<i>> NC: One thing that’s happened is the press has been pretty much muzzled. They are very uncritical.</i><p>This is a big issue with mass media in India that many don’t realize or want to realize. Between — a) most of the mainstream media houses (except a few) not asking tough questions (but supporting the government for everything), b) the Supreme Court ignoring important cases and not hearing them for years and c) the amount of fake news spread through WhatsApp — the liberal forums in India are filled with stories of how people are losing relationships or finding it difficult to digest the fact that their loved ones are close minded bigots.<p>Twitter has become a cesspool of bots, political party “IT Cells” and people copy pasting the same messages and hashtags, while WhatsApp has become the main source of truth (actually falsehood) for most people.
Excellent New Yorker piece about this (I submitted it to HN when it came out but it didn't get any traction):<p><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/09/blood-and-soil-in-narendra-modis-india" rel="nofollow">https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/09/blood-and-soil...</a><p>Fascism is gaining in many parts of the world today. But the 'other' this time aren't Jews, they're Muslims.
It is actually happening for a while but for the last 5 years, it was done under the disguise of progressive leadership. Now that the economy is down the drain the people are waking up to see the true face of our leaders.<p>Thanks to the uneducated buffoon at the helm who faked his degree, didn't listen to Reserve Bank/Chief Economic Advisors and ruined the economy.
I actively read r/india and there hasn't been a single day for the past two months now that horrendous reports of Police rioting, looting, and killing civilians (predominantly Muslims) come up but is never reported by the main-stream media. There have been numerous cases where the ruling political party has mobilised its pro-violence groups with a free-reign to do as they please. Never has a public personality been in more fear of the governing apparatus since the times of the British Raj and so only a few have spoken up. Comedians focusing on social commentary say they frequently get messages of support and caution which they admittedly did not get prior to the right-wing taking charge at the center. The judiciary is in tatters, with judges frequently found to rule in favour of the ruling majority. The judges who allegedly rise up against the tide have been found dead in mysterious circumstances.<p>The Prime Minister doesn't engage in any debate and has been caught lying consistently. The ruling party has been found repeatedly guilty of spreading propaganda and fake news. Some of its leaders question even the founding principles of the country and openly support and revere Gandhi's assasinators and some hold no reservations against Nazism or Fascism. Activists have been unlawfully detained, tortured, and murdered. There were also alleged reports of Police raping 90+ young Muslim boys.<p>The current incumbent has not only managed to sell snake-oil to the Hindu populace but continues to harbor snakes to the detriment of the very Hindus that elected them to power: Most of them are in a state of denial about the grim situation breeding in India and some of them think it is an important lesson to be taught to the unruly Muslims. Perhaps, that'd explain why a convicted pro-Hindu terrorist won elections by a huge margin, and why a Hindu religious fanatic bordering on fascism rules the largest and most populous Indian state.<p>Friends have lost friends, families have divided over oppressive, regressive, populist, uncompromising politics of what's by far the richest ruling party. No one is safe from the propaganda machine, not even the educated, not even the ones in an industry as left-leaning and liberal as ours. It is as if someone has blind-folded them and I don't even know how and when it happened.<p>It is disheartening, to say the least.
The Economist too reported a worldwide drop in Democracy Index and India dropped 10 points.
<a href="https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index" rel="nofollow">https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index</a>
Fascism rose in popularity 100 years ago as a political option. Perhaps it is undergoing a renaissance. I have no idea why anyone thinks its a good idea unless you are the person in charge but it seems to attract support.
Google cached version: <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rKOigGZ6RpUJ:https://countercurrents.org/2020/01/in-india-what-we-are-seeing-is-the-symptoms-of-fascism-noam-chomsky&hl=en&gl=us&strip=0&vwsrc=0" rel="nofollow">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rKOigGZ...</a><p>(Sorry for the search pop-up, I'm not sure how to get a cached version without it.)
You are seeing symptoms of fascism not only in India, but pretty much everywhere. It did not sneak upon the world from some fringe underground overnight. No.<p>The world had 2 decades to wake up, and mop up that political faction.<p>I honestly don't know where the world is going now.
> Karthik: Right. Maybe you can give some other examples in the world. But he was celebrated when he was administering the occupation of Kashmir. But the moment he criticized the BJPs occupation of Kashmir, the moment he criticized it as reducing Kashmir to a “vassal state”, he’s been in prison.
> NC: In prison?
> Karthik: Yes, in prison, without charges.<p>This news article (<a href="https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/inx-media-case-cbi-files-charge-sheet-before-delhi-court-against-p-chidambaram-karti-others/articleshow/71646720.cms" rel="nofollow">https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/inx-med...</a>) and several others seem to indicate that the Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a charge-sheet and that Chidambaram is out on bail right now.
The initial First Information/Incident Report was filed way back in May 2017.
Here's a recent anarchist podcast on the subject. I note the political orientation because clearly that impacts the interpretation of the events, but it was an interesting listen, I thought:<p><a href="https://itsgoingdown.org/an-anti-colonial-anarchist-analysis-of-the-rise-of-far-right-hindu-nationalism-in-india/" rel="nofollow">https://itsgoingdown.org/an-anti-colonial-anarchist-analysis...</a>
Muslims didn't kill 65 million people in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_casualties" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_casualties</a> and 85 million people in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties</a>
I really struggle to understand the Indian right wing perspective. There is absolutely no practical way to achieve their goal of a theocratic nation with the country still being intact.<p>As much as they might want to fantasize about it, you can't wish away 200M minorities. Nor can you economically progress if 200M minorities are ghettoized.
Strangely enough, anyone who is against globalism/neoliberalism is now being labeled as a fascist. Even on here, if you espouse free market ideas, you are instantly downvoted. Fascism has nothing to do with populism or the free market. It is a system where the government takes control of the economy. Don’t be fooled.
I think worldwide all proto-fascism is getting another turn at the wheels of power only because the neoliberal world order post USSR hasn't come up with any legitimate solutions that people feel need addressing. Whether it's wealth disparity, immigration (warranted or otherwise), or healthcare it seems as though we're stuck with old ideas that don't work out so well. Assuming markets and light touching regulations will fix these issues isn't going to be enough for anyone anymore. And I think the scary part is that if global warming isn't addressed sooner then I expect full blown eco-fascism become fashionable with some major parties. When (imo not really if anymore) that happens expect massive purges to happen. It hurts me so much to see this happen but if the neoliberals and social democrats can't offer an alternative them in their inaction others will rise to give options even if those are totally wrong for many reasons (moral, factual, spiritual, etc).
The right wing party in India came to power in 2014 in a perfect storm of a very popular leader and a pretty weak opposition. Opposition was further weakened electorally with demonetization right before elections in the most populous state of India (UP).<p>They were able to successfully capture most institutions (RBI, supreme courts, investigative agencies) in addition to capturing the media through corporate ownership.<p>Social media strategy and a massive disinformation campaign on Whatsapp proved extremely successful in the 2019 elections and the right wing party now has an even bigger majority with the opposition decimated.<p>Barring a turn in public approval (probably from a recession), they will continue to perform well unless opposition steps up their game.
here it is another article that talks about kashmir without pundits.<p>Depending on which article you follow you would get only one side.<p>This aritcle is nothing but far left pseudo secularists calling nationalists as fascists.
I certainly don't support fascism but at least Hitler had some interest in science. Things are worse in India. We spent 0.8% of the GDP on Science and Technology. At the same time, a part of that (taxpayer money) is spent on Homeopathy, Ayurveda, and Cow Urine/Dung Research.<p>Our policy-makers absolutely have no idea what evidence in science means. Here is an entertaining collection of statements by Indian ministers,<p>=> “Science is a dwarf in front of astrology.” - Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the minister of human resource development<p>=> “Since man is seen on Earth, he has always been a man. Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, said they ever saw an ape turning into a human being.” - Satyapal Singh, the minister of state for human resource<p>=> "Vedic theory is greater than the theory of relativity." - Harsh Vardhan, the current Minister of Science and Technology<p>=> "Cow urine cures cancer" - current Bharatiya Janata Party member of parliament<p>=> "Maths never helped Einstein discover gravity" - Piyush Goel, minister of Railways and Commerce<p>=> "Ganesha proves plastic surgery existed in ancient India" - Modi, Prime Minister<p>More gems here: <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/science/false-scientific-claims-modi-first-term" rel="nofollow">https://caravanmagazine.in/science/false-scientific-claims-m...</a>
"which essentially takes decision making over major issues away from the national states to the unelected bureaucracy in Brussels"<p>Well that's just factually wrong