Populist mechanics: India and Indonesia's election parallels - 360
Hadza Robby
Published on May 23, 2024
India and Indonesia’s 2024 elections will shape regional security and prosperity, with both nations tackling populism along with economic and global challenges.
More than 1 billion voters across India and Indonesia will shape the future of the Indo-Pacific region, from the Himalayas to the Papua islands, as India follows Indonesia to the polls.
The rise of Narendra Modi and Prabowo Subianto as popular leaders has shone a spotlight on how both have won support using  populist politics.
In India, Modi has successfully rallied the masses to support his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to establish a vision of Ram Rajya — an ideal Indian statehood based on the re-establishment of the Hindu-centric values and the supremacy of Hindu nationalist principles as propagated by Hindutva ideology.
Ram Rajya envisions a rise of Indian civilisation in the contemporary era that is confident in its ancient religious wisdom and heritage while progressing in its economic and technological achievements.
This process culminated when Modi’s government decided to build a Hindu temple on a disputed religious site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh that had been the site of a mosque until that building was torn down by Hindu nationalists in 1992.
This erasure and vengeance politics was not only symbolic, it is also shown through practices of everyday discrimination against Muslims, particularly those who are not considered eligible for Indian citizenship, such as Bengali and Rohingya communities in the state of Assam.
Indonesia has experienced  similar episodes of religious populism.
Politicians visit religious leaders to show off their piety.
They’re helped by religious leaders who quote verses from scripture, combined with intricately-woven arguments based on religious teaching to influence Indonesians to vote for leaders who supposedly match leadership characteristics in holy books.
Though Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, this is also happening within the Christian community. In Indonesia’s election earlier this year, a list of ideal leader characteristics according to the Bible was made to signify a certain candidate (Prabowo) should not be chosen to be leader for the Christian community in Indonesia.
Unlike the 2019 election, when religious populism reached its zenith, presidential candidates in 2024 wanted to be seen by everyone as a leader embracing plurality and multicultural diversity. But according to Marcus Mietzner this was not a democratic pluralism, but rather a showcase of ‘illiberal pluralism’.
In India, other big issues facing Modi’s re-election bid are economic development, welfare and unemployment. The BJP is promoting the ‘Modi ki Guarantee (Modi’s Guarantee)’ proposal which would continue providing, and enlarge, the scope for subsidies and financial assistance to the poor.
But Modi faces serious criticism over his commitment to solve unemployment in younger age groups, because his ‘Make in India’ program is not living up to promises made by the PM.
Experts say a hastily-prepared agricultural reform program and the protection of big industries owned by tycoons have slowed investment in the manufacturing sector, limiting choices for talented young graduates.
Unemployment was not such a big issue in the Indonesian poll. Instead, relocating the capital from Jakarta in Java to Nusantara, in the Kalimantan jungle, was a major issue due to financing issues.
Prabowo’s’s free lunch scheme for school children may not be a feasible program for now but he is willing to learn how to develop it from India’s success stories through the PM-POSHAN.
In response to the rivalry between the Pacific’s superpowers, the United States and China, India and Indonesia could play a more strategic role to anticipate any escalation of tensions by establishing a regional platform and strengthening existing mechanisms that would ensure the Indo-Pacific area that is open and secure for all.
India and Indonesia could put regional organisations such as ASEAN and Indian Ocean Rim Associations into use in order to prevent any escalation of conflict in the Indo-Pacific that would otherwise risk billions of lives.
As President-elect, Prabowo had also mentioned that India would be one of the strategic partners that Indonesia will closely engage during the course of his presidency.
The collaboration between India and Indonesia is expected to intensify not only in the issue of security and defence cooperation, but especially in the issue of alternative energy and sustainable development.
As both countries face huge problems in maintaining growth while keeping environmental sustainability, it will be necessary for them to have a joint framework on establishing regional initiatives in the development of solar energy and other sources of alternative energy.
Hadza Min Fadhli Robby is an assistant professor at the International Relations Department in Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) Yogyakarta, Indonesia. His research interests are Indian and Turkish religion-politics and international relations.
Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.
Editors Note: In the story “Indian election” sent at: 20/05/2024 16:51.
This is a corrected repeat.