Asia | Fraying saffron

Narendra Modi faces a new threat: his Hindu-nationalist patrons

India’s prime minister needs to fix a rift with the group that launched his career

Volunteers of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) perform yoga exercises
Photograph: Reuters
|Delhi

Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, likes to do yoga to relieve stress. He might have had to do some extra asanas following India’s general election result in June. With his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now bereft of its majority in parliament, he has had to cut deals with coalition partners to remain in power. To appease young voters frustrated by under-employment, he has hurriedly recalibrated his budget to boost spending on job creation. And he recently suffered a big foreign-policy setback with the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, a close ally, as prime minister of Bangladesh.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Fraying saffron”

From the August 31st 2024 edition

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