Five Key Points From Swapan Dasgupta's Article On PM Modi That New York Times Requested But Refused To Publish

The Republic recently featured an article penned by Swapan Dasgupta on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was initially solicited by the New York Times but ultimately refused to publish. Below are five key highlights from Dasgupta's piece.

1. What critics say

Since Modi is most likely to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to secure a third term, critics believe that this is because of India "turning democracy into electoral authoritarianism."

"The twinning of the Western liberal establishment’s concerns over India’s “democratic backsliding” with the opposition Congress party’s fighting the polls on a similar platform is significant," the writer says.

2. Irrelevance of old elite

The writer says that instead of relying on the old elite class comprising of westernised and cosmopolitan individuals, "Modi placed his entire reliance on a counter-establishment that was rooted in the provinces and were more adept in Indian languages and local cultures."

The new elites promoted by the BJP were more assertively Hindu, while the old establishment only had patches of influence left for a little time.

3. What happened in 2019

Modi was established as a national figure with a nationalist and pro-poor image. The Congress alleging him for being a champion of crony capitalism was rejected by the voters.

4. What in 2024

Modi has achieved a "cult status" for two reasons, "The first was the fulfilment of the party’s seven-decade-old promise to modify the Constitution and achieve the full integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Union."

"The second stemmed from the Supreme Court’s sanction to build a Hindu temple at the site of a demolished 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya," the writer explains.

5. The achievements

Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, upgradation of infrastructure all over the country, the grand G-20 summit and the growing value of the Indian passport are some of the biggest achievements of the Modi government.