The Economist slams India for its intolerance under Modi’s BJP

• The Economist has termed recent decisions by Modi as 'the most ambitious step yet in a decades-long project of incitement'.

The Economist has slammed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that Modi fostered intolerance and has divided the 'world's largest democracy'.

Last year, the BJP passed the Citizenship Amendment Act and updated the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) which stripped off the citizenship of 1.9 million people, mostly Muslims. The Economist in its recent article has termed these decisions as 'the most ambitious step yet in a decades-long project of incitement'.

The article continues that these latest initiatives by Modi threaten to do damage to India’s democracy that could last for decades and are also likely to lead to bloodshed. "The sad truth is that Modi and the BJP are likely to benefit politically by creating divisions over religion and national identity. They also distract attention from awkward topics such as the economy, which has struggled since the BJP’S thumping election victory last year," the article reads.

The article continues that Modi knows that a sizeable minority of Indian voters are sympathetic to his constant insinuation that Muslims are dangerous fifth-columnists. Therefore, his policies blatantly discriminate against his Muslim compatriots.

The article has also accused Modi of tarnishing the memory of Mahatma Gandhi who was a preacher of non-violence. Because of Modi's rabble-rousing, many Muslims have been lynched or beaten to death for supposed slights to Hinduism, such as loving a Hindu woman or killing a cow.

The Economist warns Modi not to take things far with his warlike rhetoric about Pakistan, his head-cracking in Kashmir and his flagrantly biased approach to citizenship.

It reminds Modi that he has a country to govern and not to raise the zealots’ expectations.