Modi’s Campaign Gets a Big Boost From Western Praise

To outsiders, it may seem unclear what the world’s largest election, which India will hold in stages starting at the end of this week, is all about. While we are dangerously short of jobs, unemployment doesn’t seem to be under discussion. Voters don’t appear to be as concerned about “democratic backsliding” as the liberal elite is. And, while the opposition is gamely trying its hand at caste– and region-based identity politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s universal appeal renders such old-style politics irrelevant.

If you look a little closer, however, a picture of what Modi wants voters to focus on begins to emerge: the way India, under him, has become the center of the world.