Daily Newsings are musings on the daily news.
The big story for today is Prime Minister Narendra Modi filing his nomination papers on Tuesday for the elections to the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat.
Let us consider the manner in which he filed his papers.
He started his day by offering prayers at the Ganga and then went to the Kaal Bhairav temple. He was welcomed at the temple gate and presented with a stole by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The people around showered petals on Prime Minister Modi while chanting mantras of “Har Har Mahadev” — a slogan that praises the god Shiva.
Nomination of a candidate for elections requires some local voter to also endorse the candidate — they are called proposers. PM Modi had 4 proposers — 2 BJP workers, an RSS volunteer and a Veda and Astrology scholar.
The choice of constituency which Modi wants to contest as a candidate is also interesting. Varanasi — one of the holy cities for the Hindu faith.
This is just another reminder of the Hindu-Nationalism espoused by Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Whether it is being the Member of Parliament representing Kashi-Varanasi, having his candidature proposed by a renowned Veda scholar, or being greeted chants of praises to Shiva, every movement of the Prime Minister is tailor-made to advance his image as the face of Hindu Nationalism.
The BJP is not just an electoral machine. It is also an ideological machine. It has a vision for the country — a vision that appeals to a large section of the country. If an alternative to the BJP is to emerge in the country, electoral strategy alone will not suffice. There needs to be a strong and clear counter-narrative to the Hindu nationalist ideology of the RSS and the BJP.
Here’s a challenge to the church in India — can it articulate a clear Biblical vision for the transformation and development of India?
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