![]() ![]() ![]() The big-tent coalition was a remarkable show of unity, something that had mostly eluded Modi’s rivals since his ascent to power in 2014. Then, in mid-July, two weeks before the violence erupted in Gurugram, the Indian opposition announced an electoral alliance to take on Modi in next year’s national elections. With Karnataka, the Hindu right lost its only foothold in southern India, the country’s most prosperous and wealthy region. In May, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a chastening defeat in a high-stakes election in Karnataka, the southern-Indian state that is home to Bangalore and a powerhouse of India’s information-technology sector. Two recent setbacks had rattled him and the Hindu-supremacist movement he leads. The mayhem in Gurugram was a direct result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s growing sense of political insecurity. Large numbers of working-class Muslims, the human capital underpinning the city’s prosperity, took flight. Smoke billowed from buildings set ablaze, riot police trawled the streets, and multinational corporations ordered their employees to stay home. But for much of this month, the city has been in a state of siege from Hindu mobs running amok, attacking Muslim homes, commercial establishments, and places of worship. With its gleaming malls and opulent high-rises, Gurugram had become symbolic of India’s economic rise. I n the first week of August, the glitzy megacity of Gurugram, an hour’s drive from New Delhi, was burning. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |