My mind fills with premonition when I hear prominent BJP leader Uma Bharti make the pronouncement that Muslims of India have nothing to worry about, and will prosper even further under the rule of Modi. Why should the Muslims (and I guess liberals too) need such assurances even before the BJP government comes to power and Narendra Modi ascends the “throne of Delhi”? This is the same Uma Bharti who declared a day earlier that India is primarily a nation of Hindus, and Hindutva is natural to them.
Modi’s allegiance is first and foremost to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). As a Sangh man, is it possible for him to keep the stalwarts of RSS under check? Does he want to?
Modi has settled his differences with LK Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi with one to one meets; Advani is likely to become the next speaker. Is he already paying homage to the gurus of the Sangh?
Two of Modi’s lieutenants, Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, are staunch RSS members. Their rhetoric during the campaign was very vitriolic indeed. They declared in October 2013 that Pakistan better not think they will get away with their shenanigans once Modi becomes PM. That is a clear red flag for regional peace (the Pakistan government never had any control over ISI either).
Modi, on the other hand, has created a very warm relationship with China, making sure that India will not have to deal with any border skirmishes in Arunachal Pradesh. However, his rhetoric directed at Bangladesh is known to one and all. Bangladesh will have to tread very lightly and rather cleverly in the changed political leadership of India. Whether the politicians and the foreign policy advisers have enough acumen to come up with the goods remains a big question. I found the language of the PM’s letter of felicitation too placating. India surrounds us on all sides, but we can stand with our heads held high. India needs Bangladesh for expansion of trade in the so-called seven sister provinces and as a country of over 160 million people, Bangladesh is a huge market for India’s consumer goods.
One last point. Sushma Swaraj, a BJP stalwart, has been very much overlooked by Modi and his bandwagon. She was not very cozy with the RSS and maintained a distance from the Sangh till now. She was seen yesterday visiting the headquarters of the RSS and it is rumoured that she has had fruitful talks with the “gurus.”