By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2128797/6-lurching-indian-economy-protests/
India has been one of the fastest growing major economies of the world over the past few years that allowed it to lift millions out of poverty. As the country’s growth dropped to 4.5% in the second quarter of the year – lowest in six years – IMF called it to it to take urgent policy actions to address the current downturn and return the economy to a high growth path.
IMF forecast coincided with Moody’s and Fitch estimates that condoned Indian GDP growth to decline considerably to 4.5% and 4.6% respectively in FY2020. Owing to the global and domestic economic slowdown, some seven million people are threatened to be trapped in the poverty in the South Asian country.
Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should be wakeful of New Delhi’s imminent economic crunch while it was preparing to contest 2019 national elections. The saffron brigade, therefore, didn’t rely on the wonted election jingles of shoring up economy, introduction of public welfare projects and creating vast job opportunities.
Hindu nationalist party instead deliberately focused on the contentious issues such as annulment of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), enactment of Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and the construction of Ram Temple to stir the religious sentiments of predominantly Hindu Indian population.
The truculent manifesto paid off prolifically and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) claimed a landslide victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning 353 seats and became the only non-Congress government to regain power in the political history of India.
Massive public support spurred BJP to cash on the strong nation’s backing and it forthwith pursued to keep Indian folks obsessed with its querulous pre-election program and additionally to make them distracted from the sickening country’s economy.
Ignoring the international resentments, BJP has so far repealed the autonomous status of Muslim-dominated J&K and Ladakh in violation to the Simla Agreement with Pakistan; published the latest version of National Register of Citizens (NRC) that excluded nearly two million people in Assam; pledged to roll out NRC across India by 2024 and snatched a verdict from Indian Supreme Court to build Ram Temple in place of Babri Mosque in Ajodhya town of Utter Pradesh.
With economic woes simmering in the off-sight, Indian parliament recently passed another controversial legislation Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 – which excluded only Muslims and permitted Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to obtain Indian citizenship. BJP argued since these minorities were undergoing persecution in the three countries, it was its moral obligation to shelter them.
Meanwhile, it was highly irrepressible for BJP to mask the deteriorating Indian economic indicators that continued to pinch hard the mass population of more than 1.3 billion. The fall in consumption, slackened private investment and three-year high 8.5% unemployment rate shake up the overwrought Indian people and they hit back at BJP’s divisive move of CAA legislation and showed their anguish in nationwide protests and the country’s State Assembly elections.
Just within a few months of regaining absolute power, Indian citizens doled out some serious blows to the Modi administration as his BJP conceded a huge lead to the trilateral opposition alliance in Jharkhand. BJP contested on 79 of 81 seats in the Indian eastern state and could win only 25 as compared to rivals’ 47. It was BJP’s fifth consecutive defeat in Indian state elections.
Back to back thrashing conquests are alarming signs for the BJP government. Where the protests revealed that people had quickly rejected any sectarianism or religious divide in India, the large majority of Indian also overruled any political ambitions to thrive at the cost of their economy.
This is something the global economies can learn learn from. Public gripes in India – also fueled by onion crisis and rising inflation touching three-year peak of 5.5% – again shed light on the importance of the economy that though may be eclipsed for the time being over sporadic public emotions but can never become dormant completely.
New Delhi’s consistent Muslim-fixated debatable actions have put the United States, a close Indian ally, in an awkward position that has been very vocal about Chinese discrimination of Muslims in its Xinjiang autonomous region. While Washington has bitingly criticized Beijing over its treatment of minorities, the world is yet to see something substantial on New Delhi from the Trump administration and American Congressmen.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2128797/6-lurching-indian-economy-protests/
India has been one of the fastest growing major economies of the world over the past few years that allowed it to lift millions out of poverty. As the country’s growth dropped to 4.5% in the second quarter of the year – lowest in six years – IMF called it to it to take urgent policy actions to address the current downturn and return the economy to a high growth path.
IMF forecast coincided with Moody’s and Fitch estimates that condoned Indian GDP growth to decline considerably to 4.5% and 4.6% respectively in FY2020. Owing to the global and domestic economic slowdown, some seven million people are threatened to be trapped in the poverty in the South Asian country.
Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should be wakeful of New Delhi’s imminent economic crunch while it was preparing to contest 2019 national elections. The saffron brigade, therefore, didn’t rely on the wonted election jingles of shoring up economy, introduction of public welfare projects and creating vast job opportunities.
Hindu nationalist party instead deliberately focused on the contentious issues such as annulment of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), enactment of Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and the construction of Ram Temple to stir the religious sentiments of predominantly Hindu Indian population.
The truculent manifesto paid off prolifically and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) claimed a landslide victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning 353 seats and became the only non-Congress government to regain power in the political history of India.
Massive public support spurred BJP to cash on the strong nation’s backing and it forthwith pursued to keep Indian folks obsessed with its querulous pre-election program and additionally to make them distracted from the sickening country’s economy.
Ignoring the international resentments, BJP has so far repealed the autonomous status of Muslim-dominated J&K and Ladakh in violation to the Simla Agreement with Pakistan; published the latest version of National Register of Citizens (NRC) that excluded nearly two million people in Assam; pledged to roll out NRC across India by 2024 and snatched a verdict from Indian Supreme Court to build Ram Temple in place of Babri Mosque in Ajodhya town of Utter Pradesh.
With economic woes simmering in the off-sight, Indian parliament recently passed another controversial legislation Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 – which excluded only Muslims and permitted Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to obtain Indian citizenship. BJP argued since these minorities were undergoing persecution in the three countries, it was its moral obligation to shelter them.
Meanwhile, it was highly irrepressible for BJP to mask the deteriorating Indian economic indicators that continued to pinch hard the mass population of more than 1.3 billion. The fall in consumption, slackened private investment and three-year high 8.5% unemployment rate shake up the overwrought Indian people and they hit back at BJP’s divisive move of CAA legislation and showed their anguish in nationwide protests and the country’s State Assembly elections.
Just within a few months of regaining absolute power, Indian citizens doled out some serious blows to the Modi administration as his BJP conceded a huge lead to the trilateral opposition alliance in Jharkhand. BJP contested on 79 of 81 seats in the Indian eastern state and could win only 25 as compared to rivals’ 47. It was BJP’s fifth consecutive defeat in Indian state elections.
Back to back thrashing conquests are alarming signs for the BJP government. Where the protests revealed that people had quickly rejected any sectarianism or religious divide in India, the large majority of Indian also overruled any political ambitions to thrive at the cost of their economy.
This is something the global economies can learn learn from. Public gripes in India – also fueled by onion crisis and rising inflation touching three-year peak of 5.5% – again shed light on the importance of the economy that though may be eclipsed for the time being over sporadic public emotions but can never become dormant completely.
New Delhi’s consistent Muslim-fixated debatable actions have put the United States, a close Indian ally, in an awkward position that has been very vocal about Chinese discrimination of Muslims in its Xinjiang autonomous region. While Washington has bitingly criticized Beijing over its treatment of minorities, the world is yet to see something substantial on New Delhi from the Trump administration and American Congressmen.