Narendra Modi

"India recently witnessed a strange spectacle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues subjecting themselves to an intense scrutiny by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the Hindu nationalist organization, regarding their ‘performance’ in office. Modi himself used to be an activist of the RSS. But an elaborate charade was kept so far that Modi was in command of the government.

'A band of about 20 village women laid siege to the letter boxes at Patna's general post office. They came armed with 25,000 post cards, all addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "This is the Save Mahila Samakhya-National Postcard Campaign," one of the women explained to the curious onlookers. "HRD minister Smriti Irani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi want to extinguish the most successful women's empowerment programmes in India. Mahila Samakhya (MS) has reached out and empowered countless numbers of women over the past 25 years.

As faculty who engage South Asia in our research and teaching, we write to express our concerns about the uncritical fanfare being generated over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley to promote “Digital India” on September 27, 2015.

"All indications are, India is fated to deal with another missing prime minister... Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ideological moorings have often been debated. But his attributes as a leader are also coming under scrutiny. Detractors will say that his leadership was always an illusion, a virtual trick, designed to hoodwink the gullible. Supporters will be immune to any reality check. But Modi’s actions are demonstrating qualities that are opposite to the mythology surrounding him.