In BJP’s ‘divisive nationalism’, Barack Obama sees a precursor to America’s Donald Trump era
Highlights By: Balbir Singh Sooch-Sikh Vichar Manch

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A.     The former US president Obama recounts how Indian PM Manmohan Singh warned him of politicians being able to exploit ‘the call of religious and ethnic-tribal, racial, culture solidarity-commonalty.’
B.      “Except now I found myself asking whether those impulses—of violence, greed, corruption, nationalism, racism, and religious intolerance, the all-too-human desire to beat back our own uncertainty and mortality and sense of insignificance by subordinating others—were too strong for any democracy to permanently contain”.
1.      The former US president Obama praises former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “uncommon wisdom”, Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s “shrewd and forceful intelligence”.
2.      “Except now I found myself asking whether those impulses—of violence, greed, corruption, nationalism, racism, and religious intolerance, the all-too-human desire to beat back our own uncertainty, insecurity, vagueness, hesitation and mortality-humanity;
(i)   And sense of insignificance- the quality of having little or no significance and or the condition or quality of being insignificant; want of significance, sense, or meaning; as, the insignificance of words or phrases; want of claim to consideration or notice; want of influence or standing; meanness by subordinating- treating or regarding as of lesser importance than’   others—were too strong for any democracy to permanently contain”.
3.      But the small India section of Obama’s book, which covers his historic campaign and first term in the White House between 2008-2012, seems to tell a bigger story about how the former US president came to understand the dangers that lie in the lurk in large, multi-ethnic democracies. Specifically, Obama writes that he wondered whether the Congress under Rahul Gandhi would be able to keep the BJP’s “divisive nationalism” in check.
4.      “.... For they seemed to lie in wait everywhere, ready to resurface whenever growth rates stalled or demographics changed or a charismatic leader chose to ride the wave of people’s fears and resentments. And as much as I might have wished otherwise, there was no Mahatma Gandhi around to tell me what I might do to hold such impulses back.”
5.       The former US president Obama writes: “What I couldn’t tell was whether [Manmohan] Singh’s rise to power represented the future of India’s democracy or merely an aberration...Although India had fared better than many other countries in the wake of the financial crisis, the global slowdown would inevitably make it harder to generate jobs for India’s young and rapidly growing population..
6.       Singh had resisted calls to retaliate against Pakistan after the attacks,but his restraint had cost him politically. He feared that rising anti-Muslim sentiment had strengthened the influence of India’s main opposition party, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
7.       “In uncertain times, Mr. President,” the prime minister said, “the call of religious and ethnic solidarity can be intoxicating. And it’s not so hard for politicians to exploit that, in India or anywhere else.”
(i)     The former US president recounts how Indian PM Manmohan Singh warned him of politicians being able to exploit ‘the call of religious and ethnic-tribal, racial, culture solidarity-commonalty.’
8.       The former US president describes this warning from Singh as reminding him of a discussion on the rising illiberalism of Europe with former Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel. He goes on to write,
9.       “If globalization and a historic economic crisis were fueling these trends in relatively wealthy nations—if I was seeing it even in the United States with the Tea Party—how could India be immune?”
10.   Obama describes visiting India and feeling inspired by a trip to Mani Bhavan, the Mumbai residence of Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, where he found himself “trying to imagine Gandhi present in the room” and having “had the strongest wish to sit beside him and talk.”
11.   Later, Obama describes going to dinner with Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi – the portion of his memoir featuring the descriptions that have made headlines in India. At the end of the evening, Obama notes Manmohan Singh’s relative frailness and finds himself wondering what would happen after his time had ended.
12.   Would the baton be successfully passed to Rahul, fulfilling the destiny laid out by his mother and preserving the Congress Party’s dominance over the divisive nationalism touted by the BJP? Somehow, I was doubtful.
(i)    Obama On Manmohan Singh, Gandhis, BJP, "Divisive Nationalism" In Book: Former US President Barack Obama says the time he spent with Manmohan Singh: confirmed his initial impression of him as a man of "uncommon wisdom and decency." https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/barack-obama-on-manmohan-singh-rahul-gandhi-sonia-gandhi-divisive-nationalism-touted-by-bjp-2325880
13.   It is in this concluding portion that follows where one can most clearly see Obama’s reading of events in India as a warning for what was happening in his own country. Without mentioning either Modi or Trump, the overall story Obama is telling – including finding resonance with the challenges faced by Manmohan Singh – seems quite apparent:
14.   “It wasn’t Singh’s fault. He had done his part, following the playbook of liberal democracies across the post–Cold War world: upholding the constitutional order; attending to the quotidian, often technical work of boosting the GDP; and expanding the social safety net. Like me, he had come to believe that this was all any of us could expect from democracy, especially in big, multiethnic, multireligious societies like India and the United States....
Highlights Forwarded By: Balbir Singh Sooch-Sikh Vichar Manch
First Posted On: November 16, 2020, 20: 17 (IST)
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https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/barack-obama-on-manmohan-singh-rahul-gandhi-sonia-gandhi-divisive-nationalism-touted-by-bjp-2325880
https://scroll.in/global/978625/in-bjps-divisive-nationalism-barack-obama-sees-a-precursor-to-americas-donald-trump-era
In BJP’s ‘divisive nationalism’, Barack Obama sees a precursor to America’s Donald Trump era