By Basav Sen
From April 19 through June 1, 969 million voters in India will have voted in seven phases to elect the next national government, with results to be announced on June 4.
This is the largest election ever in human history. The Indian electorate is larger than the entire population of the European Union, and larger than the combined electorates of seven other countries with elections in 2024: Indonesia, the United States, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico and South Africa.
It’s also an election marred by a torrent of hate propaganda. Depending on the outcome, it could ring the death knell for India’s democracy, with serious global repercussions.
Early Indian Fascism
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi is a fascist party, something that’s known to serious scholars of Indian history and politics, but normalized by much of the global political and media establishment.
The BJP is the electoral front of another organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which was founded in 1925. B.S. Moonje, a mentor of the founder of the RSS, traveled to Italy, met Mussolini and advised the RSS to emulate the Italian fascists’ indoctrination of youth.
This story was originally published in truthout.org. Read the full story here.
