JigerPatel

Dear Mr. Rose,

I have been a Foreign Affairs subscriber since 2013, FA is just one of two magazines which I find worth paying for in this day and age of free information. The reason I love FA is because of its ability to cover all sides of a story in a balance and accurate manner, but unfortunately I have noticed that this balance and accuracy is not being extended to topics relating to India or Hinduism.

To give you an example, the story by Fahad Shah, A Political Pilgrimage in Kashmir, describes one of the holiest symbol of Hinduism as a “phallic block of ice.”  A quick Google search would have indicated how inaccurate is this description.  To be honest we Hindus in West are used to these misconceptions, but a magazine like Foreign Affairs could have done better in describing one of the holiest symbols of the third largest religion in the world.  Further, in the same article the the selection of photo depicting Hindu pilgrims is plain insulting.  Is that really the only picture you would have used to show Hindus (or Hindus on Amarnatha pilgrimage)?  A normal Hindu or a Hindu pilgrim to Amarnatha does not look anything like that, further a photo is there to convey a message relating to the content of the article, this photo was not in anyway related to the content of the article. The photo was there just for its exoticness, if FA wants to know how  a normal Hindu looks like then I request its editorial team to just look around there are more than 2 million Hindus in American, working as engineers, doctors, and entrepreneurs (by the way last Miss America 2014 is a Hindu, agreed all of us are not that beautiful but we do come close!)

Lastly, if you review recent articles on India in FA, you will find a strong bias towards India’s left (if not far left) narrative.  I believe FA can better inform its readers by having both left and right narrative represented in FA.  Some example of the left view bias are, “A Political Pilgrimage in Kashmir by Fahad Shah,” “India’s Beef with Beef by Ira Trivedi,” and “What Modi Can’t Give India by Ira Trivedi.”  

 Many experts in Foreign relations circle lament that India and United States have not reached its full potential, even though both countries have similar interests in world and in many ways similar cultural values, I believe this is due to misconception and misinformation regarding India as a country and its largest religious population of Hindus.  I know Foreign Affairs can do better, and I hope it does better so that both our countries and its peoples can come closer for a better world at large.    

Sincerely,

Jiger Patel

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Few months back, I had the opportunity to meet individuals from different backgrounds in Dallas.  These individuals wanted to do "something" to assure a 272 victory for Modi led BJP.  These individuals were beaming with patriotism and desire to see a prosperous and better India. One was a young woman who was concerned about safety of women in India (she was from Delhi), there was a young man in his early 30's who was disgruntled by AAP (an ex-AAP supporter), there were people from almost all corners of India who were concerned about their home state development, and yes there was an old dadaji who was concerned about impending end of Hindu Dharma!  All of these individuals saw hope in Narendra Modi as they believed he would change the course of India's future for the better.  

These individuals mobilized and worked day and night to do whatever little they could to assure a Modi led BJP victory.  Today when the Modi led BJP has been given an unprecedented mandate, it is time for all the volunteers across the world to rejoice.  It was the perspiration of these countless volunteers that Modi has been able to pull of this miracle and decimate one of the most corrupt political party/family the world has seen in recent history.  

But now what?  In Democracy 101, it is understood that a democracy can only function well if it has a strong opposition.  This election in my opinion has eradicated strong political opposition in India.  Yes, the non-NDA parties have won 207 seats out of 543, but these MP's will not provide an effective opposition. By knowing Modi's style of functioning in Gujarat, he would work on creating "files" on individuals whom might choose to give him a good opposition (this reflects more on the compromised MP than on Modi).  Due to this, the only option India has is for the countless volunteers who worked day and night to get Modi elected to turn themselves into strong pressure groups.  

These groups can choose to divide themselves on issues like women safety, labor laws, cultural values, or even on the basis of one's State development.  These pressure groups can use their influence to pressure the government on important issues, thus preventing the government from becoming complacent due to the lack of opposition.  Another impact these pressure groups would have is that finally in India right-of-center political ideology (which describes most Modi supporters) can set the agenda, instead of the far left and the far right.  

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