[For Mr. Modi, the appointment represents a “final rejection of Nehruvian socialism, which almost gave the minorities a slightly exalted status,” said Mr. Gupta, referring to Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister and independence leader.]
By Ellen Barry
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Yogi
Adityanath, center, was named chief minister of India’s most populous state,
Uttar
Pradesh, on Saturday. Credit Pawan Kumar/Reuters
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NEW
DELHI — India’s governing
party on Saturday appointed a firebrand Hindu cleric to lead the country’s most
populous state, a turning point for a government that has, until now, steered
clear of openly embracing far-right Hindu causes.
The choice of Yogi Adityanath — who has been
repeatedly accused of stirring anti-Muslim sentiments — to lead Uttar Pradesh,
came as a shock to many political observers here, who have become accustomed to
the carefully moderated public positions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in
line with his projected image as a pro-development leader and global statesman.
Mr. Adityanath has openly called for India to
be enshrined as a “Hindu rashtra,” or Hindu nation, and supports the rebuilding
of a temple to the Hindu god Ram, also known as Rama, on the site of a razed
16th-century mosque, a project that was halted after it incited bloody
religious riots in the 1990s.
With the appointment, Mr. Modi “is unveiling
a vision of benign majoritarianism,” said Shekhar Gupta, a longtime editor and
political talk show host. “That means it’s a Hindu country, that’s the fact,
and we’ll be nice to you if you behave yourself.”
For Mr. Modi, the appointment represents a
“final rejection of Nehruvian socialism, which almost gave the minorities a
slightly exalted status,” said Mr. Gupta, referring to Jawaharlal Nehru,
India’s first prime minister and independence leader.
Mr. Adityanath, who is often seen wearing the
saffron robes of a Hindu priest, told followers he would focus on Mr. Modi’s
economic agenda.
“I am confident that the state will march on
the path of development,” he said, in comments carried by The Press Trust of
India.
India is 80 percent Hindu, 14 percent Muslim
and 2.3 percent Christian, according to the 2011 census.
Mr. Adityanath’s appointment comes on the
heels of Mr. Modi’s greatest political victory since 2014. A week ago, his
Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh, which has a
population of more than 200 million and was seen as a gauge of Mr. Modi’s
chances of winning a second five-year term in 2019.
The selection of a hard-line Hindu chief
minister suggests that the party credits right-wing activists for swinging the
vote, said Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow in the South Asia program at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“The only conclusion one can draw is that he
feels the base is mobilized and that they helped deliver this, and that there
would be pushback if they did not get something in return,” Mr. Vaishnav said.
He added that he was “baffled” by the choice, which shifts attention away from
the pro-growth, development agenda that has been at the center of Mr. Modi’s
political movement.
“I think it’s a regressive choice, and a lost
opportunity for the prime minister,” he said. “This is a huge mandate, a huge
victory. But there is going to be a backlash if he doesn’t figure out the jobs
question. That’s issue No. 1.”
Party loyalists praised the decision. Some
members made the case that Mr. Adityanath’s selection did not represent a departure
from Mr. Modi’s 2014 pledge to focus on the economy and create jobs.
Others openly celebrated the advent of a more
muscular Hindu agenda.
“Justice to all, appeasement to none,” said
Sudhanshu Mittal, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, in comments to NDTV, a cable
news station.
“Appeasement,” in this context, is typically
understood to mean policies favoring the rights of Indian Muslims.
“As a devout Hindu sannyasi,” or someone who
has renounced worldly things, “he will guarantee that the state doesn’t
discriminate, and justice for all,” said Tarun Vijay, a former B.J.P. member of
Parliament. He added that as chief minister, Mr. Adityanath “may make jihadi
intolerant Muslims learn an alphabet of humanity and accepting differences as
an Indian.”
Mr. Adityanath, 44, was born Ajay Mohan
Bisht, and studied mathematics before joining the priesthood. He rose to
prominence as part of the campaign to rebuild the Ram temple, and has
repeatedly been charged with fanning religious tensions.
In 2007, he spent 15 days in jail on charges
of inciting riots, The Hindustan Times reported. He was booked again later in
the year, when riots broke out after he made a speech. He is still facing trial
in the two cases, the newspaper reported.
Mr. Adityanath was a forceful defender of the
Hindu mob who lynched Muhammad Ikhlaq, a Muslim man suspected of slaughtering a
cow, and argued that Mr. Ikhlaq’s family should be prosecuted for possessing
the meat. When some Indians complained that they should not be required perform
a “sun salutation” as part of International Yoga Day celebrations, saying it
was a religious act, he recommended that those who were offended should “drown
themselves in the sea.”
He won his parliamentary seat in 1998, and
was re-elected four times.
He has particularly strong support among
Hindu priests and seers, who urged the B.J.P. to name him chief minister,
saying it would clear the way for the construction of the Ram temple.