The Economist, mouthpiece of global liberal order has attacked Modi government and supported Congress government for the 2019 general election. The Economist stands for everything that is wrong with current global order like free trade, unchecked globalization, drug liberalization, free immigration, and cultural liberalism. It supported the presidency of Barack Obama and also voiced its support for Hillary Clinton in 2016 general election. While Barack Obama’s presidency proved disastrous for global security, Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump.
The magazine has been supporter of Anglo-American global order led by United States. It has repeatedly supported ‘American Exceptionalism’ and justified American intervention on many occasions. It has been subject to censorship in India because the magazine has shown Pakistan centric map of Kashmir.
The magazine has supported the economic policies of Modi government but it decided to oppose BJP in 2019 general election. “Under Narendra Modi, India’s ruling party poses a threat to democracy”, wrote the Economist. “Mr Modi has been neither as good for India as his cheerleaders foretold, nor as bad as his critics…imagined. But today the risks still outweigh the rewards,” it added.
It also criticized the Modi government’s decision to carry out Balakot air strikes. “Not so much an act of strength as recklessness that could have ended in disaster”, wrote the magazine. As majority of Indians including Congress party supported the air strikes, it is very clear that the views of liberal mouthpiece do not match to majority of Indian population and political parties. The Economist is not different from other liberal mouthpiece like New York Times and Reuters which still hold orientalist view of India.
New York Times had ridiculed India’s stand at the Paris Climate Summit where India had asked developed countries to make deeper emission cuts. Earlier also, New York Times published an offensive cartoon making fun of India’s success in its very first Mars Mission.
The Economist is also opposed to the Modi government’s strong action against Kashmiri separatists. Interestingly, the magazine criticized Modi government for quelling press freedom. As per magazine, Modi government “cowed the press”, “suborned respected government institutions… as well as loosing tax collectors on political opponents… and cocking a snook at rules meant to insulate the army from politics.”
A few months back, S Gurumurthy, the non-official part-time director of Reserve Bank of India has sent a legal notice to the ‘liberal’ mouthpiece, for publishing defamatory content. The international magazine published an article in print and web edition on November 24th, 2018 about Gurumurthy with the title “The person who is doing most to undermine the Reserve Bank of India”. The article claimed that “Other than Narendra Modi, the prime minister, he is perhaps the man India’s liberal economists most fear.”
Foreign media’s obsession with India is not new. They always portray India in a negative light and leave no stone unturned to malign India’s image with their lies and propaganda at a global level. The foreign media’s incipient hatred for India is very well known. Despite the fact that India has made significant progress since its independence, the foreign media still presents India as a backward land of snake charmers and many other derogatory tags have been given to India. It shows the racist mentality of foreign media.