India is known for fickle and sometimes entrenched politics. An interesting recent development is the installation of Ashish Shelar as the leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party. Ashish has held important offices before and was previously the president of the Mumbai district of the same party. Since a rising star can have dramatic consequences for a whole country, it is important to the whole world to watch what happens to Ashish.
For the world, India is one of the most important countries because of its population and natural resources. It is the leading navy in the Indian Ocean and is also the location of many of Asia’s most important open ports. While India does not have the same subsidies or annual growth of China, its relative economic freedom and lack of centralized control make it a unique developing economy.
His prominence is critical to India because of his conservative policies that sometimes reflect Hindu religious sentiment. The BJP is the largest political party in Indian and frequently dominates the politics of that country. The BJP itself has a religious and conservative attitude and so is known for having nationalistic policies. This concerns the world because nationalist positions can create barriers to trade as well as confrontations with other countries.
One example of Ashish Shelar positions is that he once banned the sale of meat for eight days during a religious festival season. The normal ban is four days long, and the Hindus of India as a whole tend to consume less meat and be more likely to practice vegetarianism. His lengthened ban suggested a more hardline position that was criticized by other members of his party.
If Ashish’s star is rising, then it means that India is trending towards more nationalistic policies. India’s population might be getting into a more confrontational mood with its neighbors, which could mean conflict in the region and the disruption of some markets. Major areas of contention are immigration to the Kashmir region and relations with China and Middle Eastern countries.
Under a very conservative government, India might become more protectionist in its trade and visitor policies and might become more assertive in the Indian Ocean. Ashish himself is 47 years old and obtained a Bachelor of Science in 1992. He is interested in sports and has a populist leadership style in spite of his conservative background. He has the power to shape the policy of the BJP and the direction of India’s future laws.
