The story of India has been reduced to one man’s journey

Why read this story?

Editor's note: Confident societies do not foster cults. It is despondent, unhappy, self-doubting, insecure places that submit to saviours. The animated ad released last week by the Bharatiya Janata Party—a prelude to the upcoming campaign for 2024—is designed for a nation in thrall to its rescuer. It reduces the complex story of India to one man’s journey. The citizens of the world’s most populous democracy—a billion-and-a-half people—are mere extras in his tale. He sees suffering, distributes charity, defeats sinister enemies—human and viral—is courted by Western leaders, and keeps going. India is surging forward, and we owe it all to one individual. The ad, dripping with the ruling party’s contempt for India, is an especially depressing indication of how far we have come since 2014. We cannot dodge Narendra Modi. The prime minister is everywhere. In the past eight years, he has been cast as the mascot of Indian tourism, the icon of hand-spun cloth, the unwitting promoter of digital currency and mobile networks, and the beaming face inviting members of the G20 to the “mother of democracy.” The oppressive omnipresence of one …