Narendra Modi’s secret weapon: India’s diaspora
Migrants help campaign for the prime minister at home and lobby for the country abroad
ON A GREY morning in north-west London earlier this month an enthusiastic group gathered outside a community centre to fly the Indian flag—plus another one featuring the lotus flower, symbol of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Some wore saffron scarves, a colour associated with Hinduism. After staging a car rally through the neighbourhood, they reconvened outside a Hindu temple. A British Conservative MP addressed the crowd, praising the government of Narendra Modi. The gathering, organised by the Overseas Friends of the BJP, the party’s diaspora arm, got little attention in the local media. But footage of it soon appeared on the websites of many Indian outlets.
Explore more
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Narendra Modi’s secret weapon”
International March 30th 2024
More from International
Inside the Houthis’ moneymaking machine
After a ceasefire in Gaza, they may continue their Red Sea racket
Marco Rubio will find China is hard to beat in Latin America
China buys lithium, copper and bull semen, and doesn’t export its ideology
Donald Trump has a strong foreign-policy hand, but could blow it
Bullying foreigners can be sadly effective, but also a dangerous distraction
Women warriors and the war on woke
Trump’s Pentagon pick wants women off the battlefield
Young people are having less fun
Youthful excess continues to decline
Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation
Baby-boomers are keeping their bad habits into retirement