> BJP polled 23% of the total vote in previous general election, when Hindus
are 84% of Indian electorate.
> BJP has 170 seats in Indian parliament of 542 seats. That should give a
rough idea of relative strength of
> BJP in Indian politics. BJP has ruled for 5 years out 50 years of India's
existence. For almost 40 years
> between 1950-1990, BJP could barely manage to get 5% of the total votes in
Indian elections.
>
> Secularism is under a serious threat from both Hindu as well as Muslim
fanaticism. That Muslims of British > India constitute a separate nation was
the basis of partition in 1947.To accept that Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs > and
Christians are separate nations in South Asia, would disastrous for secular
politics in South Asia.
>
> What is your basis for equating India and BJP?
Since you appear to be fond of rhetorical questions I might ask "where did I equate India and the BJP?" It was you who formulated that interpretation of my comments.
World history has shown that right wing extremists often first achieve power as minority or local governments. There is, for example, the matter of the BJP state government inciting of religious violence in Gujarat and the party's landslide victory in the 2002 state election, which _followed_ the violence. This suggests that the BJP have been successful in using bigotry and violence to cultivate electoral support and there is some potential for the BJP to increase its support in the national parliament.
As you would know very well, I am not the only one saying this. Many Indian academics and journalists are also saying it. For example, see this article by Rahul Bedi:
"Last year, BJP politics hit its nadir after it swept the polls in western Gujarat state following the three-month long pogrom of Muslims that left more than 1000 dead. The National Human Rights Commission, the Opposition and independent activists have blamed the BJP-led state Government for aiding rioters who killed Muslims and ravaged their homes and businesses in an orgy of looting and pillaging. But it had the desired result - the BJP swept Gujarat in December, far exceeding even its own expectations. Many BJP leaders privately admit that Gujarat was the "laboratory where the communal experiment was tested for its efficacy, before it is transported across the country". "The BJP is set on an election campaign that will play on the fears of the Hindus," declared a columnist in the widely circulated Indian Express newspaper. Events such as the blasts in Mumbai and peace overtures to Pakistan merely muddy the political climate for the Hindu nationalists, an independent MP said. Security officials fear Pakistan is fully exploiting the volatile communal situation brought about by the BJP's electoral politics and blind desire to remain in office much to India's detriment. "If militant Muslim groups decide to strike back in any significant and co-ordinated manner then India faces a grave, almost apocalyptic situation," a senior counter-intelligence official said. The only saving grace, for the moment, is that India's Muslims lack any coherent leadership to organise themselves, but that ability might just be provided from outside, the official added. Other intelligence officers concede that Muslim killings in Gujarat had created hundreds if not thousands of potential terrorists with which India simply does not have the ability to cope."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3522692&thesection=news&thesubsection=world