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Given the timelines involved, I'd say it's more likely that not that Modi is following in the footsteps of Xi Jinping. In fact most of Asia is in the hands of s

by rsj_hn 5y ago

Given the timelines involved, I'd say it's more likely that not that Modi is following in the footsteps of Xi Jinping. In fact most of Asia is in the hands of some kind of ethno-nationalist leader, from Duterte in the Phillipines to Suga in Japan, Xi in China or Jae-In in S. Korea. Modi is not really exceptional when viewed on the scale of other asian leaders. But Asia has always had a much more ethno-nationalist bent, so it may be surprising to people who compare Indian politics to those of Western Europe. Even western darlings like Aung San Suu Kyi, once in power, turned out to be of a strong ethno-nationalist bent, which I'm sure shocked a lot of her supporters in the West.

naruvimama 5y ago
People in Asia & Africa are replacing their Brown Sahibs & Black Sahibs with leaders from the masses. This has spooked the "colonialist" hiding underneath the "liberal" skin of the western "liberals". Many authors such as this one seem to have come from the "Brown Sahib class", completely out of touch with reality or the pulse of the people.
- jpmoral 5y ago
  I am from one of the countries mentioned, and I am not sure I have any idea of what you're talking about.
  - strangeattractr 5y ago
    It's a sad attempt to rescue the reputation of a modern nationalist movement the poster sympathises with by imbuing it with the moral righteousness of the independence movements of the 20th century.
  - wobbly_bush 5y ago
    Search for "pseudo liberals India" and you will find a lot of articles talking about this topic. To be clear I'm not talking about any of them being right or wrong, just that that's the term which has historically been used.
  - chakkepolja 5y ago
    Common Hindu nationalist trope to associate everything they don't like with colonialism. As a Hindu, it deeply saddens me these people have been making temples the issue of forefront while ignoring every duty Dharma assigns to them.
  - rayiner 5y ago
    He’s talking about the fact that India’s ruling class for a long time has been western-educated and rejected the people’s populist instincts: https://unherd.com/2021/04/the-culture-wars-of-post-colonial-india/ https://unherd.com/2021/04/the-culture-wars-of-post-colonial... > Nehru and Jinnah led India and Pakistan to independence as the brown-skinned Westerners Thomas Macaulay had envisioned a century earlier. South Asian in appearance and pedigree, the leaders of these two nations nevertheless personified a fundamental truth about the Western orientation of the new Asian states. We had the same in Bangladesh. Westernized university-educated people like my dad trying to impose secular democracy on a deeply Muslim country. Didn’t last.
- rishav_sharan 5y ago
  Considering that these brown sahib had been voted in by the same masses previously, I am not sure what point are you making. Populist/fascist leaders like ones in India's regime come and go. Trump isn't the president still. If you think BJP will be in power for the next 50 years, then I'd say you should check up on fascist history.
thunderbong 5y ago
That's a really interesting take. History must have had a role to play here, although I wonder in what way that could've influenced the current outlook and mindset of the peoples.
lasagnaphil 5y ago
Wait, do you really think president Moon of S. Korea is ethno-nationalist of all things? You have no idea what you're talking about - he's just your run-of-the-mill liberal. You really need to be careful generalizing the whole Asia region to fit your narrative. S. Korea was already a bit culturally ethno-nationalist not because of reasons like 'racism' or something like Western populist politics, but because of the more complex history of being colonized and almost assimilated by Japan. And diplomatically S. Korea's has always been pro-US for pragmatic reasons (military protection) and would probably stay that way for some time. (That doesn't mean there isn't any anti-US sentiment among citizens, it's just that it hasn't been materialized into anything significant in actual global relations.)
- simmanian 5y ago
  +1 to this. Grandparent comment greatly reduces Asian politics. Even the bit on Aung San Suu Kyi is way too simplified.

by rsj_hn 5y ago

naruvimama 5y ago

People in Asia & Africa are replacing their Brown Sahibs & Black Sahibs with leaders from the masses. This has spooked the "colonialist" hiding underneath the "liberal" skin of the western "liberals". Many authors such as this one seem to have come from the "Brown Sahib class", completely out of touch with reality or the pulse of the people.

jpmoral 5y ago
I am from one of the countries mentioned, and I am not sure I have any idea of what you're talking about.
- strangeattractr 5y ago
  It's a sad attempt to rescue the reputation of a modern nationalist movement the poster sympathises with by imbuing it with the moral righteousness of the independence movements of the 20th century.
- wobbly_bush 5y ago
  Search for "pseudo liberals India" and you will find a lot of articles talking about this topic. To be clear I'm not talking about any of them being right or wrong, just that that's the term which has historically been used.
- chakkepolja 5y ago
  Common Hindu nationalist trope to associate everything they don't like with colonialism. As a Hindu, it deeply saddens me these people have been making temples the issue of forefront while ignoring every duty Dharma assigns to them.
- rayiner 5y ago
  He’s talking about the fact that India’s ruling class for a long time has been western-educated and rejected the people’s populist instincts: https://unherd.com/2021/04/the-culture-wars-of-post-colonial-india/ https://unherd.com/2021/04/the-culture-wars-of-post-colonial... > Nehru and Jinnah led India and Pakistan to independence as the brown-skinned Westerners Thomas Macaulay had envisioned a century earlier. South Asian in appearance and pedigree, the leaders of these two nations nevertheless personified a fundamental truth about the Western orientation of the new Asian states. We had the same in Bangladesh. Westernized university-educated people like my dad trying to impose secular democracy on a deeply Muslim country. Didn’t last.
rishav_sharan 5y ago
Considering that these brown sahib had been voted in by the same masses previously, I am not sure what point are you making. Populist/fascist leaders like ones in India's regime come and go. Trump isn't the president still. If you think BJP will be in power for the next 50 years, then I'd say you should check up on fascist history.

thunderbong 5y ago

That's a really interesting take. History must have had a role to play here, although I wonder in what way that could've influenced the current outlook and mindset of the peoples.

lasagnaphil 5y ago

Wait, do you really think president Moon of S. Korea is ethno-nationalist of all things? You have no idea what you're talking about - he's just your run-of-the-mill liberal. You really need to be careful generalizing the whole Asia region to fit your narrative. S. Korea was already a bit culturally ethno-nationalist not because of reasons like 'racism' or something like Western populist politics, but because of the more complex history of being colonized and almost assimilated by Japan. And diplomatically S. Korea's has always been pro-US for pragmatic reasons (military protection) and would probably stay that way for some time. (That doesn't mean there isn't any anti-US sentiment among citizens, it's just that it hasn't been materialized into anything significant in actual global relations.)

simmanian 5y ago
+1 to this. Grandparent comment greatly reduces Asian politics. Even the bit on Aung San Suu Kyi is way too simplified.