Narendra Modi’s Populist Facade Is Cracking 

India is now a testing ground for whether demagoguery or deteriorating living conditions exert a greater sway on voters.
By Robert F. Worth

Narendra Modi’s Populist Facade Is Cracking https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/modi-nationalism-demagoguery-limitations/681094/ Robert F. Worth India is now a testing ground for whether demagoguery or deteriorating living conditions exert a greater sway on voters.  India’s growth has been heavily weighted toward the wealthy, who have become exponentially richer on Modi’s watch. Those who have benefited most are a small cadre of billionaire friends to whom Modi has granted special access for years. That practice was cast in a new light in November, when American prosecutors indicted the industrialist Gautam Adani—India’s second-richest man and a close Modi ally—for his role in a multibillion-dollar bribery-and-fraud scheme. (His company has denied the charges, calling them baseless.) The accusation revived fears about opacity and cronyism—the specter of “India Inc.”—that Modi had promised to address a decade ago.

At the same time, eight in 10 Indians live in poverty. Extraordinary numbers are out of work; one estimate puts unemployment among those ages 15 to 24 at more than 45 percent (though other estimates run lower). Instead of moving from farms to seek employment in cities, as people in other developing countries have done, many Indians—unable to find factory or service jobs—are making the trek in reverse, even as farm income stagnates and drought turns fields into deserts. .. What, in the long run, exerts greater sway on the electorate—the lure of demagoguery, or the reality of deteriorating living conditions?

  https://www.navjivanindia.com/opinion/ram-puniyanis-article-the-extent-of-hatred-in-the-country-where-did-the-advices-of-top-leaders-go

Urban Naxals and Red Book: The BJP's efforts to Undermine Rahul Gandhi's  championing of the Marginalised  https://thewire.in/politics/urban-naxals-and-red-book-the-bjps-efforts-to-undermine-rahul-gandhis-championing-of-the-marginalised Anand Teltumbde 10/Nov/2024 Gandhi’s transformation, especially evident through his Bharat Jodo and Nyaya Yatras, has shifted him from being seen as a “me too Hindu” simpleton to a champion of marginalised groups. This rebranding has positioned him as a significant challenge to the BJP with his unorthodox approach to leadership.

the references to leftist influences in urban areas and their link to Naxalism can be found in security and policy analyses from as early as the 1990s and 2000s.

The police projected to the gullible people that they had uncovered the Maoists’ plot to build urban network and busted it by arresting these activists. 

 18th AIPSC 2024 

Inaugural https://youtu.be/D_XyDzdduXM?t=322

Inaugural Sessions  https://youtu.be/D_XyDzdduXM?t=1578

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-g6c2Yqes4  4 hours plus

 2nd Day All India People's Science Congress Cultural Programs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuMWfIO_zM0 AIPSN Medi Oriya songs 

 3rd Day All India People's Science Congress Cultural Programs
AIPSN Media

How George Soros became ‘Enemy Number 1’ for India’s Modi https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/26/how-george-soros-became-enemy-number-1-for-indias-modi

n a series of posts on December 5, the BJP posted on X that the Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, used the work of a group of investigative journalists — funded in part by Soros’s foundation and the State Department — to target the Modi government on questions related to the economy, security, and democracy.

But some experts have suggested that the move is about domestic political posturing, aimed also at aligning the Modi government with the incoming Trump administration’s insistence on how the “deep state” conspires to undermine democracy.

“The instrumentalisation of Western criticism into a domestic political platform represents a rather new phenomenon in Modi’s India,” said Asim Ali, a political researcher. It represents an effort, he said, to build the narrative of a “face-off between a ‘Western-backed coalition’ and a ‘popularly backed nationalist coalition’.”

Not many people would know this: in 2004 when Manipur plunged into a deep crisis, then PM Dr MMS went to Imphal and handed over the Kangla Fort, the most revered symbol of power to the public. After independence, this was kept captive to the Assam Rifles. Here is his speech there on Nov 20, 2004. https://archivepmo.nic.in/drmanmohansingh/speech-details.php?nodeid=45 Extracts: he ancient heritage of Manipur and its tradition of bravery continue to echo throughout the length and breadth of the State and inspires the rest of the country. The Kangla Fort exemplified the bravery of Manipuris and witnessed many a fierce battle against British authorities who wanted to capture it and conquer its people. ...it was Indira Gandhi who positively responded to the yearnings of the Manipuris to have a separate State so that they could fashion their destiny and develop and consonance with their own genius. It is important and instructive to recall that Indira Gandhi while studying in Shantiniketan belonged to the Manipur Group and learnt Manipuri dance. In fact during his visit to the State in 1952, Panditji saw a number of dances in Manipur and wrote, show at Manipur

Saving Young Adults In Consensual Relationships From Prosecution Under Child Sex Abuse Law Has Become A Matter Of Luck  https://article-14.com/post/saving-young-adults-in-consensual-relationships-from-prosecution-under-child-sex-abuse-law-has-become-a-matter-of-luck--67623c70a081b?s=08 Raksha Kumar Wednesday, 18 Dec, 2024  India’s law on child abuse requires mandatory criminal procedure to be initiated against anyone who has sex with those below the age of 18. Most police personnel and judges across the country follow the letter of the law. However, given the magnitude of such cases, police and judiciary of some states have refrained from criminalising young adults and teenagers in consensual relationships.

For decades, child rights activists fought hard for a separate law against child abuse. 

In 2012, the POCSO Act was enacted, which widened the definition of sexual violence and incorporated child-friendly procedures for reporting, investigation, recording of evidence, and trial. Many termed it “pathbreaking” but noted that punishment for failure to report the crime, even among consensual partners, came with its own complications. 

 Kashmiri shawl sellers say not allowed to trade in Himachal Pradesh, being told to go back  https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kashmiri-shawl-sellers-allege-harassment-in-himachal-pradesh-file-police-complaint-9746184/  Twenty-two Kashmiri shawl sellers have filed a police complaint at Ghumarwin police station in Bilaspur district, alleging they are being barred from selling their goods and pressured to leave Himachal Pradesh.  Senior officials have attributed the incident to a business rivalry between the Kashmiri hawkers and local shopkeepers affiliated with the Ghumarwin Beopar Mandal. A police investigation is underway.