Modi is a messiah in a certain moral universe. This is why he began his speech with invocations of India’s ancient greatness. Modi tells people he will build a ‘self-reliant nation’ - Atmanirbhar Bharat - on their sacrifices and penance. Gandhi told people that India will achieve freedom through sacrifice and self-purification, which was the basis of satyagraha. When he extended the first lockdown on 14 April, he used the same spiritually imbued terms, calling for ‘ tyag’ (sacrifice) and ‘ tapasya’. The one time Modi mentioned the suffering of daily wage workers, he termed it as ‘ tapasya’ (penance) -suffering for a higher cause, just like he had described his demonetisation move as “ yagna against corruption”. You redouble your faith, because God tells you your suffering is for a higher cause, the thorny path towards salvation that only God can lead you to. When you are suffering, you don’t sack the messiah, much like you don’t sack God.
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People’s suffering a trial of faith in Modi And this devotion is immune to the performance of the government he leads.Īlso read: Why the Modi government gets away with lies, and how the opposition could change that This is why he generates not mere following, but devotion. He is the self-described ‘fakir’, unattached to family and material possessions, who is here to lead India not just politically, but also socially, morally and spiritually. Gandhi, Modi represents what political scientist Morris Jones referred to as the ‘saintly idiom’ of Indian politics.
The appeal of Modi is quasi-religious, that of a messianic figure. Modi confounds normal political analysis because his appeal isn’t merely political. How does Modi face no political costs for the suffering he, in large part, causes? And how does he not come across as arrogant, out of touch, or simply cruel to most people, even as he consciously ignores their suffering? Just like he didn’t acknowledge the massive destruction to livelihoods caused by demonetisation in 2016, a disaster no other political leader would have survived. He didn’t acknowledge the unprecedented loss of jobs, chronic shortage of essentials, nor the atmosphere of sheer desperation. It astounds many that when Modi addressed the nation on 12 May, he didn’t acknowledge the migrant crisis even once, let alone offer empathy. Yet, astonishingly, there seems to be no anger with Modi, who seems as popular as ever. Half of Indian households have reduced their number of meals since the lockdown. The government has failed spectacularly to address a migrant crisis festering for over two months. Two out of three working Indians, according to a survey, have lost their jobs owing to the ham-fisted lockdown he declared on 24 March. The Jonathan Ross show airs on Saturday night at 9.30pm on ITV and ITV Hub.If he was a normal politician, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity would have reached its nadir by now. He added that the show was now “very much part of my life” and that he would like to present it well into old age, joking “They’re going to have to wheel me in… blitz everything for me as well.
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Hollywood, who judges the show with Prue Leith, said the latest series of Bake Off had seen the best standard yet, but that filming had felt like a “baking cult.” “To hear that from him, I broke down a little bit.” “He gave me a hug and said, ‘I’m proud of what you’ve done’. “Recently he said something to me which choked me up. “But praise was something he found difficult to do I think.”
“He put me with the best guys he had in his business so I could learn from these older guys. “Maybe (it was to get the best out of me). Hollywood, who judges the show with Prue Leith, said the latest series of Bake Off had seen the best standard yet, but that filming had felt like a “baking cult” (The Great Celebrity Bake-Off/PA)