World View: Hindu Nationalist Narendra Modi Gains in India's Election

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Ukraine anti-Russian protesters tear down Lenin statue in Kiev
• Jordan is elected to Saudi Arabia’s rejected UN Security Council seat
• Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi gains in India’s election

Ukraine anti-Russian protesters tear down Lenin statue in Kiev

Top: Dec 1 picture of police guarding Lenin statue; bottom, Dec 8 picture of statue’s destruction (AP)

For the second weekend in a row, hundreds of thousands of anti-RussianUkrainians filled Independence Square in Kiev to denounce pro-RussianPresident Viktor Yanukovich’s flip-flop and subsequent refusal to signa trade agreement with the European Union, instead succumbing topressure and extortion from Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, who isdemanding that Ukraine join the Russian-led Customs Union.

On Sunday, the protesters performed the symbolic gesture of tearingdown the statue of Vladimir Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov),considered by many to be the father of Russian communism and a leaderof the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The statue was broken into pieceswith a large sledgehammer, and everyone in the crowd sought to takehome a prized “piece of Lenin.” The move is certain to infuriate boththe largely Russian-speaking eastern half of Ukraine, as well asofficials in Moscow.

The leader of the pro-Russian Communist Party said:

“Destroying the Lenin monument in Kiev is not just anact of vandalism. It is a sign that organizers of the protestsare not for the European values, but rather for hate, fear anddestruction of the state of Ukraine.”

There is growing concern that pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovichwill invite Russian military forces into Ukraine, rather than allowthe anti-Russian protesters to perpetrate a coup. AP and CNN

Jordan is elected to Saudi Arabia’s rejected UN Security Council seat

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Friday togive to Jordan the Security Council seat that Saudi Arabia hadrejected in October. ( “19-Oct-13 World View — Saudi Arabia shocks U.N. by rejecting Security Council seat”) The Saudi decision wasbased on accusations of hypocrisy, allowing Syria’s presidentBashar al-Assad to kill and displace million of civilianswith impunity, particularly after President Barack Obama’sflip-flop on Syria’s chemical weapons.

Jordan generally agrees with Saudi Arabia on most issues, and soJordan is expected to follow the same policies on the SecurityCouncil. However, there are now 600,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan,putting an enormous strain on its resources, and so it’s expected thatJordan will cause the Security Council to focus more on the Syrianrefugee issue. AFP and Reuters

Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi gains in India’s election

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made strong electoral gains inSunday’s election, trouncing the ruling Congress Party headed by thecurrent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The elections for primeminister will be held next year.

The BJP party leader is Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist. ( “15-Sep-13 World View — Hindu nationalist nominated as India’s prime minister”) Hindunationalism is controversial in India because opponents associate itwith “Hindutva violence,” originally targeting British colonizers, butrecently targeting Muslims. Modi himself became associated withHindutva violence in 2002, when he appeared to be complicit inviolence against Muslims. Hostility between the Hindu and Muslimpopulations has been a growing trend since the 1970s, and Modi hasbecome extremely popular, either despite or because of his Hindutvaconnection. Indian Express and The News (Pakistan)

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