(Macron is possibly also hoping France can sell six EPR nuclear reactors.
France President Emmanuel Macron was given a red carpet welcome and an elephant honour guard on Thursday as he started a two-day visit to India, with France eyeing lucrative deals with the world's fifth-largest economy.)
Christians may need to rethink mission in ‘new Bharat'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the opening of the temple heralded a 'new era' for India, at a ceremony that embodies the triumph of his muscular Hindu nationalist politics, galvanizing loyalists ahead of elections this spring.
Hindu devotees gathered near the illuminated Ram temple following the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya in India's Uttar Pradesh state on Jan 22.
The Ram temple that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated this week is a milestone in assessing how his leadership is changing India’s concept of secularism and democracy with far-reaching implications for its religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians.
When Modi became prime minister for the first time, leading his pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a landslide victory in the 2014 parliamentary elections, he was just a chief minister of Gujarat state, one of 28 Indian states.
The victory was powered by the groundwork done for decades by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is an umbrella forum of Hindu organizations that work to make India a nation of Hindu hegemony.
Since 2014, Modi’s BJP and the RSS have been working without losing sight of their prime objective — making India a Hindu nation.
Many believed a second term for the BJP in 2019 after winning more seats in parliament would lead to changing certain features of India’s secular constitution in the push for a Hindu nation. But the Modi administration showed no rush to do that.
“As prime minister, he does not need to change the written constitution as his political opponents keep saying. Looking at it carefully, you will realize Modi has effectively reshaped the country with his governance strategies already," according to Assam-based social scientist Ashutosh Talukdar.
The exasperated Congress leader asked whether Modi will now “decide who will visit a temple and when,” unwittingly hinting at the Hindu tilt adopted by him.
Congress’ Shashi Tharoor, a parliamentarian from the southern state of Kerala, posted a photograph of the Ram idol soon after Modi performed the rituals of installing it inside the Ayodhya temple.
Kuzholuzo Azo Nienu, a Christian politician belonging to the Naga People's Front (NPF) in northeast India is concerned about how Christians and Muslims should now conduct themselves on the electoral platform.
His Muslim friends are now more scared and their apprehensions are not without good reasons, Nienu said.
Human Rights Watch warned in 2023 against the Modi government’s policy of “systematic discrimination and stigmatization of religious and other minorities, particularly Muslims.”
For Christians, the challenge will be to reconsider and rework their mission, especially when it comes to evangelization. Hardline Hindu groups, led by the RSS, have been demanding a moratorium on conversion activities in the country.
Christians are already facing demands to place statues of Saraswati (the Hindu goddess of learning) inside their educational institutions and introduce prayers and hymns invoking her blessings.
There is pressure on tribal Christians in states like Chhattisgarh in central India and Jharkhand in the east to join the Hindu fold under the Ghar Wapsi (return home) drive launched by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council).
What’s in store for the minorities, including Christians, in an Indian polity dominated by majoritarianism can be gauged from what Alphons Kannanthanam, a BJP leader and a Catholic Christian, had to say after the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya.
“The entire country and all the communities are united in endorsing the Ram temple. I think this is the beginning of a long journey of uniting the country. No more battles, no more wars. I think Ram is going to be a unifying force,” he said.
Like Bhagwat’s, it’s a loaded statement.
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| Blogger, not far from Myanmar border, Nagaland |
ends
Republic Day Musings::::
Changing dynamics in Indian diplomacy under Team Modi .... Critical aspects of Indo-French partnership
Brotherhood matters always.
In Delhi, politics is now mingled with Ramayana. Dr S Jaishankar, India's
foreign minister, says every Ram needs a Lakshman. Wags say Modi's diplomacy needs France and Emanuel Macron as 'Lakshman' to India.
A brother who can cool your angry temper or can tell you, well I am here, every crisis can be handled.
In simple terms, together India and France have a lot of influence at the global stage. India can bring in Global South; and what is this 'Global South' to Narendra Modi's friendship and leadership -- the European Union is to France.
There is one way of looking at the India-France relationship. It is basically an 'essential partnership'.
At global scenario major powers are in conflicts with each other or making isolated blocks !! US is with Israel want to fight Hamas; China is with Russia and clandestinely backing Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine. But amid these situations, it is France and India -- two countries chiefly pushing for middle path and peace.
This Republic Day, Indian was set to host US President Joe Biden. He had accepted the invitation and later "could not come". But French president Macron arriving shows India's clout is on north bound graph; and New Delhi and its leader Modi matter today. India is fast emerging as a powerful nation and on the other side, key global players are wooing India.
Since 2014, PM Modi has put Indian foreign policy and the 'engine room' on an affirmative and assertive trajectory. As diplomats often say, "clout is strength, either economic prowess or geopolitical power ... brute strength and assertive approach matter".
Macron’s visit comes at a time when India is looking at buying 26 Rafale M fighters from France for the navy’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, the 45,000-tonne INS Vikrant.
The country is also planning to build three more Scorpene-class submarines with technology from France to enhance the Indian Navy’s undersea capabilities.
President Macron’s visit will consolidate the ambitious renewal of the France-India strategic partnership that the two leaders decided on in Paris last year.
France and India have developed a trust-based cooperation aimed at strengthening strategic autonomy, illustrated by close cooperation in the defence sector, including advanced platforms and technologies.
The two countries are also key partners in contributing to international peace and security, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, where we implement a joint strategy. They also have a long-standing cooperation of over 60 years on space spanning launchers, space exploration, crewed flights, climate monitoring satellites, and maritime surveillance.
India's foreign ministry says New Delhi and Paris are "strategic partners", while the French presidency says the trip will "consolidate and deepen diplomatic and economic relations".
Despite concerns over human rights, differences over the war in Ukraine and Delhi's close ties with Moscow -- India's key military supplier -- the US and its European allies are courting New Delhi as a military and economic counterweight to China.
France hopes to build on its military contracts after the Indian defence ministry purchased French-made Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class submarines in multibillion-dollar deals.
Macron is possibly also hoping France can sell six EPR nuclear reactors.
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