Why Modi keeps winning despite drawing protest abroad
Sunday, 12 July 2026
Kevin Norquay is a senior writer for The Post and Sunday Star-Times. This is his weekly explainer.
How did Indian PM Narenda Modi transform his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from political outlier to powerhouse, yet still attract rallies in Auckland?
In part you can blame religion, or demography. The BJP soared out of dissatisfaction with the dominant Indian National Congress which was accused of corruption, dynastic politics, and sluggish government.
It promoted the idea of Hindutva - a Hindu nationalist political ideology from the 1920s - which has India’s culture and identity rooted in Hindu civilisation.
Many (certainly not all) Hindus loved this concept, while Muslims, Sikhs and other minorities felt marginalised.
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Modi and the BJP are consistent electoral winners. Hindus make up almost 80% of the population. India has about 1.4 billion people; roughly 80% Hindu and 14% Muslim.
Islamophobia was already a powerful force because of the Indian Partition (1947) and the violence and displacement of refugees that followed. The BJP has politicised it and turned it into an electoral asset.
BJP achievements explain why voters support it beyond religious affiliations. It has expanded welfare delivery systems, improved infrastructure and the economy, while Modi’s strong leadership is seen as raising India’s global profile.
Against that, concerns raised by minorities, especially Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, over discrimination, civil liberties, and repression have been reported by NGOs, academics, and international observers.
Democratic institutions are being systematically undermined to manipulate the electoral system. In the recently held state election in West Bengal, 2.7 million voters were unlawfully disenfranchised.
Offering his personal views as a Sikh activist, Aucklander Ravinder Singh was at the Modi protest outside Spark Arena, as one of the organisers, yesterday.
Sikhs seeking self-determination face intimidation because any secessionist movement will face repression by the state, Singh says.
University of Waikato political science and public policy Professor Priya Kurian says part of the reason for the protest was the “violence and repression facing religious minorities in India today, with Muslims facing the brunt of it”.
“It is also the case that protest and dissent within the country - for example, the farmer protests in Punjab, protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, student protests at universities - are suppressed by the state,” she says.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) fast-tracks citizenship for undocumented religious minorities from Muslim-majority countries (neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan) but explicitly excludes Muslims.
“The democratic space within the country is shrinking and dissent thus finds expression outside,” Kurian says.
India ranked 157th out of 180 countries in a recent World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.
Muslims have layers of concerns with the BJP, saying its Hindutva ideology has systematically marginalised them.
As well as the CAA, Muslims fear that when combined with a proposed National Register of Citizens, the law could be used to strip Indian Muslims of their citizenship.
Under BJP rule, there has been a claimed rise in hate speech and vigilante violence.
BJP-led states have passed anti-conversion laws targeted at interfaith marriages, state authorities have used heavy machinery to demolish Muslim homes and shops without proper process. Authorities justify these as action against illegal structures.
Laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act have been used against Muslim dissenters and student leaders, imprisoning some long-term without trial.
The BJP government stripped the only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir, of its special autonomous status, and Muslims point to systemic efforts to diminish Islamic contributions to Indian heritage.
Historic Islamic names of cities and streets have been changed to Hindu, school textbooks have been rewritten to downplay the cultural contributions of Mughal Empire and Muslim rulers.
The BJP rejects the allegations of discrimination, asserting its foundational slogan is Together with all, Development for all, Trust of all and its social welfare schemes are needs-based.
Its legal actions focus on national security and equal law enforcement, not religious targeting, the party says.
Sikhs raise concerns about discrimination, alleged extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, restrictions on peaceful political expression, and the treatment of Sikh activists.
Singh says Sikh activists in New Zealand have been told not to criticise India or the Indian government, and to not display the Khalistan (an area in the Punjab region) flag as it might upset the Indian government.
“I do not believe any foreign government should influence what New Zealanders can peacefully say or do within New Zealand.”
New Zealand’s government has responded that such activism is legal under NZ free speech protections.
The BJP positioned itself as pro-business and development-focused and Modi cultivated a reputation as efficient and business-friendly, a self-made leader rather than part of a political dynasty.
It was not always so.
After a Hindu nationalist mob demolished the Babri Masjid (a 16th century mosque in northern India) in 1992 many parties were reluctant to work with it, but it moderated and Modi transformed it into a dominant political force.
In 2014 the BJP won the first outright parliamentary majority by a single party in 30 years, it increased that majority in 2019.
Modi was never likely to take questions on perceived human rights violations while in New Zealand. A BBC report this month said Modi has not held a traditional solo press conference since taking office in 2014, and has rarely answered questions from journalists on his trips abroad.
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