Importing Nationalism: Diaspora Politics in India and Turkey
By: Nikhil Jain
Tags: India, Turkey, Diaspora, Nationalism

I was a high school freshman when Narendra Modi won the election as India’s prime minister in 2014. I had little to no knowledge of Indian politics, having never lived there nor understood the intricacies of the policies each political party pursued. However, my parents, grandparents, and community around me were ecstatic with the election results. “He’ll clean up corruption in India,” they said. “He’ll usher us into a new age.” I had been told over the past year that Modi’s party, the BJP, was the only truly anti-corruption party. Modi’s successful time as governor of the state of Gujurat was shown when we would walk through the clean, organized streets of Gujurati cities, compared to the dusty, trash ridden cities of my family’s Rajasthan. As a young boy, the love and support Modi received from my community pushed me to accept him as the best. I watched his inaugural speech at my local Hindu temple with pride as tears rolled down the faces of elders sitting next to me. I did not know why this man, whom I had never previously heard of, was being treated as a savior, especially by a community who no longer lived in the country he governed. Yet, I accepted his supremacy.

Photo Credit: Daily Sun Magazine

As I grew older I began to be interested in Turkish politics. I followed the results of the 2016 coup attempt and learned more of the present leader, then advocating for a presidential system in Turkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan. All that I had read of him depicted his leadership as autocratic. The post-coup crackdowns on academics, journalists, and dissidents only confirmed my understanding. Yet, I could not shake how similar he was to the “beloved” Modi: he was religious, nationalistic, and vehemently anti-corruption. His speeches read out like they could have been delivered by the Indian PM and his previous work in Istanbul as a relatively liberal mayor, standing up for religious rights, seemed in line with my understanding of Modi. Each of them catered to an emboldened religious right, unafraid of demonstrating a hatred to those categories of people who fell outside their idealized ethnoreligious community. Both of their politics had rejected the foundations of secularism that defined their nations in favor of greater state religiosity. They had done so, I found, through the support they received from their supporters abroad in the cultivation of diaspora relations. They had ideologically repatriated their largest migrant groups.

In Germany, over 60% of Turks who voted in the 2017 Turkish referendum voted for Erdogan. This referendum granted the leader with governing powers unlike any other leader before him by winning with 51% of the vote. With 5% of the overall vote guaranteeing him centralized power coming from non-resident Turks, this strong support cannot be ignored. Erdogan was so active in recruiting voters and supporters abroad that the German government passed new laws restricting political campaigning by foreign powers. No other Turkish leader had engaged their diaspora so actively.

Turkish expat holds up ballot in 2018. Photo credit: BBC

In the US, a vast majority of Indians supported the Modi government, even amidst its actions of instituting central control over the region Kashmir, dismantling its democratic government, and preventing a referendum on independence. In fact, 94% of NRIs (non-resident Indians) in the US polled in 2019 expressed support for Modi’s election and government. Modi expanded voting rights to NRIs as well, allowing him access to this highly supportive voting group.

My personal reconnection with the Indian motherland outside of my family came from my religious upbringing and education. Funded in part by Indian organizations with historical ties to Hindu-nationalist political parties, Hindu Sunday schools were increasingly being implemented as a way to attract Indian-American parents who wanted their children to grow up with some Indian cultural familiarity, learn the language, and connect with other Indian families in the community. The organizations that had created these programs were related to the Indian militant religious organization the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Though there are various names for these organizations, each of them is regarded as members of the Sangh Parivar: the umbrella term for organizations that preached the Hindu nationalist ideology of Hindutva.

RSS demonstration in India. Photo credit: The Statesman

In Germany, a similar campaign to educate Turkish diaspora children is allegedly underway. Though emboldened by Neo-Ottoman and Pan-Turanist beliefs rather than Nazi-inspired national socialism, Sunday school programs and community religious and cultural centers have been established by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs and have been seen as teaching a hardline, right-wing interpretation of Turkish nationalism and religion under the direction of the Turkish government. Much like my family sought out RSS Sunday schools as a way to find the Indian community, Turks abroad turn to Diyanet centers and programs as a means to reconnect with their national identity. Germany, France, and Austria have all ejected Turkish Diyanet imams for pushing inflammatory rhetoric. Some states and provinces have banned Diyanet operations altogether for failing to demonstrate their separation from the Turkish state.

This action has not curbed Erdogan’s support in Europe, but rather expanded it. These actions are considered by many to be blatantly anti-Islamic or Islamaphobic. Erdogan’s campaign to expand religious outreach is seen by many European Muslims as not a method of garnering political support, but uniting an ummah that has been systematically attacked, vilified, and ridiculed in European media. Now, with a new, expanding rift between Emmanuel Macron and Recep Erdogan, these interpretations grow stronger. The issues of racism and bias that Turkish and Muslim migrants face in Europe now has a world leader standing strongly against it.

Opening of Cologne Central Mosque in Cologne, Germany. Photo credit: Ahval News

Similarly, organizations like the Hindu American Foundation (founded by activists who support the goals and aims of the Sangh Parivar) have criticized actions by western and Indian scholars in denouncing the Indian political influence of religious institutions as Hinduphobic and preventing the acceptance of Hindus and Indians in American society. In an address to the Indians of America in Texas entitled “Howdy Modi,” the Indian Prime Minister stressed this idea, calling those who criticize India’s actions in Kashmir akin to terrorists and “people who put their hatred of India at the center of their political agenda.” The statement was met with thunderous applause from thousands of Indian-Americans who were brought up by a system emboldened by the Indian religious right.

‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston, TX. Photo credit: American Bazaar Online

By fostering support from migrant and diaspora groups abroad through the focus on issues of racism, nationality, and identity, both of these leaders capture a significant amount of support critical for both optics and financial backing, regardless of a person’s opinions on their controversial politics. Without the support of these groups, both Modi and Erdogan’s attempts to keep autocratic control over their nations fall short. Their statements would not bring cheers from thousands who look to them as symbols of greatness, community, and nationhood. They would not have the ideological sway they do over thousands more. This is why engagement with a diaspora is critical for these leaders.

In the next blog posts, I will be diving into a deeper look into a comparative analysis of both Indian and Turkish government organizations that handle diaspora affairs and how they use their offices to engage in “public diplomacy.” It is my hope that through these posts, I can shed light on the strengths of diaspora engagement and what that means for the future of nationalist politics.

References:

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Admin. (2019, October 24). Hindu American Foundation Hosts Islamophobia-Denying Journalist. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from http://www.ofmi.org/hindu-american-foundation-hosts-islamophobia-denying-journalist/

Admin. (2019, October 24). Hindu American Foundation Hosts Islamophobia-Denying Journalist. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from http://www.ofmi.org/hindu-american-foundation-hosts-islamophobia-denying-journalist/

Hill, J. (2018, June 20). Turkey election: Expats play decisive role in Erdogan vote. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44546035

Mehrotra, V. (2019, May 29). 93.9 per cent NRIs in US support PM Modi’s re-election, 92 per cent feel India is better respected now than before 2014: Survey. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-pm-narendra-modi-re-election-survey-nri-us-government-schemes-indians-in-united-states-523229

Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi of India at “Howdy, Modi: Shared Dreams, Bright Futures” Event. (n.d.). Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-prime-minister-modi-india-howdy-modi-shared-dreams-bright-futures-event/

Tremblay, P. (2020, May 14). How clipping Turkey’s religious reach has boosted Erdogan in Europe. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/05/turkey-western-moves-boost-support-to-erdogan-among-diaspora.html