The 'foreign hand' in PM Modi's re-election bid

Although because the PM is a public figure the nation too is honoured by such 'gestures of goodwill', but coming in the heat of a keenly contested election, the awards stand in danger of being seen as

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received three unusual ‘endorsements’ from leaders of foreign states during his re-election campaign. The Russian federation has chosen to bestow its highest civilian honour – Order of St Andrew the Apostle – on Prime Minister Modi. This follows on the heels of his being awarded the Zayed Medal by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), again after the election process had begun. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has also endorsed Prime Minister Modi’s re-election bid.

Do we analyse this from an atavistic fear of “foreign hand” that comes so easily to us as once colonised people? After all Indira Gandhi used the fear of the “foreign hand” regularly to browbeat her opponents. 

Unlike titles, the Constitution of India does not ban a citizen of India from accepting awards from foreign states. That accepting such awards does not amount to swearing allegiance to a foreign country was made amply clear when disqualification of Sonia Gandhi as MP was sought from the Election Commission in 2006 for accepting the second highest civilian award of Belgium – “Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold”. After generating a bit of heat and dust, the attempt came to nought.

Yet the timing of the awards in the midst of the election process in India is bound to raise some eyebrows. It is surprising the Indian embassies in Moscow and Abu Dhabi did not advise the respective local government that this may not be the most opportune time to show their goodwill and generosity. 

Retiring diplomats (i.e. when they no longer government servants) are often given honorary decorations by the States where they have served. Even this practice used to be frowned upon by past governments keen on upholding propriety. However, now such awards have become commonplace and retired diplomats are only too pleased to receive them.

Although because the PM is a public figure the nation too is honoured by such “gestures of goodwill”, coming in the heat of a keenly contested election, the awards stand in danger of being seen as endorsement of the awardee by a foreign government. Timing seems to have gone awry both in the case of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle and the Zayed Medal.

Could the Russians be rewarding Prime Minister Modi for giving them substantial defence business despite US pressure?  India is keeping the Russian defence industry busy despite threat of US sanctions with the $5.4 billion S-400 missile defence deal and a $2 billion contract for building 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters, besides the a $3 billion lease for the Chakra-3 submarine, signing a $1.5 billion deal for two Krivak class frigates and the possibility of purchase of 18 additional Sukhoi Su30 MKI aircraft and 21 mothballed MiG29 airframes.

In the case of the Zayed Medal too, it makes no sense for UAE, an Islamic country, to award a politician whose politics rests on marginalising the Muslim community in India and whose election campaign continues to assert Hindu majoritarianism in ways that threaten the minoritiy community. Abu Dhabi could have waited to honour India till a new government assumed office.

Surprisingly it is Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi who Modi may perhaps want to honour for first donating land to construct a Hindu temple during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UAE in 2015 and then inviting him to inaugurate it in the middle of the general election campaign. The inauguration of a Hindu temple by the prime minister in an Islamic country in the midst of a domestic election campaign is bound to be seen as an unethical and electorally communal move.

However, it is Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s endorsement that may turn out to be the most damaging. Realizing that his dismal governance record was unlikely to fetch him public support, Prime Minister Modi had built an election narrative around the Indian bombing of an alleged terrorist training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot and painting his political opponents as pro-Pakistan. He claimed that prayers were being offered for his defeat in Pakistan. Acolytes like the Gujarat Chief Minister went a step further to claim that Diwali would be celebrated in Pakistan if the Opposition Congress party won the general election.

In one stroke Imran Khan has hollowed out this narrative denting Prime Minister Modi’s ultra-nationalist credentials and neutralising the electoral benefits of the Balakot airstrikes. Prime Minister Modi’s belligerence against Pakistan was negated by Imran Khan’s statement to the international press, “Perhaps if the BJP -- a right-wing party -- wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached”? Claiming that the Congress had failed to resolve the Kashmir tangle he said the only chance for peace between India and Pakistan lay in a Modi victory.

He not only called Prime Minister Modi’s bluff which projected Pakistan as a state implacably opposed to him, but also suggested that with India under Modi both countries were on the same ideological page – where political and religious identities merged with an Islamic Pakistan a mirror image of Hindu India.

His observations in the same media interaction that “Muslim-ness is being attacked” in India under Prime Minister Modi points to the damage being wrought on India’s diverse religious cultures. Significantly he compared Prime Minister Modi’s campaign based on “fear and nationalism” with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu whose politics Khan suggests, the Indian leader seems to emulate. Most importantly, he has projected Pakistan as a reasonable country which looks forward to a dialogue with India for peace and stability in the region.

Lastly, instead of endorsements, could these awards and statements be no more than polite farewell gestures from grateful world leaders? If so, one wonders how those sitting in Moscow, Abu Dhabi and Islamabad know more about the election outcome than the ordinary Indian voter who must wait till May 23 for the results.

Twitter: @Bharatitis