Soul searching for India’s Modi after humiliating Bihar defeat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a crowd of around 60,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium during a three-day visit to the United Kingdom later this week. Death again revisited the valley on a day the Indian Prime Minister promised Insaaniyat (Humanity) and Jamhooriyat (Democracy) to its people. “They will now be emboldened to challenge Mr Modi by forging alliances and change the narrative of Indian politics”.

The veteran leader has chose to hold a condolence meeting in the memory of martyred Gowhar at Zainakote, tomorrow (Wednesday), and has appealed to people to participate in the event to pay tributes to the martyred youth.

The gathering at Wembley just a few days after the Hindu religious festival of Diwali is expected to be his biggest yet.

At the same time, investors said they would not overreact. Interestingly, The Guardian termed economic “takeoff” in India under Narendra Modi as “elusive”, when the BJP government has been riding on the economic development plank.

Modi has actively sought support from Indian communities overseas, and that’s something new; the Indian diaspora are more often made to feel guilty for turning their backs on the home country than embraced for their global influence and success.

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan have orchids named after them in Singapore while former PMs Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had declined the offer in the past.

Results on Sunday showed Modi suffered a second straight regional election setback, raising worries about his ability to pass key reforms such as a goods and services tax, given the ruling coalition lacks a majority in the upper house of parliament.

Gowhar, a second semester engineering student, was hit by a teargas shell in the head and he succumbed at SKIMS hospital within minutes after he was brought in a critical state, sparking protests in many parts of the capital city, including the University of Kashmir, following which the authorities imposed restrictions to prevent a flare-up. After a big election defeat in Bihar, the country’s third most populous state, the rockstar welcome looks ill-timed.

However, the protest may not hamper Modi’s visit as according to reports, the PM is set to receive an “Olympic Style” welcome at Wembley stadium hosted by The Europe India Forum (EIF). “It is the failure of the state unit of BJP who failed to tell their national leadership about the political and socio-economic aspirations of people of Jammu”, Sharma said. We want to highlight the failings of the Modi administration.

And while the British government’s overture to China is seen as a bold and distinctive foreign policy initiative, there’s not the same diplomatic buzz about the Indian leader’s arrival.