India is an awesome country full of great people and some of the most despicable politicians in the world. If you’re unfamiliar Modi came into this strong power base because the main liberal party was deeply corrupt - that isn’t to say Modi isn’t corrupt but it’s closer to Chicago style “working corruption” where shit is actually getting done. Unfortunately that shit involves an internal crusade against Muslims and separatist and assassinations carried out abroad.
Sneaking assassins into other countries under the guise of student visas is really cultivating anti-indian racism and it fucking sucks to see as a BC resident with plenty of awesome south Asian coworkers and friends. It’s like the post-9/11 anti-middle-eastern racism… innocent people are going to pay the cost for Modi’s hatred.
I understand that India has a number of people doing this sort of semi-divine cult stuff, so it might not be quite as uncommon as you think, given context.
Godman is a colloquial unisex term used in India for a type of charismatic guru that is often raised to a demigod-like figure by their cult following. They usually have a high-profile presence, and are capable of attracting attention and support from large sections of the society.[1] Godmen also sometimes claim to possess paranormal powers, such as the ability to heal, the ability to see or influence future events, and the ability to read minds.[2]
Godmen are revered as special human beings and often worshipped by their followers.[3] Some godmen come from established schools of spirituality, but often they don’t belong to any religious order. In recent years, many godmen have gained followers outside of India, which has increased their fame and wealth.[2]
Narcissists by nature are attracted to power - no surprises there. But remember that India is an electoral democracy. The people voted him into power. An appropriate comparison is that narcissists are like the flame and the voters are the moths. Voters are going to be burned by their choices (sooner than later) - they don’t know it just yet. Just like the moths.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has questioned his biological origins, asserting that he is “convinced” of being a godsend, introducing the idea of “immaculate conception” in the electoral arena as voting enters the final phases.
“Pehle jab tak maa zinda thi mujhe lagta tha shayad mujhe biologically janm diya gaya hai. Maa ke jaane ke baad, een saare anubhavon ko mai jod kar dekhta hoon toh mai convince ho chukka hoon ki parmatma ne mujhe bheja hai (Till my mother was alive, I had the impression that perhaps my birth was a biological one. After her demise when I view after assimilating all the experiences, I am convinced that God has sent me),” Modi is heard saying in an interview to News 18 last week.
I’m not a Hindi speaker or familiar with if/when Modi likes to dabble in metaphor, but this seems straight up delusional and cult-like. The opposition certainly seems to think it was worth mentioning.
What? This reads like what a lot of politicians actually say, including American politicians that site God and the Bible as their grounding, and declaring themselves as an instrument to God.
This doesn’t read as outlandish to me at all, if you pay attention to people in general, this is a commonly used statement.
I don’t think that he can unilaterally order a nuke strike. It is decided by a command with a no-first-use mandate. Besides, he isn’t the head of the forces. It’s the president.
It’s unlikely in the next 5 years anyway. The “emissary of God” won the elections, but lost the absolute majority. He is now the leader of a coalition government, with a stronger opposition to match.
For now. We'll see how strong India's democratic institutions are I guess. Because ultimately Modi is still very popular and if no one else is willing to fight him and his followers then it doesn't make any difference in what you're voting for. Authoritarians will just do what they want if they feel they can get away with it.
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