‘Modi’s win will see India’s soul lost to a dark politics,’ says ‘The Guardian’ editorial
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory in the national elections will see India’s soul “lost to a dark politics”, and this is bad news for the country and the world, British newspaper The Guardian said in an editorial on Thursday. The editorial said Modi had threatened “independent India’s most precious facet: a functioning multi-party democracy”.
The newspaper’s criticism of Modi noted that he is a “divisive figure” but “undoubtedly a charismatic campaigner”, who “deployed with terrible effect false claims and partisan facts”. The Congress and the Nehru–Gandhi family, meanwhile, will have to “seriously rethink” how to defeat him, the editorial said.
The editorial said the Hindu nationalism movement that Modi is part of is changing India for the worse, with its focus on upper-caste Hindus, pro-corporate economic growth, cultural conservatism, “intensified” misogyny, and a “firm grip on the instruments of state power”.
The article made remarks about Indian Muslims being “political orphans”, their declining seat share in Parliament, and how Hindutva views them as second-class citizens. It said Modi had recklessly taken India and Pakistan close to war earlier this year.
But Modi’s victory, despite a “spluttering economy”, should perhaps not be surprising, the editorial said, citing a 2017 survey that showed that India had the greatest support for autocratic rule.
About the Bharatiya Janata Party, the newspaper said the party “pays lip service to reducing the yawning inequalities that disfigure India”, and the role of caste and religious conflict in India’s party system suits the outfit. The Opposition, meanwhile, needs to run a “distinctive campaign on an egalitarian platform”, and replace identity-based fights with “political competition over how to benefit all Indians”, the editorial said. “That will require an Opposition in India far savvier and more in touch with the country’s poor than exists today,” it said.
Pankaj Mishra in The New York Times
In an article for The New York Times, journalist and author Pankaj Mishranoted how Modi’s “raw wisdom” had made India suffer for five years, proving him to be “dangerously incompetent”. He wrote about threats to minorities and lower-caste Hindus, as well as dissenting journalists and women. Mishra said that during Modi’s rule, India had witnessed a “savage assault on not just democratic institutions and rational discourse but also ordinary human decency”.
In the article titled “How Narendra Modi Seduced India With Envy and Hate”, Mishra wrote that voters had chosen overwhelmingly to “prolong this nightmare”. “The sources of Mr. Modi’s impregnable charisma seem more mysterious when you consider that he failed completely to realize his central promises of the 2014 election: jobs and national security,” Mishra said.
The writer also said that corporate-owned media had “fervently built up Modi as India’s saviour”.“Since 2014, Mr. Modi’s near-novelistic ability to create irresistible fictions has been steadily enhanced by India’s troll-dominated social media as well as cravenly sycophantic newspapers and television channels,” said the author of the book Age of Anger. He added that the Opposition was right to suggest that the Election Commission had been “shamelessly partisan”.
Mishra said Modi had exploited the “long dormant rage” against India’s “self-perpetuating post-colonial rulers”, noting how previous governments had left “no possibility of dialogue with a metropolitan ruling class of...Godlike aloofness, which had cruelly stranded us in history while itself moving serenely toward convergence with the prosperous West”.
Meanwhile, satirical website The Onion also had a take on Modi’s huge victory. The Onion put up a photo of Modi accompanied with the headline, “India Continues Surge Towards Status as First-world Nation by Reelecting Racist Right-wing Authoritarian”.
courtesy: scroll.in
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Smriti Mandhana named BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year for 2025
New Delhi (PTI): Star batter Smriti Mandhana, who played a pivotal role in India's historic 2025 Women's World Cup triumph, was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year for 2025 at a glittering function here on Monday.
Chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh won the Emerging Player of the Year award, for her historic FIDE Women's World Cup triumph at just 20.
Preethi Pal was named the Para-Sportswoman of the Year, for winning two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in track and field, while Anjali Bhagwat was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising her pioneering career as India's first woman shooter to reach an Olympic final and her trailblazing success on the world stage.
Mandhana, who is currently touring Australia with the Indian team for multi-format bilateral assignments, said in a video message: "Thank you BBC for giving me the awardfor Best Sportswoman of the Year. 2025 was a special year for women's cricket, especiallytowards the end we had a World Cup and I'm happy I could contribute and help India win matches.".
At 29, the left-handed batter is already among the game's greats, with the second-highest number of centuries in women's One Day Internationals and ranking third in total runsscored among current players worldwide.
Hailing from Sangli city in Maharashtra, the affable Mandhana was inspired by her father and brother, both of whom played cricket at the district level.
In September last year, she made a 50-ball hundred against Australia – the fastest 50 over international ton (men and women) by an Indian in the format, breaking Virat Kohli's record.
The award winners were decided by a distinguished grand jury comprising Leander Paes, Deepa Malik, and Anju Bobby George.
Praising the athletes' achievements CEO of BBC News, Jonathan Munro said: "Congratulations to this year's winners who showcase the very best in sporting excellence. The BBC World Service is committed to bringing such stories of human endeavour and outstanding success to audiences across India and around the world.".
Additionally, the ceremony also celebrated a wide spectrum of talent and impact, recognizing star performers and changemakers for redefining the landscape of Indian sport.
BBC Star Performers of the Year 202.
• Indian Women's Cricket Team: for their historic World Cup victory.
• Ekta Bhyan, Deepthi Jeevanji and Preethi Pal: for their trailblazing performances at the World Para Athletics Championship.
• Indian Women's Cricket Team for the Blind: for their inspiring World Cup victory.
• Indian Women's Kabaddi Team: for their smashing victory in World Cup.
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BBC Changemakers of the Year 202.
• Indian Women's Ice Hockey Team: for breaking barriers in a non-traditional sport.
• Rajbir Kaur: Indian field hockey player and former captain of the women’s national team.
• Savita Punia: Indian field hockey player and current member of the national team.
• Paani Devi: recognised for her impactful contribution to grassroots sport.
