Modi Suffers Major Setback in Indian Election

Modi has governed like a tyrant since he became Prime Minister of India in 2014. His party won majoritarian rule in two successive elections, allowing him to push his authoritarian and Hindutva nationalist agenda, with little legislative resistance.

Until now. In a major setback, the BJP failed to secure a majority of seats in the most recent election and must now work with allies to pass legislation. Modi and his cult of personality as India’s indefatigable strongman and Messianic savior has been shattered.

There are several good pieces on the India election already, here are a few takeaways I want to highlight.

Democratic Forces Triumph Despite Obstacles

The BJP runs one of the most sophisticated misinformation machines in the world. Countless Indian media outlets and pundits peddle falsehoods manufactured by the government, and they are backed by an online army of 150,000 BJP workers, who do their bidding. In addition to the propaganda, the BJP also engages in mass censorship of domestic and foreign news sources, leads the world in internet shutdowns, and routinely threatens and imprisons journalists and human rights defenders. More immediately, in advance of the election, the BJP imprisoned political opponents, froze the funds of opposition political parties, and engaged in voter intimidation and disenfranchisement tactics.

All this to say, it was not a level playing field, and still the BJP significantly underperformed. It shows the power of the people, the power of the vote, and the desire to be heard. Imagine the result had the election been genuinely free and open?

Cities & Provinces Clap Back: Ayodhya & Punjab

Ayodhya occupies an outsized place in the political history and imagination of India. In 1992, an organized mob of roughly 75,000 Hindus stormed one of Ayodhya’s mosques, the Babri Masjid, and tore it to the ground, all while authorities watched. Then just this year, Modi presided over the opening of a new Hindu temple at the same location, Ram Mandir, and streamed the ceremony to the world. It marked the unofficial beginning of his reelection campaign. It’s thus fitting and stunning that the BJP conceded defeat in Ayodhya and lost its majority rule there, despite the fact that Ayodhya is itself 80% Hindu.

Equally striking is the message sent from Punjab, where the BJP failed to secure even a single seat. More remarkably, two pro-Khalistani Sikh dissidents, Amritpal Singh & Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, won seats in Parliament. The former was dubbed one of the most wanted men in the world last year after he changed five vehicles in 12 hours to escape arrest, in a scene right out of Grand Theft Auto. Amritpal surrendered to authorities months later and remains incarcerated. The latter is the son of Beant Singh, one of the two bodyguards who assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. The timing of Sarabjeet’s win is historic. The result was announced on June 4, the very same day Indian security forces invaded the Golden Temple forty years ago killing thousands of Sikhs.

The election of both men is a resounding repudiation of Hindutva and an affirmation of Sikh nationalism. It shows that an increasing number of Sikhs in Punjab are looking to Sikh nationalist leaders for economic security, protection and recognition. Some had speculated that Modi’s transnational repression targeting Sikhs in North America would help his election chances. On the contrary, it has pushed some Sikhs to further embrace Sikh nationalist sentiments, just like the farmers’ protests before it.

Looking Ahead

There hasn’t been much to cheer about when it comes to India these last 10 years. That changed yesterday. We should cherish and celebrate it, as these victories are hard fought and don’t come easy. In a year when over half of the world’s population will go to the polls, let’s hope that the election of Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico and Modi’s setback in India portend what’s to come elsewhere.

But we can’t be complacent. The BJP has formed a governing coalition and Modi will continue to serve as Prime Minister. And so, all the advocacy, organizing and movement efforts both in India and among the Diaspora, must continue.

As part of the Diaspora, we must support and protect those who speak truth to power in India, including the independent journalists, independent media outlets, student activists, advocacy organizations, human rights defenders, and literary and artistic critics, all of whom risked so much to get us here. We must keep a watchful eye on all minority communities, including religious ones, who will continue to experience persecution, in particular Muslims, Dalits, and Christians. We must help ensure that women and LGBTQIA communities are able to enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other Indian. And we must remain mindful of economic inequities, exploitation of farmers and laborers, and climate degradation.

We must continue our organizing and advocacy efforts in the U.S. as well, where the long arm of Hindutva continues to spread through the rewriting of textbooks, intimidation and lawfare efforts against U.S. based activists and advocacy organizations, transnational repression targeting Sikhs, anti-caste lobbying, and the funding of Zionist allied political candidates. Equally important, we must have difficult conversations in our houses of worship, community spaces, and families and work towards defeating all supremacist and hateful ideologies, including Hindutva nationalism.

Our work continues.