Further to these earlier posts,
the prime minister, hugely popular with many Hindus (and many Indian immigrants abroad), may be leading his country down a religiously wrong-headed path:
Unlike India, China built its economy & military before calling itself a world power
Ever since PM Modi came to office, his government has prioritised social reengineering over economic growth. Look where that led us.
While most world capitals have been waiting for significant economic reforms since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election to office in 2014, his government has prioritised social reengineering over economic growth in India.
Putting vote-getting religious sentiments above economic and strategic goals has diminished the enthusiasm with which other countries support Indian foreign policy.
And as a result of lacklustre economic policies, India’s rate of growth has declined to 4.5 per cent. What was once described as the fastest growing economy in the world, is now in its worst phase in 42 years.
Unemployment is at an all-time high, industrial production is not growing and investment is declining. The agriculture sector is in distress, and the fast-moving consumer goods sector is seeing its ‘worst slowdown’ in a decade.
It is clear more than ever that social division and strife do not attract investment and is not conducive to economic growth…
Economic slide
…
For many observers, the situation is disappointing because of the hopes they pinned on the rise to power of a conservative government in New Delhi. When he was first elected in May 2014, Modi promised ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. He brought to his office the image of a business-friendly chief executive whose no-nonsense style of functioning had brought prosperity to Gujarat when he was its chief minister…
And the latest Budget offers little hope of reviving India’s stagnant economy…
Social slide
…
It is difficult to convince investors of a government’s promises about capitalist freedom when it is accompanied by visible repression. For years, India’s greatest strength globally was its reputation as a secular, inclusive, and pluralist democracy. India’s socialist economic framework did not attract capital, and the consensus among economists was that the country needed free markets alongside its political and cultural freedoms.
Starting in late 2014, there has been a steady decline in India’s reputation for tolerance. Attacks on religious minorities, especially Muslims, including lynchings tied to the demands of a ban on cow slaughter and beef consumption, do not bring investment. And neither do attempts to ‘re-convert’ Muslims and Christians to Hinduism through ghar wapsi (‘return to the fold’).
Illiberal majoritarianism coupled with an unwillingness to dismantle controls that have limited India’s growth are probably the reasons why India is performing below expectations in the economic realm.
China’s rise
The economic and military rise of China has led many around the world to woo India as a potential rival to China. But New Delhi appears unable or unwilling to take advantage of these opportunities…
Getting on the right track
…xenophobia, hyper-nationalism, and a desire for absolute political control seem to be pushing those who have already invested in India away. And the BJP government has been more protectionist than even its predecessors.
Moreover, India’s friends and rivals will take New Delhi seriously when they see India investing more on defence and security. But instead of spending more on defence, India has been spending less. This year’s defence budget (excluding pensions) stands at only 1.5 per cent of the GDP…
Given its focus on social and cultural issues, the Modi government does not seem to have the desire to significantly change the way India does business. Instead of shifting blame away from the political leadership, honesty demands recognition of the incompatibility of the current leadership’s social agenda and India’s economic and strategic aspirations.
The author is a Research Fellow and Director, India Initiative at the Washington DC-based Hudson Institute. Her books include ‘Escaping India: Explaining Pakistan’s Foreign Policy’ (Routledge, 2011) and ‘From Chanakya to Modi: The Evolution of India’s Foreign Policy’ (Harper Collins, 2017). Views are personal.
More on Hindutva here.
Mark Collins
Twitter: @Mark3ds
Mark Collins 3Ds Blog 
Another earlier post, very relevant to the one above:
“How Pakistanis Remember Partition of India and Events Leading Thereto”
Mark Colins
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Impact of Modi’s economy on India’s military at a dangerous time with Pakistan and an uncertain one with China:
“Low defense budget hits India’s power ambitions
India’s military has been starved of funds for modernization under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government
India’s defense budget is shrinking in real terms under the Narendra Modi government, undermining its long-held ambition to be a great power.
Faced with an unprecedented economic crisis, India is cutting back on defense modernization so it can continue to pay salaries to its armed forces.
On February 1, political observers noted that India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention the allocation for defense in her budget speech, officially the second-longest since 1991.
On paper, the increase in the budget from last year is a mere 5%, but when inflation is added, it is a cut in real terms. Which means the money given to defense is less than last year.
This is continuing a tradition under Modi’s government where defense budgets have been abysmally low. Last year, in percentage terms, the defense budget fell as low as 1962, the year when India faced a crushing defeat against the Chinese in a border war.
Crippling shortages
Nearly three years ago the then Vice-Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, told the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Defense that the Indian Army had no money to pay for existing weapon modernization contracts, let alone purchase new weapons.
This budget continues with that trend and is going to leave the three armed forces and the Indian Coast Guard with very little money for modernization. Most of the budget goes towards paying salaries and pensions, which are increasing every year as more people retire.
This is bad news for the three armed forces…”
https://www.asiatimes.com/2020/02/article/lack-of-defense-budget-a-blow-to-indias-military/
Read on.
Mark Collins
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