India Is Transforming. But Into What?

India is known as a country of paradoxes, and a new one has recently emerged. At the same time that the country is poised to become a major global player - with a booming economy and a population that recently surpassed China’s - its democracy is showing signs of decay.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration have silenced critics and independent institutions. India’s social media discourse has turned increasingly right wing and hostile to Muslims. And Canada and the United States have accused Indian government officials of involvement in assassination plots against Sikh activists.
Pratap Bhanu Mehta is an honorary senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research, New Delhi; a professor at Princeton University; and an editor of “The Oxford Handbook to the Indian Constitution (academic.oup.com/edited-volum...) .” In this conversation, he walks our guest host Lydia Polgreen through India’s rising illiberalism. “The signs for Indian democracy are looking very ominous,” he says.
They discuss the paradox between India’s flourishing economy and culture and signs of weakening democracy, especially at a moment when many Western countries are cheering a rising India as a democratic counterweight to China. They also talk about what makes Modi such a remarkable and effective political leader and what the United States and other countries could or should do in response to a more assertive India that is shattering norms at home.
Mentioned:
The Discovery of India (www.penguin.co.in/book/the-di...) by Jawaharlal Nehru
Book Recommendations:
The India Trilogy (www.panmacmillan.com/authors/...) by V.S. Naipaul
India in Asian Geopolitics (www.brookings.edu/books/india...) by Shivshankar Menon
Dreamers (www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978...) by Snigdha Poonam
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [e-mail].
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast (www.nytimes.com/column/ezra-k...) , and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-... (www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-...) .
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Mixing by Efim Shapiro. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Emefa Agawu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

[@YOUTUBE_AMERICA]

It just doesn't matter I will vote modi

[@sreedhark.r.1532]

"Intellectual " hypocrite Mehta carefully avoids mentioning 5 lakh Hindus being thrown out of Kashmir. He talks as though kashmir movement was a peaceful movement on Gandhian principles

[@keithhunt5328]

*cunningly avoids

[@alishaalisha1186]

As a Indian Christian seriously I laugh when NYT speak like this about BJP and Modi..I have never faced wrath from this so called Hindu Nationalist and I have lived in North India..Keep doing this shit now we know whom to vote😂

[@praveenkaurwar3188]

Indians revile Gautam Buddha? What is he saying? Did I hear it right?

[@TamBramThankyouMam]

Welcome to narrative warfare. :)

[@himanshu8276]

Its quite amazing that US can come to the subcontinent, ally with one army dictatorship on west of India-pak, sanction another on east of India-Burma, call afghan mujahideens freedom fighters while constantly berating India for having relationship with Soviets and now they are concerned about Indian democracy. As if they cared about democracy when they were supporting army ruled pak over India & sanctioning India when BJP was not even in power. They never offered democracy discount to India but want to extract democracy premiums from us.

[@swakal8868]

If NYT is not happy with India means Indians are doing good.

[@rohiticku]

Even Mr. Mehta towards the end recognized the hubris on the interviewer. Two moments stood out to me: 1) When the interviewer expressed surprise that a man barred from entering USA could become the Prime Minister of India. As if America is the arbiter of Indian democracy. 2) Whether USA is creating another rival by taking India under its wing. Again, assuming American largesse will direct India's economic transformation. That Americans can speak of the rules based order and American exceptionalism in the same breath continues to astound me.

[@thisisanewusername4662]

Americans have always been racist toward India

[@shoshanakirya-ziraba8216]

If America invented the rules, why would exceptionalism be contradictory?

[@dwaynepeters4520]

But America did take China under its wing by supporting its entry to the WTO, granting it Most Favored Nation status, and looking the other way as China stole its technology. Do you think China would be where it is today if America had instead embargoed China in the way it embargoed Cuba?

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

​@@shoshanakirya-ziraba8216when has america followed its own rule of law

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

He doesnt recognise anythn .only thing he recognised is khalistanis as sikh activist

[@mananshah9015]

dishonest interview. No one to bring the counterview or nuance.

[@TR-lb4om]

Well it's an interview not debate. However a debate could have been better.

[@AlZ-oy4si]

Whenever some establishment outlet starts harping about democracy I roll my eyes.

[@ramitmahajan]

I am not a BJP fan but this was a rather one sided view. NY Times would do good to also get a counter view/ more neutral view

[@magnubeido8832]

You have any recommendations on who to get for a more neutral view?

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

I know ryt am a cpim (communist) follower from kerala .this made me pro modi seeing how it ticked off white privilege and indian elitist

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

​@@magnubeido8832this guy even recognised khalistanis as sikh activist .i think he allies indian sikhs will have somethn to say about that lie

[@parjanyashukla176]

They mostly talk to themselves and decide what's the appropriate line of action for country X or Y.

[@incubusk8r]

@@magnubeido8832 There is no neutral view. The best is to call some one from the nationalist section like J Sai Deepak or the historian Vikram Sampath. Hear them out and make up your own mind. In India liberal has become a slur because the liberals are not liberals any more. I am considered right, why? coz I support UCC where we want all citizens to be governed under one law, so that some how makes me islamaphobic? WTF! Forget the fact i am for LGBTQ, i am atheist, i want positive discrimination for lower caste as i am a Dalit, I am not even a modi/BJP voter, i also lean towards socialism, all that my Instagram woke revolutionaries friends also believe in. What they wont tell you its the excesses of the left and congress in the past that has bought modi to power. he was just the right person at the right place. its people like the interviewee that pushes good well meaning centrist hindus to the right by cherrypicking and giving one side of the story. Here is what one of my now right leaning friend, earlier centerist, told me and it got me thinking. I was a "but hindu" - A hindu who says i am hindu but.... followed by apologia" but not any more. It as a sense of guilt that was fed to him. I can have a more deeper and civilised convo with him, even if i cant agree with everything he says, than my insta-lefty friends - talking to them is like walking on egg shells. through my lense, modi is not the saviour he is made out to be, neither is he the devil as some portray him to be.

[@shashanks.k855]

India remains fundamentally a pluralistic society. The nationalist trajectory has a lot to do with a deep disappointment with the failure of the liberal government in power in the past to deliver domestic growth while keeping its moral slate clean (the word liberal is not an accurate discretion here). Adding salt to the fire is the fact that there is no longer a competent opposition party at the federal level; even though the BJP keeps losing elections at the state level, it has a firm grip on the central government. And as a unified party, they are getting results that were hard to get with coalition governments in the past. Given the chaotic nature of running a country as large as India, this is a good thing administratively. But they are fascists and have a lot of incompetent populists making decisions. Poland has turned away from a similar situation, maybe India will one day. Elections will remain sacrosanct in the country, changing the guard is not a revolution here, and the West does not seem to want to convince the Indian people otherwise. Western Europe came to it's current economic and political position as a result of a major US effort to rebuild post-war society, the same can be said of Japan and Korea. You cannot expect India to behave like them when historically the West has always stacked the deck against India, be it in relation to Pakistan or economically. That has changed recently, but you cannot expect to reap the benefits of it immediately. It will take time.

[@thisisanewusername4662]

well put

[@parthajitjana2222]

Exactly, i think most people are still liberal. But they see an opposition which has no plan in anything except they want to establish a dynast as pm who has neither experience as a cm or for that matter in anything. Unless congress changes its course i would rather vote a person who has risen up from the bottom, has better policies than congress ever had, who focuses on infra,industrialisation,technology rather than giving freebies and appeasement of only 2nd largest majority group as their main policy. Does bjp have authoritorian tendencies? Yes, but people are fed up with welfarism, it doesnt help in the longrun.

[@sachinnayal]

This fact NYT won’t understand, good this is that it is us Indian who will vote in elections.

[@bruh8057]

are you sure about the state election part? recently BJP won 3/5 states and opinion polls fare favourably to them

[@user-qt9xd5xe7g]

You should replace word 'Fascist' with 'Authoritarian' . Fascist a Term can be coined with the 'Guardian Council' of Iran or 'Baath Party' of Iraq, and Chinese Communist Party, or Hamas /LTTE which does not or did not believe in existence of Opposition.

[@sachinnayal]

Gone are the days where NYT was light for NRIs into Indian politics. Now people are much more matured to gulp all bulshit in name of liberal western politics.

[@djsunshine1]

Lydia Polgreen's interview: Rather than having an affirmative bias liberal guest Mr Mehta...you should have someone who can explain what 'Left liberal' have pushed... the envelope of liberalism too far! Not just in India all over the world! Both of you did not even read the 'agreement of accession of Kasmir to India'. It is exactly what other 500 princely state signed. There was no special sovereign status for Kashmir was stipulated. (Also countersigned by Mount Batton) Please study the Indian Supreme Court's judgement that came out yesterday! Getting elected in the huge democracy is difficult...that is why Modi's opposition worked to get his visa cancelled...It was a British & US conspiracy to support opposition (Congress party) to control Indian narrative and Hindu votes for last 50 years (at least) It tried to tarnish Mr.Modi. Honestly Western powers tried very hard but lost the bet! Now US+ countries have to join Modi... if they can not win him! Notion of US and West defining and dictating Asian countries is no longer an option! This is not Mahatma Gandhi's India...and Gandhi's job was different...He was not an administrator of India! Mr. Modi has a job to do...which calls for different actions!

[@anshulthakur6215]

PBH line about Buddha and Gandhi was so dumb .... I laughed out so loud , these people are so delusional

[@ashokvaidyanathan8195]

The view expressed by the guest is just one sided and no proper examples to support his view. I would challenge every single opinion and views on this. And sometimes too simplistic for a complex and diverse country like India. If your podcast is objective enough, you should listen to the other side also before judging or coming to any conclusions.

[@rishishiv5367]

This man India is all about Hindu nationalism but i think if Indian politics promote Hindu nationalism what is the problem of best every country has his own choice what they want . Any Western do not manipulate our choice what we want i think we are the right path.

[@user-my9kj6gq5v]

NYT is a publication I have lost all respect for. It’s criticism of India after the coming of the BJP under Narendra Modi smacks fully of prejudice. Its almost like they wish things will go bad for India under this regime so that they can say “I told you so”?, in order to hold the high moral ground as woke leftists. It is alarming (and depressing) to see quite an army of journalists in the west (in the US in particular) who have taken it upon themselves to define democracy for India. And the BJP’s Hindutva ideology doesn’t meet their twisted criteria. But if you read between the lines, it is all just sour grapes. They just can’t bear to see how this dispensation have managed to get so much done in such a short while. And to help them with ammunition we have a group of decultured-deracinated Indian intellectuals who take it upon themselves to remind everyone of the great tragedy that has befallen this country under the BJP. Minority bashing under the BJP is a favored trope of these people. They never quote specific instances with names or locations where outrages supposedly took place. I have friends in both the Muslim and Christian communities (assuming these are the minorities being targeted), and I do not register any untoward alarm or concern among these for their welfare as groups of differing religious identities. They are intelligent enough to note that the country as a whole is far more functional after the BJP took the reins, particularly as far as national security goes. Of course, it always pays to play the victims regardless of whether there is actual victimisation or not. The left will have no work to do if this trend ends. So they keep encouraging it, even fabricating it when it is not there in plain sight. NYT along with its cousins - Washington Post and the New Yorker - are indeed the snakes in the Ganga, known more for their poisonous intent and less for their commitment to good journalism. Shame on them and their tribe ..

[@mr.koolkarni4357]

😆😆 Look at the irony here, Americans talking about Democracy and Human Rights.

[@TamBramThankyouMam]

Yeah, the halcyon America's days of lecturing the world on democracy and principles are behind us now. Only the Americans don't seem to have received the memo yet.

[@duggux-rd1is]

As an indian i am Happy to be a Illiberal of india. If NYT or any western media is against india or any eastern nations that's means india or that country is doing something good.

[@HarshPatel-yh7cq]

Yeah it’s been a democracy with one family having 4 prime ministers. Fuck New York times

[@parjanyashukla176]

If NYT is ranting against a certain society or country, most likely that society is working on its own terms and that's basically an irritant to the observer. It's ridiculous to assume that even a million people can govern themselves or transact in their business according to the preferences of some capitalist predators on the other side of the globe, whose interests are limited to their bottomlines only, then what to even talk of a continental size country with 1B+ people and a mind that is essentially a continuity of millennia-old evolution. But anyway, the USA's lust to control every inch of the planet and every single human being will ultimately prove to be its nemesis. It happened 800 years ago with the Mongols and will happen with any group that has a lust for control and power in its mind.

[@SkumarC]

NYT along with an irrelevent Princeton professor thinks we are going wrong??? Congrats my fellow countrymen.❤❤

[@thisisanewusername4662]

This was one of the most bizarre, psychotic, dishonest and ultimately hateful interview on India anyone will hear in a very long time. The guest's take on India is so so so demented... so cringe and embarrassing.

[@rmnair90]

One of the rare occasions when Prof. Mehta does not indulge his affectation of donnish stammering. Being on The Ezra Klein Show must have induced him to exercise vocal discipline 😊

[@TheKumarbharat]

I did not know the term “Donnish Stammering”. I’ve heard the phenomenon many times, and it is annoying and sounds snooty. Thank you for enlightening me 😊

[@billtensus]

Whenever we Indians see NYT proppaganddaaa, we look away and run!!

[@rakadus]

Self appointed "Certifiers" of Indian democracy and secularism. Ignore this micro minority.

[@thisisanewusername4662]

Ezra should talk to Kushal Mehra or someone who understands the actual Indian point of view.

[@samarthbagwe1736]

When the west criticise you You know you are on the right path

[@harshsaini9898]

Khan market gang discussion. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@shambhavi_swift]

Cope toilet paper times

[@YS27122]

Not once did he talk about: -islamic extremism which wounded indian civilization for centuries. -post partition history of india. - geopolitical realities of india ( surrounded by hostile neighbors). - british colonialism, loot and massacres which destroyed india socially, economically and culturally. - extermination of almost all hindus from neighbouring pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh.

[@umangdesai4136]

22:18 - the host doesn't ask, as to who set this train on fire (was it an accident, was it intentional, was it because of resentment, a first act of aggression - were the perpetrators punished? NOTHING..) interesting!

[@ahirbhairavorai7793]

NY Times is asking Stephen A Smith about the Raise of Lakers , instead of asking Kobe Bryant or Shaq or Phil Jackson,

[@HebaruSan]

Good comparison. Kobe and Shaq and Phil would have a lot of incentive to conceal, lie, and exaggerate to make themselves look better.

[@ahirbhairavorai7793]

@@HebaruSan There is nothing to hide. If the Lakers season is greater than 0.50 they are winning and doing something good. If the Lakers season is less than 0.5 that means they are not doing good. Something is not right. Proof is in the pudding. Indian Economy is growing at the rate of 7-8% per year which is unheard of for countries in that region. Imagine how many people out of 1.6 Billion are moving out of poverty and getting some education and going to be useful to the world. Start from there.

[@abhishekchoudhury1702]

@@ahirbhairavorai7793 You must be really young. There were a lot of economies in the region that have historically grown at 7-8% or higher. This information is not hard to find.

[@ahirbhairavorai7793]

@@abhishekchoudhury1702 WERE, ...There WERE

[@luciddoggo5094]

@@abhishekchoudhury1702 Unfortunately congress socialist polciies that they still continue to peddle is the reason why India grew at 3% per year during that time

[@congresswallah]

Something much better and humane than the US&A.

[@bhavesh3729]

42:51 मोदी - अरे हम तो फकीर आदमी है झोला लेकर चल पडेंगे 😂

[@santoshgharjale5797]

The amount of lies, half-truths and propaganda spewed by Mr Mehta are far too many to list here. The only issue people like Mr Mehta is the loss of influence on the India narrative. If Modi had thrown crumbs at these people like the regimes before him they would have been singing songs praising Modi. But he refuses to do so resulting in them becoming more and more irrelevant everyday within India.

[@YS27122]

Podcast❌ Propaganda✅

[@srinivasraokaruturi9777]

No audio!

[@umangdesai4136]

23:03 - the guest easily skirts the Indian Supreme Court judgement - DURING UPA (not BJP) RULE- acquitting the person from actions he is blaming the person from... NO COUNTER QUESTIONS FROM THE HOST! The favours she received during her stay in India must be very heavy to counter question the guy!

[@incubusk8r]

I wonder why only the left gets the privilege to speak about India abroad? What next ask gobbles to speak about jews? How about calling some one who actually lives the nationalist life that the left loves to discuss. Always seem like an echo chamber.

[@kogg8789]

Kashmir is disputed are we need some miltitant over there in past bcz of one women journalist genocides haapen in kashmir

[@YS27122]

Sitting in the comfort of AC rooms with surface level knowledge of indian way of life🤣🤣. Classic NYT.

[@sunilvakil692]

An awesome, in-depth analysis of 1) Why n how democracy in India took roots since its independence……..sadly it is sliding back/skidding on to be a managed democracy & 2) How elites n truly secular, pluralistic section of Indian society complacently under-noticed de imminent majoritarian ideology that has now come to grip, sadly though ,a significant number of well-placed, influential sections in de society, which is indeed an OMINOUS PORTEND for INDIA, going forward in coming years, may be within this decade itself 😂

[@silver_springs22]

WTF is this majoritarian shit you refer too ? Care to explain

[@GoodSamatin]

Mr Mehta is misinformed and misguided. He is lost tbh.

[@sourabhbhattacharya3411]

Reason why the elites like Mehta are no longer trusted by us Indians especially Hindus is they are not concerned with facts and evidences but opinions and feelings. Which he himself had admitted in this interview his knowledge about Hindus, BJP and RSS is less...but more about opinion. More opinions they spit more strong PM Modi and BJP becomes.

[@KausikGupta-lv7ho]

India will do what it's want, it won't do what a you expect. We don't need lectures from a failing & hypothetical Democracy 😒 We Indians don't forget how Western Civil Societies mocked our achievements & out nation.

[@skywalker8940]

53:32 😂😂

[@avi_arihant]

As long as you see India from the prism of post World War II Western yardstick, your misunderstanding will only deepen. If you are looking for more than validation of your already made up mind, please invite someone with a grasp of reality as experienced by Indians. Otherwise you’ll keep wondering why a billion+ plus Indians are celebrating and feeling empowered. This one step can prove your commitment to reporting reality. Let’s bring someone with the other side of the story.

[@sagarshahane1428]

Nyt Enjoy comments 😂

[@joebloggs396]

I thought they'd love India, Anglophobia is their love.

[@avinitp68]

Perhaps Mr. Mehta should also have talked about:- 1. The continuous appeasement of Muslims during Gandhi-Nehru dynastic regime, which further radicalized Hindus 2. The appropriate settlement of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs population who were and are brutally persecuted during and after the partition of India 3. All the Hindus temples and shrines were kept being demolished and defaced in Pakistan and other places while Govt kept mum. a. This made Hindus feel dis-enfranchised and powerless that they can't even protect their heritage and belief. 4. In order to appease Muslim voters Rajiv Gandhi reverted the Court's order during Shayra Bano case. Then to appease unhappy Hindus he opened the Ram Mandir's door which triggered Babari Mosque demolition. 5. The forced exodus and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits during 1990s. Despite being native of Kashmir they are still living a life refugee throughout the world. And the most fundamental question is: If separatist Muslims got two Islamic countries Pakistan and Bangladesh, why so-called separatist Hindus didn't get any Hindu country?

[@thisisanewusername4662]

They'll never cover that. That's how disgusting and dishonest these buffoons are.

[@anshuraj4277]

And look how fucked up Pakistan is Not a model. Worth emulating

[@fahd6757]

I actually agree with you. India should change its constitution and become a Hindu nation. All other religions will then officially be 2nd class. This way non-Hindus can make up their mind whether to stay or go.

[@anshuraj4277]

@@fahd6757 no.. Are u crazy Hinduism is as diverse as India and traditions of India overlap As long as he/she is loyal to India and it's integrity and yes that means Kashmir No ond should have to leave

[@fahd6757]

@@anshuraj4277you cannot be a secular democracy and ban beef and demolish mosques. You need to choose bro.

[@designarium1313]

This English speaking so called intellectual ought to be congratulated for making it crystal clear to English understanding Indians what it means to be "decolonisation of the Indian mind". I am appalled by the shallowness of his knowledge about the India as an ancient nation , as a civilization coming down since times immemorial.

[@riteshsinghchoudhary115]

Ask Mr Mehta, why an eminent political scientist like him was soft at Modi in 2014, And couldn’t foresee all this while many of us simpletons could.

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

Ohhh So mr pratap acknowledge all sikhs as khalistanis .sikhs in india are waiting for pratap mehta to come to punjab

[@rozinderbhatia2304]

Excellent podcasr

[@sumitabose-US]

What violence is Mehta talking about. See what Us did in Iraq. Half a million Muslims killed looking for weapons of Mass destruction. Now that’s called violence. Syria war between Shia Sunni, now that is called violence. All the afghan Muslims killed. All Palestinians being bombed. In a country with more than a billion poorest of poor people where did you see violence Mr Mehta?

[@Gman979]

Is this why India support Israel??

[@agnimitrabrf4862]

This podcast is a good example of why Lipitor Liberals will not be able to understand or predict anything about India or even their own countries. Because they are so full of themselves.

[@abbakkachowta6326]

Bhanu Mehta is articulate and spot on when he succintly summarises RSS and in turn BJP philosophy. However he is extraordinarily biased against The Hindu nationalism project and takes repeated liberty with truth. The grudging acceptance that Indian intelligensia is also slowly buying into the Hindu Nationalism idea is reassuing. After all, India is progressing because of Hindu Nationalism and NOT despite it. Footnote: If one gets beheaded by bigots for sharing a Face book post, there is bound to be a reaction!!

[@ranro7371]

There were no No Attacks on civilians the 7th. Just collateral. 500/1200-1300 (they keep magically decreasing) were soldiers. Out of 769 names, 462 military (55 soldiers, 13 privates, 59 corporals, 200 sergeants of whom 45 are sergeants majors, 48 commanders, 32 lieutenants, 5 lieutenant colonels, 6 colonels, 13 captains, 37 officers, 10 inspectors, 6 intendents, 2 Lance Corp). It was a Military defeat, they are taking it out on the rest. - analysis of datasheet from haaretz.

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

Irony of all this hindu hindu chant is christians orthodox and syrian are the only bjp voters in kerala .😂as a communist mallu i find this northie delhi elites talk funny .he doesnt know india outside his well off university. I have never voted for bjp but my Christian frnds always do an they say its even propogated in their church

[@psrinivas1810]

So what if India is liberal , why are Americans or nyt bothered , it is none of thier business.

[@contrarian322]

Maybe you should have also recognised the useless opposition in play in India .

[@nerf2752]

Oh, he is that Vox guy. Then this pod is biased through and through.

[@krishanukrori2452]

If what NYT does is journalism, then i m world heavyweight champion!!!😅😅😅😅

[@designarium1313]

But for these shallow left-outs India would have been a far peaceful country.

[@Charvak-Atheist]

cringe

[@amithemnani]

The so called analyst has no clue of what makes Modi so successful. His assessment is so poor and uninformed that it reeks of narrow thinking. NYT really need to connect with neutral and more informed speakers and of course have neutral moderator/anchor

[@astv6491]

New York Times always shows their heavily biased views through their reporting,analysis and discussions 😂😂😂

[@indranidasgupta8982]

You forgot your add “while couching it in the guise of “I love India soooo much…””

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

Lol am a mallu communist who never voted for bjp .this podcast made me realise i shud.

[@paninderbach]

Shamelessly lying about current state of India’s political situation.

[@paninderbach]

Pathetic journalism

[@aashnaroy2790]

One sided view show here only. Rather pathetic

[@swakal8868]

We don't require a Caucasian to tell what to do and not. Handle your own country first before commenting on other's internal matters. We know who funds you -> Soros

[@ftd224]

Right....that's why you are commenting.....those hateful Caucasians.

[@CR7Ashironaldo]

the interviewer is an African-American

[@Scientist1351]

​@@ftd224take care of your nation first white man nation drowned in degeneration and young fighting for their sexual identity stop crying for india china we were big economy hence we will be nothing can stop it

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

​@@ftd224exactly why we are commenting.mind ur own business. U are not the moral compass of the world .u did more harm than good in the world

[@SASA-dj7bf]

My prediction, In west,Either it's soros or Jewish left funding billionaire & neocons will over in this decade. becuz now they are feeling this burnt....this will cause rise of conservatives parties in west.... so don't worry, it will b over...👍

[@mos9139]

I couldn't help but dislike this video.

[@vladimirmihaljevic9764]

What about Democracy you speaking in India. How you can speak snot Democracy in Country where strong exist caste where all families living in slavery positions , So many documents moved showing showing so bad situation of power tu there,and all mass of peoples what not belong no where .you speak about Democracy for Elites there? For sure elites there becoming more rich and they building ambient first for self but behave the current you see reality

[@danishbiochem]

The comments here basically reinforce the key arguments of Pratap. The inferiority complex engendered in Indians through years of imagined "slavery" makes them look at the world - Muslims, Christians, NYT, Lydia, SOROS! etc - with great suspicion. So much so, that if the NYT says its afternoon in Paris, many Indians will reflexively assume its night. The saving grace here? Mediocrity. These folks are incredibly mediocre with incredibly reflexive and binary thinking. That kind of faux intellectualism rarely takes a country anywhere better. Excellent conversation!

[@mananshah9015]

or maybe you could read more about some facts and also look at what people with a more balanced view also have to say. Christians are not even talked about in bjp discourse, soros issue only flared up bcz soros himself declared he was funding organizations to influence elections in india, and the fact that instrument of accession in kashmir has mentioned that autonomy was a temporary provision to be removed in a short period of time. pratap here massively inflates local issues nationally without background context or what the opposition did before modi came to power

[@thisisanewusername4662]

lol stop doing drugs

[@prodigalfraudaddy]

Ironically christians are most pro bjp in kerala 😂. More than hindu .they even announce in church sermons to vote for modii

[@obriets]

I grew up in Africa for a time, with Indian brothers as best friends and my family, through my British father’s family line has long attachments to India. I’ve spent a lot of time there and have always thought well of India, to the point of a kind of deep love and appreciation. However, since Modi came along, the Ukraine war, and its behavior at the UN, I’ve been forced to take a hard look at the country and I don’t like what I see or where it is going. Frankly, it’s been a profound disappointment. Of course, I understand the Indian attachment to Russia, but India was a global champion in opposing aggression and genocide. These days India is embracing it.

[@parthajitjana2222]

You are a british, you should be the last one to talk about India. Your opinion doesnt matter, you dont matter, your country doesnt matter.

[@thisisanewusername4662]

You sound lost.

[@chander3338]

Have you ever heard the phrase, “a friend in need is a friend indeed”? Year 1970-71. India was being flooded by refugees from the then East Pakistan. What did the Nixon-Kissinger do? They sent the nuclear aircraft carrier group headed by US Enterprise to warn India. Who was the friend who helped India at that time?

[@Robertsmith001]

You don’t know what you are talking about

[@obriets]

@@Robertsmith001 What am I getting wrong then? That India is NOT profiting from the misery of the victims of Russian Aggression? That India is NOT deliberately using international sanctions against Russia to sidestep these sanctions in an attempt to profit by them? That India is NOT assassinating political exiles overseas? That India is NOT on the record at the UN not condemning the Russian Invasion of Ukraine?

[@chrisvild1263]

I’m surprised there was no discussion on the misogyny in India.

[@mattdoespushups2350]

They don't pander to gender politics there. Like here in woke u.s

[@thisisanewusername4662]

foh

[@Freethinker-vj4ut]

India not a country for simps and beta males😂

[@seanagowda]

MIDDLE FINGER TO NYT