Modi’s Politics of ‘Soft Power’ in times of Hard Realities of the Indian Diaspora
– By K M Seethi
Even as the general elections are round the corner, the Narendra Modi Government makes it a point to use religion and culture as effective tools to sustain itself in power, beyond 2019. This is done in an orchestrated manner deploying strategies of both ‘soft power’ and ‘hard power’ in the domestic, regional and international settings.
The latest in a series of strategies is the way the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is organised, that too in Modi’s electoral constituency in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on the eve of Kumbh Mela, one of the largest Hindu pilgrimages, further linking it with the Republic day of India on 26 January. Politics as a ‘performing soft power art’ will be this year’s ‘Diaspora Mela’ in India.…
However, the BJP-led NDA Government decided to dispense with the MOIA and made ‘Overseas Indian Affairs’ as part of the MEA. Though Prime Minister Modi visited the GCC countries and signed several agreements and contracts during the last few years, he did not show any serious attention to the problems of the Indian diaspora in the Gulf.…
SEE ALSO:
- Sound and Fury: The voices creating aggressive Hindutva’s soundtrack – By Mansi Dua (Jan 20, 2019, Indian Express)
https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/aggressive-hindutva-soundtrack-fury-internet-5545915/ - Rising roar of faux faith in poll-bound India – By L K Sharma (Jan 22, 2019, Sabrang India)
https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/rising-roar-faux-faith-poll-bound-india - Politics of Contempt? – Editorial (Jan 26, 2019, EPW)
https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/4/editorials/politics-contempt.html - Dynasty? Look into the mirror – By Abheek Barman (Jan 24, 2019, Economic Times)
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/folk-theorem/dynasty-look-into-the-mirror/
