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Letters

I refer to your article “Who does Modi think Xi is?” in the January 5 edition of This Week in Asia.
India is the world’s largest democracy, and all institutions – the Election Commission, the judicial system, the armed forces – are all functioning, above partisan politics and a source of inspiration to all Indians, akin to those in the western democracies. Attempts by Mr Debasish Roy Chowdhury to cast aspersions on them are most shameful.
Unlike Xi or other Chinese Communist leaders, Mr Narendra Modi was duly elected by the people with a resounding majority.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was implemented in Assam under a Supreme Court directive. While there are plans to take it nationwide, it hasn’t been done yet.


The Citizenship Amendment Act talks about granting quicker citizenship to people from six religious groups, not just Hindus, suffering religious persecution in neighbouring Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
The UN makes a clear distinction between refugees escaping persecution, and others seeking to better their economic prospects.
With regard to India, it seems the former are mostly made up of non-Muslim minorities and for many of them there is no option but to come over to India. Muslims can go to about 50 other countries.
When people start losing debates, they start moving the goalposts. For the record, India and China are the only two of the BRICS counties whose economies are still growing, albeit slower than before.
India and China find common ground on dealing with protests
No country in the world can be insulated from a global economic crisis. Except for the US, most major economies are not in good shape. This argument for fixing the economy first before doing other things is extremely shallow, not just for India but for the rest of the world.
In any case, Prime Minister Modi is a big game-changer as far as cleanliness and sanitation (Swachh Bharat), universal health care (Ayushman Bharat), the opening of bank accounts and so on are concerned. Unlike the previous government which presided over massive corruption, this government has been free of high-level corruption.
Therefore, sorry to disappoint, folks. Indians love Modi, and we will ensure his Bharatiya Janata Party wins in 2024.
Bharathan Parasuram, Changhua, Taiwan
India can’t be compared with China or Hong Kong  
I refer to your This Week in Asia cover story, “The Limits of Modifying India”, by Debasish Roy Chowdhury. Your paper and others had been claiming massive anti-incumbency all over India in 2018 and early last year, though my friends and I could see more and more people being solidly behind our prime minister. We, the common people were proven right, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, the BJP, returned to power last May with bigger margins.
The fact remains that the failure of many correspondents stems from their reliance on information from a host of left-liberal “intellectuals” who control the narrative in India, lack creativity and just copy and paste from each other.

 
All the steps which this government has taken and which are mentioned in your article – GST implementation, the building of the Ram temple, abrogation of article 370 granting special status to Kashmir, granting citizenship to religiously persecuted minorities from three neighbouring Islamic states, etc, – had been part of the BJP’s election manifesto. And the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed with a full majority by both houses of parliament. Thus, a comparison with Hong Kong or China is mischievous.
If Xi has an eye on Kashmir, is Modi watching Hong Kong, South China Sea?
In Hong Kong, students see the government as lacking credibility because it is not a democratic set-up. In the case of India, when a government that got elected on the basis of its manifesto starts implementing it, surely it’s not against democracy?
There have been rallies for and against CAA, they mean nothing. CAA is here to stay in the world’s largest democracy.
Kishore Sambwani, Pok Fu Lam


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India

Why Modi is not Xi: the Indian leader has the support of the electorate

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah, now minister of home affairs, wave to supporters at the party headquarters in New Delhi on May 23, 2019, after victory in the national elections which returned Modi to power. Photo: Reuters

In India, blood flows on Delhi’s JNU campus as Tiananmen Lite meets Democracy Lite

Police arrive at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, after masked assailants beat students and teachers with sticks. Photo: AP

Members of Delhi police stand guard at the gate of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. More than 20 people were injured in the attack opposition lawmakers are trying to link to the government. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, with Home Minister Amit Shah arrive to pay tributes on the birth anniversary of former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019. (AP Photo)

Members of National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of India's main opposition Congress party, attend a protest against the attacks on the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday, in New Delhi, India, January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Aishe Ghosh, president of Jawaharlal Nehru University's student union, is seen bleeding after the attack.

Narendra Modi’s mandate is clear and his supporters are more diverse than critics acknowledge

A supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party wearing a mask of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrates the win of a BJP candidate in Siliguri in northeast India on May 24 after the general election results were announced. Photo: AFP