Modi marvels in Melbourne as equality, justice and pluralism collapse in India

India’s future depends on recommitting to the principles of equality, justice and pluralism – cornerstones of a resilient democracy capable of embracing its diversity, writes Dr M. Adil Khan.

ORGANIZED BY the Overseas Australian Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party Australia (OFBJP), the recent “Melbourne meets Modi» visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a resounding success.

Modi was warmly welcomed by the packed “Indian Australians” in the Melbourne neighborhood. Marvel Stadiumbeyond the official protocol of an unofficial visit by a foreign head of government. Prime Minister Antoine Albanais and Victorian Prime Minister Jacinthe Allan “lent him full authority of their functions“.

According to the Financial review, the OFBJP, organizer of the visit, which aims “project a positive and correct image of India and the BJP in the Western world”also aims to “correct the “distortions” propagated by the party’s adversaries”.

In other words, the “Melbourne Meets Modi” event was “an image management operation” aimed at Australia.

At first glance, and judging by Modi’s hugs and Albanese’s broad smiles, the visit appears to have been a resounding success.

Indeed, the OFBJP can congratulate itself on having successfully achieved its objective, the “image management operation”, in Australia, but the facts on the ground tell a very different story. It is such the enthusiastic support of a certain section of Indians for Modi and his Hindutva policy (a sectarian project aimed at persecuting and marginalizing minorities, mainly Muslims) which could in fact lead India – “British” India – towards its third rupture.

It’s time to educate ourselves.

The ruptures of British India

The history of “British” India is marked by profound ruptures which have shaped the political landscape of the subcontinent. Two major ruptures – the 1947 score and the 1971 creation of Bangladesh – arise from deeply rooted structural injustices within groups.

Today, echoes of these unresolved tensions foreshadow a third potential rupture within present-day India, underscoring the enduring challenge of managing diversity through equitable governance.

First rupture: the partition of 1947

When British colonial rule By the end of that war, “British” India was divided primarily along religious lines into two sovereign states: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. This division was a direct consequence of Muslim fears of permanent political and social marginalization in a Hindu-dominated India.

Muslim rulers sought a confederate structure to safeguard autonomy within India, but the refusal of Hindu rulers catalyzed partition. This rupture was not just territorial, but one rooted in systemic fears and structural inequalities.

Second rupture: the birth of Bangladesh in 1971

Pakistan’s fissures became apparent in 1971, when geographically and culturally distinct East Pakistan suffered prolonged political and economic discrimination at the hands of West Pakistan’s ruling elite. The failure to redress these injustices sparked civil war and ultimately the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation.

Like the initial partition, this rupture is a stark reminder that institutionalized and unresolved discrimination between groups leads to violent separation.

Breakups elsewhere

Similar patterns of division have emerged around the world. The fragmentation of Yugoslavia in the 1990s was driven by ethnic rivalries and institutionalized inequalities. Such examples illustrate the fragile nature of “countries” – largely colonial constructs that depend on inclusive governance.

True nationality emerges when states treat all their citizens equally, fostering unity amid diversity.

Contemporary India: warning signs of a third rupture

Nearly eight decades after the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Hindu-majority India is currently home to around 200 million Muslims, or about 15 percent of its population, implying that Muslims are an integral part of the broader Indian social fabric.

Yet recent years have seen escalating sectarianism and widespread persecution of Muslims, often linked to the rise of Hindu majoritarianism under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This includes acts of violence, social exclusion and discriminatory policies.

Modi’s Hindutva, “…a new virus…which renovates the lungs but weakens the brain”, has taken over India so completely and so contagiously…” that a phenomenon that began with Muslims has since spread to Christian and Buddhist minorities as well as Dalits, low-caste Hindus.

According to Noam Chomskyunder Modi and his Hindutva policies of the BJP, Indian democracy has since transformed into an “ethnocracy”, meaning the persecution of minorities with a “majority consensus”.

Such systemic marginalization of minorities not only threatens community harmony and undermines social cohesion, but also undermines transparency and accountability in governance, hindering economic growth and social equity.

For example, a recent study revealed that the Indian economy has slowed down; youth unemployment is high; and, after a long time, India is now a country of mass poverty.

Furthermore, thanks to Modi’s promotion of crony capitalism, the income gap between the rich and poor in India is reaching a historic high: the richest 10% and 1% own 57% and 22% of the total national income, respectively, and in recent times the share of the richest 1% has doubled.

There is no doubt that together, sectarianism, crony capitalism and the erosion of democratic values ​​are weakening India’s internal bonds and its economy, recalling the legacy of past ruptures of “British” India and warning that when injustice and exclusion persist across group lines, national unity deteriorates, the economy stagnates, risking violent fragmentation.

India’s future depends on recommitting to the principles of equality, justice and pluralism – cornerstones of a resilient democracy capable of embracing its diversity.

This challenge transcends India’s borders and is of particular importance to nations around the world grappling with postcolonial identities and fragmentations.

For countries like Australia, fostering a partnership with a stable and inclusive India is not only a diplomatic priority but also a strategic necessity rooted in shared values ​​and mutual prosperity.

Professor Adil Khan is an assistant professor in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Queensland and a former senior political director of the United Nations. Adil is also a member of the Rohingya Support Group, Queensland.

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