Search for "Narendra Modi"

Vivek Ramaswamy Represents the Convergence of White Supremacy and Hindu Supremacy — And He May Well Be Trump’s Running Mate

By Usha Kumar

…ultiracial democracy. Likewise, Ramaswamy has repeatedly praised Indian PM Narendra Modi, arguing that U.S. actors should emulate the way in which Modi “talked unapologetically about Indian national identity.” He has expressed similarly regressive views around caste, patronizingly claiming in his 2021 book, Woke, Inc: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam, that unfettered capitalism allows for lower-caste delivery drivers to compete for b…

Religious and Political Silence on India’s LGBTQ Decision Speaks Volumes

By Andrea R. Jain

…and with a Hindu chauvinist and exclusionary social agenda consistent with Modi’s training and membership in the Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.). Though attention to the exclusionary nature of Modi’s social agenda tends to focus on his complicity in Hindu-Muslim conflict, it doesn’t end there. His complicity in the ongoing criminalization of LGBTQ people allowed the B.J.P. and other conservative organizations to propagate a story of how the majori…

Trump and Hindu Nationalism: A Match Made in Bollywood

By Andrea R. Jain

…-killing” regulations and Obamacare. Trump also expressed an allegiance to Modi: “I look forward to working with Prime Minister Modi who has been very energetic in reforming India’s bureaucracy. Great man. I applaud him for doing so.” As Michael Schulson and I argued in RD earlier this month, Modi is a neoliberal Hindu nationalist politician keen on accelerating India’s entry into the capitalist global economy. His rhetoric is a traditionalist one…

10 Noteworthy Yoga Developments to Recall in 2015

By Andrea R. Jain

…re power, influence, and authority than ever before. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election campaign, Ramdev served as a major source of support, and once elected, Modi met with Ramdev and discussed the guru’s personal policy concerns. Soon after their meeting, the Indian government provided central security for Ramdev, who is now protected by a large, round-the-clock team of Central Reserve Police Force personnel. And Modi’s newly appoint…

The World’s Most Influential Yoga Teacher is a Homophobic Right-Wing Activist

By Andrea Jain and Michael Schulson

…rt. “Our yoga guru Ramdev was the first one outside of BJP to campaign for Narendra Modi,” said Swami Agnivesh, a religious leader who has known Ramdev for more than a decade, and who has condemned his Islamophobic remarks. “He needed someone in power who would shield him against all possible legal investigations and charges.” Ramdev’s involvement with Modi has been so substantial that it earned him protection under the central government. Since 2…

Claiming Yoga for India

By Andrea R. Jain

…i, Siddha and Homoeopathy” (AYUSH) and his appointment is part of Narendra Modi’s reorganization of his cabinet toward a larger political goal: that of uniting Indian Hindus against perceived foreign influence. Naik is commited to Modi’s goal to make yoga readily available to Indians across the nation and credits the controversial yoga guru Baba Ramdev for having made major advances in popularizing yoga in India. (Recently, Ramdev has made the out…

A Debate Rages in India Over Conversion, Secularism, and “Spiritual Violence”

By Murali Balaji

…enter government of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (a self-described Hindu nationalist), are seeking to undermine post-independence India’s secular ideals. It has drawn so much attention, in fact, that it prompted President Obama to issue a not-so-subtle rebuke to Modi’s government for not doing more to protect religious minorities. Among Indian Hindus—particularly the Hindu activist groups who embrace the conflation o…

With Trump’s Failure to Protect Religious Minorities, Afghan Hindus and Sikhs Face an Uncertain Future in India

By Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal

…sons in 1999, riots in Gujarat under the leadership of then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2002, anti-Christian riots in Orissa in 2008, and the riots following the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Bill in 2019. In regard to the entire situation, attorney and Executive Board Member of the California Democratic Party, Amar Singh Shergill, remains optimistic despite the history of persecution in India: “Although India has a troubling history in…

Competing Visions of Family & Freedom at UN; Methodists Try to Avoid Schism on Sexuality; Catholic Cardinal Denounces LGBT ‘Demonic Ideology’; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…Manu Balachandran at Quartz writes: To be clear, this isn’t the first time Modi is meeting Cook. The two met in the US last year during Modi’s visit to the Silicon Valley, where same-sex marriages are legal. But in India, homosexuality is an offence punishable by up to life imprisonment. For years, lawmakers have discussed decriminalising homosexuality. Yet, nobody really has the courage, or the will, to do away with the 155-year-old colonial era…

Fox News Controversy on Yoga and White Supremacy Reveals Problem of Yoga Discussion

By Andrea R. Jain

…lso for engendering a Hindu supremacist narrative in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his allies leverage a renewed demand for ancient knowledge systems that will provide meaning and purpose, such as yoga and ayurveda, in order to get elected or sell commercial products (see here and here). They resort to traditionalist rhetoric about yoga that thrives on nostalgia while also betraying a modern flavor of capitalism, all while profiting off…