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Modi's Hindutva: Has BJP's Politics Hurt India's International Image?
The Indian cricket team's crass behavior after defeating the Pakistani team at the Asia Cup 2025 group encounter has raised eyebrows among sports fans around the world. Not only did Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian team captain, refuse to do the customary handshake before and after the match in Dubai but he also made controversial statements linking the match with the recent India-Pakistan conflict. “A few things in life are above sportsman’s spirit ......We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and with their families, and dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor”, he said.
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| Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi |
This latest incident in the UAE illustrates one of the reasons why there is a growing backlash against the Indian diaspora in Australia, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. All of these countries and regions have seen very public expressions of disgust at the behavior of Indians in these countries. This is in part attributed to the politics of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proclaimed his country as "Vishwaguru", meaning the world's guru. It is often seen as an expression of Hindu Supremacy and denigration of all others.
The arrogance of the Indian diaspora was highlighted last year when Vivek Ramaswamy, then a candidate for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, said Americans don't have a good enough work ethic as American culture "venerated mediocrity over excellence." He offered it as a key justification to bring in more Indians to work in the United States. The backlash in the United States was immediate and strong. The essence of the response to the Hindu supremacist criticism of the US culture went like this: People from India, a "shit-hole" country, are jealous of America. Earlier, Professor Amy Wax of University of Pennsylvania, told Tucker Carlsen that “the role of envy and shame in the way the third world [sic] regards the first world […] creates ingratitude of the most monstrous kind.” She also said that ‘Brahmin women’ of India are taught that they are better than everybody.
American social media, particularly Trump's MAGA base, have turned against India and Indians, making them the most hated diaspora in the United States. They are getting a taste of the kind of hate that the BJP, India's ruling party, has been promoting against Muslims. Anti-Indian slurs like "pajeet", "dirty Indian" and "coolie" have become common.
Ashley Tellis, a strongly pro-India analyst in the United States, recently published an essay for Foreign Affairs magazine titled "India's Great Power Delusions" in which he wrote that "the country (India) is shedding one of its main sources of strength—its liberal democracy—by embracing Hindu nationalism. This evolution could undermine India’s rise by intensifying communal tensions and exacerbating problems with its neighbors, forcing it to redirect security resources inward to the detriment of outward power projection. The country’s illiberal pivot further undermines the rules-based international order that has served it so well".
In recent years, India has emerged as a major hub for global scams. The US government has alleged in court documents that a large enterprise originating from India was involved in stealing nearly $1.5 billion from elderly Americans. Recently, two Indian nationals, Pranay Mamindi and Kishan Patel, were found guilty of participating in a money laundering conspiracy, concealing the source of the money, and using the illegally gained money to further promote a criminal enterprise. Six other defendants from India also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
These global scams appear to have started amid widespread unemployment in India. Many of the scammers previously worked in call centers where they learned to use computers and telecommunications networks to reach out and talk to Americans. In 2022, U.S. citizens fell victim to a massive loss of over $10 billion from phishing calls orchestrated by illegal Indian call centers, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Indian-Americans, too, have been found guilty in a number of high-profile scams. A federal jury convicted former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, an Indian-American entrepreneur, on all 12 counts of fraud in 2022. Balwani was born in 1965 in Pakistan to a Sindhi Hindu family. His one-time girlfriend and partner Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was convicted on similar charges earlier that year. Both face up to 20 years in prison.
Last year, a federal judge sentenced former Outcome Health CEO Rishi Shah, an Indian-American, to 7½ years in prison for a massive fraud scheme that prosecutors say enabled a “jet-set lifestyle” featuring private aircraft, yachts and a tony Chicago home.
In 2020, Dr. John Nath Kapoor, Indian-American CEO of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of conspiring to recklessly and illegally boost profits from the opioid painkiller Subsys, a fentanyl spray designed to be absorbed under the tongue, according to multiple media reports.
Rajat Gupta, an Indian-American former global head of McKinsey & Company, was convicted of insider trading in 2012. He was charged with passing on confidential business information about Goldman Sachs to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Gupta was found guilty on multiple counts of conspiracy and securities fraud and served a two-year prison sentence.
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| India Ranks Number One For Misinformation and Disinformation |
Beyond the hub of scams and frauds, it seems that India has earned a reputation as the epicenter of misinformation and disinformation. According to experts surveyed for the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risk Report, India was ranked highest for the risk of misinformation and disinformation. This was on full display during the recent conflict with Pakistan.
After the recent Pahalgam militant attack in Kashmir, the Indian government immediately blamed it on Pakistan without any investigation or evidence. More than a month later, the perpetrators have neither been clearly identified nor apprehended. And yet, the government of Prime Minister Modi proceeded with air strikes inside Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated and shot down several Indian fighter jets, including its most advanced French Rafales. The conflict began to quickly escalate with strikes and counter-strikes, with the world fearing a nuclear exchange. This prompted the United States and several other countries to intervene and force a ceasefire in less than 4 days of armed conflict.
During this short 4-day period, the Indian mainstream media was filled with lies. Here's how the Washington Post reported this: "Times Now Navbharat reported that Indian forces had entered Pakistan; TV9 Bharatvarsh told viewers that Pakistan’s prime minister had surrendered; Bharat Samachar said he was hiding in a bunker. All of them, along with some of the country’s largest channels — including Zee News, ABP News and NDTV — repeatedly proclaimed that major Pakistani cities had been destroyed".
It is unfortunate but true: Fraud and falsehood have become endemic in the Indian society. Part of the blame falls squarely on the ruling BJP party which promotes falsehoods. In 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-hand man and home minister Amit Shah told his party's volunteers commonly known as Modi Bhakts: "We can keep making messages go viral, whether they are real or fake, sweet or sour". "Keep making messages go viral. We have already made a WhatsApp group with 32 lakh people in Uttar Pradesh; every morning they are sent a message at 8 am", Shah added, according to a report in Dainik Bhaskar, an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper.
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Comment by Riaz Haq on September 16, 2025 at 9:43am
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Indian cricket’s Pakistan problem: Can you monetise patriotism?
India boycotts Pakistan across all forums except multinational cricket. And that’s because it stands to lose too much money.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/9/15/indian-crickets-pakist...
India’s most recent encounter with Pakistan in the Asia Cup was celebrated as a patriotic spectacle: a win dedicated to the armed forces and those affected by the Pahalgam attack. Such declarations, however, expose something deeper: a strategy of playing politics with sport, hypocrisy masked as principle.
Beneath this posturing and tokenism lies a contradiction too stark to ignore. This is not just sport. It is cynical theatre in which administrators, players and commentators attempt to ride on two boats at the same time. The hypocrisy is visible to anyone with a sane set of eyes.
At the heart of this contradiction is the relationship between India and Pakistan in cricket. Officially, India refuses bilateral cricket with Pakistan. The line is firm: no tours, no series and no diplomacy. The justification rests on national security, especially after the clash between the South Asian neighbours in May.
Indian artists are banned from collaborating with their Pakistani counterparts. Pakistani singers and actors once popular in India have been cut off on social media and otherwise. Indian celebrities themselves are trolled and shamed for past collaborations done on neutral grounds.
Yet the same ecosystem explodes with excitement when India faces Pakistan in multination tournaments. Matches are packaged as spectacles, marketed as the “greatest rivalry” and cashed in for billions in advertising revenue.
This duality is not accidental. Jay Shah, now serving in International Cricket Council (ICC) leadership, has been accused of pressuring Team India into playing Pakistan despite reluctance from within the camp. Sanjay Raut, a member of parliament in India, recently alleged that Shah’s hand forced the decision, turning the match into an obligation rather than a choice.
If true, this signals how far politics has penetrated Indian cricket administration for the sake of money and clout. The game is no longer simply sport but a vehicle for symbolic battles decided in boardrooms, not dressing rooms.
The hypocrisy becomes sharper when one considers the home environment. While Indians in other spheres faced online lynching for working with Pakistani colleagues even before the war, cricketers are being placed on a pedestal for defeating Pakistan. It is not only about double standards. It is about a calculated exploitation of sentiment.
Cricket is permitted as the only arena of “contact” because cricket sells more than most things in India. The ban on cultural exchange is explained as nationalism, but cricket is exempted in the name of multilateral obligations and commercial survival. Dedications of wins to soldiers and terror victims act as moral cover for what is essentially a business transaction. This is sheer hypocrisy and tokenism.
If India insists on involving politics in sport, consistency demands more. Look at Muslim athletes and countries known for boycotting matches against Israeli opponents. They forfeit games, risk sanctions and face bans. Whatever one thinks of their politics, their actions are clear, uncompromised and costly. They make a stand and face consequences.
India refuses bilateral cricket with Pakistan yet plays them in ICC tournaments because the money is too big to lose, especially when most of it comes home through viewership endorsements and advertisements. It tries to sail on two boats, waving nationalism with one hand while collecting profits with the other. The dedication of victories to the armed forces does not erase that contradiction. It exposes it.
The India-Pakistan rivalry itself is not what it used to be. Competitive balance has tilted drastically. India has dominated recent contests due to the Pakistani team’s poor form. Suspense is long gone, but the manufactured hype remains.
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Pakistan, protests and public opinion: Narendra Modi's terrible year
https://www.ft.com/content/3bbec4d7-9302-4dc8-a7dc-39266526fb91
Stuck on all fronts
The “Gen Z” protest in the Himalayan region of Ladakh is the latest in a string of setbacks that Narendra Modi is facing this year. Last week police shot dead four people, and the subsequent arrest of the popular leader Sonam Wangchuk has further exacerbated the situation. The protesters are seeking statehood for Ladakh, a geopolitically important area near the Chinese border. They also want protections promised by the Modi administration in 2019, when it abrogated the constitutional privileges previously offered to Kashmir and its neighbouring region.
This year has been the worst for Modi in his 11 years as prime minister, with both external and internal events contributing to a general souring in his popularity. Externally, as has been discussed in this newsletter, Modi’s inability to influence his “friend” Donald Trump in securing a trade deal for India has left several business sectors exposed to the highest tariffs. That Trump has only doubled down and punished India (and not China) for buying Russian oil has made things worse. But perhaps the deepest cut of all is Trump cosying up to Pakistan. On Friday the US president once again hosted Pakistan’s chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in the White House, and this time they were also joined by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Internally, the economy has been wobbly for several quarters. Even though GDP growth numbers look good on paper, there is no hiding the consumption and credit crisis that the middle class is experiencing. In the past couple of months, bereft of a deal, Modi has been trying to talk up local consumption. On Sunday, he used his radio programme Mann Ki Baat to urge Indians to buy locally manufactured products. It’s too early to tell how significant the lift-off from the week-old reforms in the goods and services tax will be. If the festival season, which we are now bang in the middle of, does not spur consumption, then the outlook for the rest of the year will continue to be bleak. Urban unemployment has been hovering around the 7 per cent mark for months, with no significant improvement. Even the stock market has found little reason to cheer, with the benchmark index down 4 per cent in the past 12 months.
The most marked change, though, is in Modi’s popularity online. While he used to always command ringing support on social media, no matter the issue, that is less visible these days. Yesterday the prime minister posted on social media after the Indian cricket team beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup final, calling it “Operation Sindoor on the games field”. The replies were full of ordinary citizens chiding him for comparing a game to a military operation, which followed a terror attack in which Indian lives were lost.
The immediate impact of this annus horribilis for Modi will be visible in the important state elections in Bihar later this year. The current crises are forcing a rethink on all aspects of the government. How the country emerges from this will determine what its political future will look like.
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Shashi Tharoor misunderstands the diaspora—we are not proxies for India in the US
India deserves a stronger voice on the global stage. But, expecting Indian Americans, increasingly under attack from both ends, to continue sacrificing and paying for it is not a sound strategy.
Suhag A. Shukla
SUHAG A. SHUKLA
https://theprint.in/opinion/shashi-tharoor-diaspora-india-in-the-us...
AI Overview
Suhag A. Shukla, co-founder and executive director of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), responded to Indian politician Shashi Tharoor's comments by stating that Indian-Americans are not "proxies" for the Indian government. In an opinion piece for The Print and on social media in early October 2025, Shukla countered Tharoor's criticism that the Indian-American diaspora was largely silent on US policies affecting India.
The exchange of views
Tharoor's original comments:
Following a meeting with a US congressional delegation in September 2025, Tharoor questioned why the diaspora appeared apathetic to US policies affecting India, including H-1B visa fees and tariffs.
He cited a conversation with a US congresswoman who claimed to have received no calls from Indian-American voters regarding these policy changes.
Tharoor suggested that this silence undermines India's interests and that the community should be more vocal in advocating for the relationship.
Shukla's response:
In her response, Shukla clarified that Indian-Americans are US citizens with primary loyalties and civic duties in the United States.
She argued that expecting them to act as lobbyists for the Indian government's sovereign policy decisions is unreasonable and that India can hire professional lobbyists for such work.
Shukla contended that Tharoor's claims misrepresent the diaspora's involvement and engagement in US issues, and she defended their active participation in shaping policy.
She pointed out that statements like Tharoor's can undermine the diaspora's hard-earned credibility in the US by fueling suspicions that they are not "true Americans".
While acknowledging the deep cultural ties Indian-Americans have with India, Shukla asserted that this does not negate their identity as Americans.
She also highlighted the community's diversity and the unique challenges they face compared to other diaspora groups that Tharoor mentioned.
Tharoor's subsequent reaction:
After Shukla's response, Tharoor welcomed the pushback, stating he was happy his questions got the Indian-American diaspora thinking.
He acknowledged that the challenges of the Indian diaspora are different from others but maintained that they could still make their voices heard within the rules of US democracy.
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Major H-1B visa sponsor will not hire a single H-1B applicant going forward
https://www.newsweek.com/h-1b-visa-sponsor-will-not-h-1b-applicant-...
Tata Consultancy Services’ CEO K Krithivasan said that the Indian tech company would reduce the number of H-1B visa holders in its U.S. offices.
Krithivasan told the Times of India that the company would “continue to hire more locally,” adding that this was part of a “reduction in dependency on visa-based talent.”
Why It Matters
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to hire skilled foreign workers.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September that would impose an annual $100,000 fee to companies for H-1B visas, citing “abuse” of the program.
Critics of the visa scheme have said it undercuts the U.S. workforce, while its proponents have argued that it helps the country draw in skilled talent from around the world.
What To Know
Tata Consultancy Services was the second largest sponsor of H-1B visas in the U.S. in the financial year of 2025, second only to Amazon, with 5,505 visas approved, according to data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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Pakistan, F-1 student visas granted in fiscal year 2023 were 3,322. The number of F-1 visas issued in the first half of fiscal year 2025 was 1,928, an increase of 44.3% compared to the same period in the previous year.
https://www.applyboard.com/applyinsights-article/us-student-visa-is...
Total Number of F-1 Visas Issued During H1 Dips
Across most major destinations, new student visa numbers fell in 2024 compared to all-time highs set in 2023. While the US remained the most resilient, this overall slowdown is expected to continue to impact student flows in 2025. Looking at mid-year 2025 data, US government data shows that almost 89,000 international students were issued an F-1 student visa during H1 2025.
The number of F-1 student visas issued to Indian students dropped by 44% year-over-year to 14,700, continuing a downward trend that started in H1 2024. Notably, Indian student demand has softened among most other major Anglophone study destinations. Visa demand from Indian students dropped by nearly 20% between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years in Australia, and that trend is expected to persist in 2024/25 based on H1 fiscal year data. Meanwhile, Indian students were issued 57% fewer Canadian study permits in calendar year 2024 versus 2023.
Over the full 2024 fiscal year, 86,000 US student visas were issued to Indian students, versus 83,000 to Chinese students. If current trends continue, it’s possible Chinese students will become the largest incoming international student population in the US for the first time in four years. In H1 2025, US student visa issuances to Chinese students dropped 24% year-over-year to just over 11,000. However, the H1 2025 total is similar to 2022 and 2023 totals over the same period, suggesting a return to more stable levels of demand.
Over the 2024 fiscal year, 42% of new international students in the US were from India or China. While a sizable proportion of the international student body, this percentage is shifting: in the previous fiscal year, India and China received 49% of all issued F-1 visas.
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