Indian leader tells interviewer God ‘just keeps making me do things’ but that he ‘cannot dial him directly’

Indian leader tells interviewer God ‘just keeps making me do things’ but that he ‘cannot dial him directly’

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has said he believes he has been chosen by God, as the multi-stage Indian electionnears its completion.

“I am convinced that ‘*Parmatma’ *(God) sent me for a purpose. Once the purpose is achieved, my work will be one done. This is why I have completely dedicated myself to God,” he told NDTV news channel on Sunday.

Modi, who is hoping to win a third term when the results of the general election are announced on 4 June, said that while God guided him to do a lot of his work, he did so without revealing a larger scheme.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.worldEnglish
      36·
      6 months ago

      They give simple answers to difficult questions, and many people that have a pretty black-and-white view of reality really like that.

    • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      19·
      6 months ago

      because they use populist rhetoric to mask their plans while scapegoating marginalised people and blaming them for the problems of the country

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    43·
    6 months ago

    Sounds familiar.

    George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a senior Palestinian politician in an interview to be broadcast by the BBC later this month.

    Mr Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egpytian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

    One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: “President Bush said to all of us: ‘I am driven with a mission from God’. God would tell me, ‘George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan’. And I did. And then God would tell me ‘George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq’. And I did.”

    Mr Bush went on: “And now, again, I feel God’s words coming to me, ‘Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East’. And, by God, I’m gonna do it.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa

    I hope Modi won’t have a comfortable retirement where he paints shitty pictures and ends up actually paying for his crimes… because decades of war and millions dead was what resulted from Bush thinking he was chosen by his god.

  • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    33·
    6 months ago

    And that purpose? Murdering or expelling all Muslim Indians.

    … sigh, I wish he’d lost.

    • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
      25·
      6 months ago

      Funny how people who think they’re chosen by God so often believe God wants them to kill the people who are inconvenient to them. Funny how God always strongly resembles the believer and shares their views and prejudices.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        143·
        6 months ago

        God is a maniac and he wants you to kill all infidels, it’s in the Bible.
        In what part of the Bible have you ever seen god commanding his followers to help another tribe that believes another god?
        Also bring me their foreskin, because reasons.

        • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          4·
          6 months ago

          Hey, that last one is perfectly rational… you know how you’re not supposed to wear a hat in someone’s house? Neither is your penis - it’s disrespectful! /s

  • A_A@lemmy.worldEnglish
    20·
    6 months ago

    Some More of God’s Greatest Mistakes ! 😋

    (( “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” mentions a trilogy of books written by Oolon Colluphid. One of these books is titled “Where God Went Wrong,” followed by “Some More of God’s Greatest Mistakes” and “Who is this God Person Anyway?” ))

    • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
      18·
      6 months ago

      Hindus believe in one God, who is known variously as Paramatman, Parameshwar, Parabrahman, Purushottam and so on. Even though God is one, He manifests in infinite forms, but this should not to be confused with the belief that there are multiple Gods.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramatman

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
      6·
      6 months ago

      It is my understanding that all gods (and, in fact, all things) are aspects of one thing- Brahman. Some Hindus (not all) worship that as a god. I’m guessing that’s what he’s meaning here.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    3·
    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Modi, who is hoping to win a third term when the results of the general election are announced on 4 June, said that while God guided him to do a lot of his work, he did so without revealing a larger scheme.

    At the inauguration of the temple in Ayodhya in January, it was Modi, rather than Hindu priests, who played the leading role in the rituals.

    Nonetheless, this is believed to be the first time that Modi, who rarely gives interviews and has held no press conferences in his ten years in power, has spoken about himself so candidly as a divine instrument.

    “The wily weaving of religion with politics for a country where faith is an inextricable part of everyday life is the BJP’s USP [unique selling point].

    Mr Modi’s claim is the logical culmination of the BJP’s dominant theme,” the Indian newspaper The Telegraph wrote in an editorial.

    Asked by a TV anchor whether Modi was suffering from a “God complex”, BJP spokesperson Sanju Verma replied by extolling his energy.

    The original article contains 466 words, the summary contains 173 words. Saved 63%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!