded to the same.
It is significantly way,way,WAY more authoritative than any wannabe-
investigative journalists airing their opinions non-stop on television or
highly-viewed blog articles. Let that sink in.

If a thousand well-indexed news articles/ well followed blogs paint a
different picture, that does not change facts.

The Supreme court of India has been known to be strong and independent,even
openly rebuking the Center for it's stupidity and corruption ( Search for
2G-Spectrum scam). True we have a lot of corruption everywhere,but the arm-
chair dismissal of Indian Supreme Court's weightage- by Indians ourselves-
against top 10 google search results - pains me.

If Indians ourselves cant do that, how can we expect the global audience to
form an informed opinion?

------
kang
A corrupt Business Model.

BJP (the party under Modi's leadership) allegedly spent 100 billion Rs on
advertisement. Like cunning businessman they exploited a loophole in the law;
the parties are exempted from disclosing the source of their income!

With this amount of money, every child in India could be educated for free.
Imagine that for a second.

The huge spendings, presenting a lipstick-on-a-pig development model of
Gujrat[1] and bogus-voting (with many people publicly claiming to do so[2] to
no brunt by the law) BJP has won these elections.

The money input allegedly came from businessmen Ambani & Adani. They gained
1.5 billion dollars today itself![3] Adani has quadrupled in value over past 6
months.

A very sad day for the minorities indeed. But India is so huge that even if a
thousand die, people are unaffected. People have a very weak memory and any
deed, howsoever bad, is easily forgotten within days. Add to that the
ignorance of people to indirect influence of any event; people wont respond
until they get the heat directly. I have lost hope. I feel I don't understand
the majority of my nation.

[1](I worked in the capital of Gujrat)
[2][http://indianexponent.com/scrapbook/he-bragged-he-
voted-18-t...](http://indianexponent.com/scrapbook/he-bragged-he-
voted-18-times-for-bjp-and-this-is-how-its-done-in-muzaffarnagar/) [3]
[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-16/india-s-ambani-
adan...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-16/india-s-ambani-adani-
gain-1-5-billion-in-a-day-on-modi-victory.html)

~~~
chaofguan
Mods , please take this post. This is blatant hatred.

~~~
kefka
Just because you do not agree does not make it hatred.

------
tokenadult
Submitted in part because a Hacker News participant recently berated Americans
on Hacker News for not being more aware of the election in India. (The person
who wrote that comment is an American of Indian heritage, I'm pretty sure.) I
was drawn to this article from the Google News news aggregator because it was
listed as one of the "in-depth" articles. I was also startled by the title
because until now I haven't heard most news reports as I have been following
the election in India describing Modi as "pro-business." That's an issue I
have no opinion about.

I will note for the record that I think a democratic election in a LARGE,
multilingual country is an interesting process of human society. Participants
here who dream of building startup businesses with truly worldwide reach will
want to know how economic development is proceeding in the world's second-
most-populous country. (Based on likely trends, India will eventually become
the world's most populous country in my lifetime.) I think a free press and
contested elections give India a lot of advantages over other countries and
can serve as an example to China and other large countries still developing to
higher living standards.

AFTER EDIT: Now that this is a breaking news story, I'll list a few other
English-language reports on the election results here as I gather them from my
usual news aggregator.

"Modi Brings India's Opposition Into Power at Last. Now What?"
(BloombergBusinessweek)

[http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-16/modi-
brings-...](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-16/modi-brings-
indias-opposition-into-power-at-last-dot-now-what)

"Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi claims victory as India's next prime
minister" (CNN)

[http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/16/world/asia/india-
election-...](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/16/world/asia/india-election-
result/)

"There are no enemies in democratic politics: Modi" (The Hindu, a newspaper
from India)

[http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/there-are-no-
enemies-i...](http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/there-are-no-enemies-in-
politics-and-democracy-modi/article6016990.ece)

As before, I am not a voter in India, so I don't have a particular opinion
about the voters' choice in the most recent national election in India.

~~~
kshatrea
Thanks for the clarification - you've very politely reduced my objections to
dust.

------
Osmium
I found this article very informative for an outsider:

[http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21600106-he-will-
proba...](http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21600106-he-will-probably-
become-indias-next-prime-minister-does-not-mean-he-should-be-can-anyone)

I'm not advocating the conclusions or opinions in the article (I simply don't
know enough, and I know this article was controversial too), but it's an
interesting read.

~~~
amjd
It's behind a paywall. :/

~~~
tomp
Use incognito/anonymous browsing mode.

~~~
amjd
Thanks, that worked. :)

------
eshvk
When I last used to be interested in Indian politics ( around 10 years ago).
The man was supposed to be a local extreme right wing politician with
genocidal tendencies. I am rather surprised that "pro-business" was the
tagline the HN post finally went with. Has the man changed since?

------
intull
It might also be worth mentioning the numbers here. The BJP, party to which
Mr. Narendra Modi belongs to, alone has got more than 50% of the seats in the
Indian Parliament and nearly 60% with allies.

The INC (Indian National Congress) has suffered a historic defeat with not
even 10% of the seats. Which also brings the interesting fact that the NDA
will not have a Leader of Opposition as none of the other parties hold more
than 10% of the seats.

~~~
datacog
> Which also brings the interesting fact that the NDA will not have a Leader
> of Opposition

That is not true. INC can form alliances to claim opposition. The sad part is,
they still want Rahul Gandhi to lead it.

[http://www.fakingnews.firstpost.com/2014/05/congress-
looking...](http://www.fakingnews.firstpost.com/2014/05/congress-looking-for-
allies-to-form-an-opposition-in-lok-sabha/)

~~~
amjd
In case you didn't notice, the article you linked is from Faking News, India's
version of The Onion.

------
higherpurpose
What are his opinions on mass surveillance in India, which seems to have
become about as aggressive as it is in US and UK in the past few years, or has
that issue not even been raised?

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A91idibgT0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A91idibgT0)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwCixZk0snM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwCixZk0snM)

~~~
unmole
His party is all for 'stronger anti-terrorism' laws. I wouldn't be surprised
if they pushed through a more Orwellian version of POTA[0]

[0]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevention_of_Terrorism_Act,_20...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevention_of_Terrorism_Act,_2002)

------
pessimizer
Pro-business is a really narrow way of describing Modi's ideology.

Here's a disturbingly comprehensive post that paints a more complete picture:

 _Narendra Modi and the rise of India’s neo-fascist Far-Right: The facts_

[http://www.loonwatch.com/2014/04/narendra-modi-and-the-
rise-...](http://www.loonwatch.com/2014/04/narendra-modi-and-the-rise-of-
indias-neo-fascist-far-right-the-facts/)

------
sgaunt
The greatest trick Modi pulled is not convincing people that he is not
responsible for the 2002 pogrom. Lots of people believe that he is directly or
indirectly responsible. But somehow he convinced people that it doesn't
matter. Also 10 years of corrupt, incompetent congress goverment made people
desperate for change. This reminds me of The Dark Knight quote "You crossed
the line first, sir. You hammered them and in their desperation they turned to
a man they didn't fully understand".

The election battle looked like Kerry vs Bush. Rahul Gandhi looked so weak and
incompetent to lead a country whereas Modi projected himself strong(with 52
inch chest!). His PR machinery was so effective that, BJB couldn't have
produced the same result with some other leader. My guess is even Modi/BJB was
replaced in 5 years, the fallout of this government will stay longer.

------
not_that_noob
I find the Internet supporters of Modi/RSS/BJP a fascinating tribe. They are
usually well-educated intelligent Indians, but with a marked tendency to turn
off their critical-thinking faculties when the latter is mentioned. In
addition, they expend enormous amounts of energy on the Internets trying in
futility to paper over the obvious, and play the 'it's-all-a-aniti-hindu-
conspiracy-card'. Hence the down votes for rather straightforward factual
comments below.

~~~
yepyepyep
It just tells you that we all have serious blindspots. These super smart
people, if they took a step back one day to review their logic, they would
probably be very embarrassed.

------
linux_devil
Correction : Certainly not historic , when you say historic would like to
correct you that in 1984 , INC (2014 runner-up party) won 414 seats .

One of the party which was crowdsourced "AAP" won only 4 seats but certainly
show a ray of hope when leadership has been tossed between both these parties
since Independence .

------
maheshs
People who claim Modi ia a pro development are ill informed. If Gujarat is a
"model" than at least 5-6 states are in India which you can call "super
model".

Link contains state ranking on various Index (Right Navigation).
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_states_and_terri...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_states_and_territories_by_Human_Development_Index)

People of Gujarat were always pro business and evidence for the same is,
people of Since independence, people of Gujarat are least dependent upon
government jobs and having low un-employment rate always.

Now why Modi was elected. Reason is same the way congress was winning in last
50 years.

Media, Propaganda, Mix politics with religion and wrap all those into "Hope".

------
harmonicon
While economic development are very important, I hope Mr. Modi will not bend
over backward for business interests just to return the favor. Excessive
corporate tax cuts and environmental damage all set back the lives of the "lay
people".

------
kshatrea
All day I've been wondering when this or something like this would make it to
HN. There's going to be polarization now - left wing or "secular" (believe me
that is an overused term here in India) and so called liberals versus an
opinionated group of people who believe in the Modi form of government and
leadership. Not only is this not a good topic for HN - it is about as bad as
saying "Pro big-government Obama wins" or "Right wing Conservatives take
Britain by storm!" or "Abbott defeats the Labour Party!" or "Merkel gains at
the expense of leftists!" or any other such article. Bottom line is: you can
not be sure of what Modi or any other politician for that matter will do until
he/she does it. Until today, we didn't even know he'd get such a landslide. As
for the technological impact of Modi's win - he loves solar &
infrastructure(so go long solar & infra stocks) and it is probable that the
internet penetration in India will increase - although whether that is
credited to him/his party or not is a matter of debate. This entire election
is about a nationalist Indian party that has defeated a clutch of leftist
parties (similar to other nationalist movements in many other nations) and
there isn't a leftist versus nationalist debate in the world that deserves
attention on HN.

For the record, I supported Modi's party in this election, so I maybe biased.
Take with a pinch of salt.

EDIT: removed my comment about this not required on HN as in hindsight it
seemed unimportant to me.

~~~
danmaz74
Our of curiosity, what do you think about the events in Gujarat in 2002?

~~~
kshatrea
It is deplorable and a very tragic set of events. I wasn't there, so I had to
depend on the media for my consumption of news. The Supreme Court of India has
declared Narendra Modi as legally not guilty of any crimes. From the news it
certainly seems the Court has erred, although it is a constitutional body and
as a citizen I need to abide by its judgement. There are of course Indian
citizens who charge that the media is bought and paid for, just like other
countries. If you're asking why I voted for the BJP, in my city the local BJP
leader is very good and the other party leaders are very corrupt.

~~~
monsterix
> The Supreme Court of India has declared Narendra Modi as legally not guilty
> of any crimes.

This is not true. SC has said in 'absence of sufficient proof' and such.
Please do your homework.

~~~
Aradalf
And thus not guilty....

------
ayushgta
"Commentators have sought to explain Modi to non-Indians, deploying numerous
comparisons to do so; but the one that works best, in my opinion, is to see
him as a kind of Indian (or Hindu) Ariel Sharon."

[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/16/modi-
crushe...](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/16/modi-crushes-
gandhi-in-india-s-election-landslide.html)

------
anuraj
Remains to be seen whether this will usher in economic revival or the country
drifts to religious strife - Modi has potential for both.

------
geekam
With his deep ties with big business families I doubt this "pro-business" is
anything but pro corps.

([http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/03/12/doing-
big...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/03/12/doing-big-business-
in-modis-gujarat/))

------
joosters
Note that 'pro-business' is a politically empty phrase. After all, no
candidate in any election would claim to be 'anti-business'.

If the opposite to any given political standpoint is completely unacceptable,
then IMO that makes the original viewpoint empty and meaningless.

~~~
Brakenshire
> Note that 'pro-business' is a politically empty phrase. After all, no
> candidate in any election would claim to be 'anti-business'.

Not sure I agree, for instance no candidate would claim to be 'anti-life', but
that doesn't make 'pro-life' a politically empty phrase. In that case, you
know exactly what someone means by it.

But pro-business is definitely vague. It might just as well mean 'friendly
with industrialists' as wanting to spark wide-based growth.

~~~
joosters
True, a good counterexample!

I think in general it is a good rule of thumb to evaluate political statements
by. There are elections coming up near me soon and several candidates like to
claim that they will 'support the local community'. Strangely no-one is
against that!

------
pagade
Time magazine article - [http://time.com/102768/narendra-modi-boy-from-the-
backyard/](http://time.com/102768/narendra-modi-boy-from-the-backyard/)

------
tn13
A lot of people have turned into sulking mode and are claiming that Mr. Modi
is some kind of draconian third world dictator who is now going to kill many
people in India.

Even though it may appear to ordinary westerners please be assured that this
is far far away from the truth.

------
WasimBhai
After 60 years, just as Pakistan is unraveling with religious extremism that
has permeated the fabric of society, India elects Modi, someone who has been a
life long member of RSS, a fascist Hindu organization, and have often been
accused of being complicit in Gujarat pogroms of 2002. An India, which was
founded upon the principles of egalitarianism, a Pakistan which was to be a
homeland for minorities.

60 years, and both of those principles falling to pieces in each of the
states.

------
known
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_politics_in_India](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_politics_in_India)

------
monsterix
I usually do not write comments on politicians, but being an Indian I feel sad
that someone like Narendra Modi has even been considered for the post of Prime
Minister by my countrymen. Let alone the decision to elect him for the top
job.

But so it is, he is now the PM, and I accept what democracy and fate has asked
me to accept and go with.

Having said that I am yet to understand why the following murders by the
Godman himself have remain unsolved so far:

To inform and remind people there are quite a few murders that have been
carried out by Modi, Amit Shah and D. G. Vanzara:

1\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haren_Pandya](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haren_Pandya)
This guy was the Home Minister of Gujarat and key witness to implicate Modi to
confess former's role in execution of 3000 children and women in Godhra Kand.

2\. [http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/kausar-bi-
wa..](http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/kausar-bi-wa..). Wife of the
hitman used to kill 1 above.

3\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Soharbuddin_..](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Soharbuddin_..).
The hitman.

4\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishrat_Jahan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishrat_Jahan)
Unsolved.

5\. The guy with direct reporting to Amit Shah and Narendra Modi:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.G._Vanzara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.G._Vanzara)
The hitman with a uniform.

6\. and there are several hundred other cases which could and could not
surface above Modi's close quarters.

Here is a video of a few criminals who proudly discuss how they went on
killing entire families of a particular faith, and how Modi gave them the
strength, protection and instruction to do so:

7\.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFZBNUnG5pI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFZBNUnG5pI)

I am actually reassessing the value in the concept of democracy lately. I
think tyrannies almost always figure out a way to come on the top. It's like
seeded alongside the Third Law of Thermodynamics.

~~~
cscurmudgeon
Let us apply a non zero amount of critical thinking and logic.

> Narendra Modi and his team of murderers

You either have evidence for that statement or you don't.

1\. If it is the first, go to the courts, else you will be deemed complicit in
the murders.

2\. If it is the latter, you are not telling the truth.

Which one is it?

~~~
monsterix
You mean go to a Modi controlled court and ask milord Modi "where should I
seek justice against the crimes you have been doing?"

I am sure you are smarter than this.

~~~
z3phyr
Modi controlled courts? Dude, do you believe in Indian democracy? Judiciary is
independent of the executives. I strongly suggest you go to the courts.

~~~
monsterix
Yes. I believe in its (courts') efficiencies and mess. Wish you a happy life
stuck in the same court you're thumping your chest upon. I am sure you know
more about Indian courts, than I do.

They are supposed to be independent, but they're not. Rut flows through it in
the form of cash or life threatening pressures. But obviously you're so happy
about it, so I can't convince you -- unless you go through it yourself.

~~~
cscurmudgeon
I know courts are slow, but the judicial system is by and large good.
Especially the SC. Of course, as a moral citizen, if you have the evidence, go
to the UN or the US.

