Modi: Murderous, not Modish

There was a time when Narendra Modi was banned from entering the USA. Now he arrives for a State visit at a time when the US is in desperate need of friends in the broad Asian region stretching from Pakistan and India via China to Russia's Far East. It has no friends in Russia; Afghanistan is a lost cause; Pakistan is, as ever, a pain in the arse; and China....

India right now is raking in the benefits of Russia's historic weakness: a country with over a billion people and no significant deposits of oil and gas can now buy the stuff at a discount from Russia, from whom it also buys more arms than any other country, though no doubt the US Admin will try to persuade India to buy American weapons -more expensive, but better.

It is not clear to me how the US can recruit India to its China policy. India and China have had a mini-war going on in the Himalayan region since the 1950s, most of it cold rather than hot, but outside this area, I don't think China regards India as any kind of military threat -I don't know many states that fear the Indian Navy, and India's nuclear strategy is shaped by its relations with Pakistan, while its interests in Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent years.

As ever, for Americans the sore to cover up is Modi's religious vision for India, his sponsorship of anti-Muslim violence, the annexation of Kashmir which was a violation of International Law that would be similar to Israel annexing the West Bank, while Modi's treatment of critics whether or not they are Muslim or Christian has meant a human rights record as bad as the one that got him banned from the US in the first place.

And yet, the BJP lost the election in Karnataka and may lose in other States, so Modi for all his triumphalism has not taken over India completely though for some time the RSS and its various violent militants will continue to harass Christians (does anyone in the 'Bible Belt' care about that?) and murder Muslims.

At this stage, when its not talk about China, it is about trade where trade = money. The Seven Mystical Chakras taking as it were, a back seat on this visit.

What’s behind Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit? | Narendra Modi News | Al Jazeera

Karnataka has shown how to defeat Modi — India must now learn | Politics | Al Jazeera

In addition to the above I recommend the study by Michael Walzer, The Paradox of Liberation, reviewed here-

Fathom – Book Review |The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions (fathomjournal.org)

More specific to Modi is an article in the New York Times 'The Price of Making Friends with Modi', but tucked away behind a paywall

Opinion | The Dangerous Reality of Modi’s India - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Why India is about to become the 21st century’s unstoppable superpower (yahoo.com)

A fascinating read, albeit one that avoids any mention of Kashmir, and the violence and discrimination threatening India's Muslim and Christian population.

As for the branches of Subway, Burger King and McDonalds -I understand the Big Mac is a Maharajah Mac and chicken not beef; in Burger King it is inventively known as a Chicken Whopper, or a Mutton Whopper.....on the one hand, who goes to India to eat a Big Mac when even the locals can't decide if it is as good as the one in, let's say, Fulton County Georgia....??

Eat Your Bhaji on the Beach!