From 'India Shining' to 'India was Shining'

At the time of the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried to sell the idea of “India Shining”. The party hoped that a media blitz would help Indian v oters delude themselves about their everyday reality. That kite did not fly, but the BJP has not given up on that “feel good” theme.

The “Preamble” of the new BJP Manifesto attempts to reincarnate that idea in the form of “India was Shining”. This preamble, signed by Murli Manohar Joshi (Chairperson of the Drafting Committee) and supposedly based on historical “facts”, is a mishmash of half truths and untruths about Indian civilisation and culture.