ABOARD THE THIRCLAL EXPRESS, INDIA (AP) — The 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) journey south from New Delhi to Kanyakumari is one of India’s longest rail journeys, passing through cities, villages, bushland and deep valleys. is.
The 22-coach Tirukkural Express is a microcosm of India, carrying passengers of different castes and religions, with a wide range of ambitions and grievances — from the migrants crammed into no-frills carriages in the scorching heat to the well-off families luxuriating in air-conditioned sleeper cars — and everyone in between.
Passengers may also be divided on their politics, making the topic a top priority with elections underway as a result. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to win and reappoint Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been its leader for the past 10 years, for another five years.
India’s economy has grown rapidly under Modi, but the heavy-handed tactics he has deployed to advance his Hindu nationalist agenda have led to a decline in India’s population of 1.4 billion people (about 200 million of whom are Muslims). Religious divisions in the country have become sharper, and there are growing concerns about economic collapse. From secular democracy to religious dictatorship.
The Associated Press recently took a 48-hour train trip to interview voters in India about the election, the results of which will be announced on June 4. Some highlights are listed below.
general class
Many of the passengers who bought the cheapest tickets were domestic immigrants. Sitting on iron benches, standing in doorways, or lying on the floor, they traveled between the thriving capital and rural villages or other cities in search of work.
Pardeep Kumar, a bespectacled food stall owner in New Delhi, said Modi’s ruling government was not doing enough to help the poor.
Like millions of Indians living in the informal economy, Kumar is feeling the pain of soaring food prices.
He is grateful that he receives 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of free grain each month from the government as part of a program to alleviate poverty and help the large number of unemployed people. But he wants the government to focus more on improving education and providing better healthcare.
“We don’t want free food,” said Kumar, who visited a village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh with his family. With better education, he says, “we can earn our own money and support our families.”
Kumar is a supporter of the opposition party, the Indian National Congress, and is aware that it faces a tough battle against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
“For 10 years, they (the BJP) have been talking only about Hindus and Muslims, temples and mosques,” Kumar said. “If he speaks out against this, he will be arrested.”
A few steps down, Rishipal Choudhary, with his wiry goatee, disagreed.
Chaudhary, a locomotive driver who travels to the southern city of Madurai for work, believes Prime Minister Modi has improved the country. For example, he said crimes against women have decreased and schools have better teachers and equipment, changes that are benefiting his daughter.
“I’ve loved him from the beginning,” Chaudhary said, a sentiment echoed by many of the passengers crowding around him.
sleeper class
As the train passed through the heart of India, passing through Agra, a city famous for its 17th-century Taj Mahal mausoleum, a man moved down the aisle and shouted, “Tea!” tea! Please bring me some tea! ”
A step up from basic service, the more comfortable and slightly more affordable sleeper cars were filled with passengers sitting in the lower berths. Some people were perched on folding beds. They discussed politics to kill time.
“Times have changed. Ten or 20 years ago we were one, but now we are divided,” said Haji Abdul Subhan, his flowing beard buried in the newspaper he was reading.
Subhan (74), a former railway employee and a Muslim, was traveling to Bhopal.
Since PM Modi took office, many Muslims have experienced discomfort and Subhan listed some of the insults perpetrated by the government. Banning Islamic schools in some states. Limiting the volume of speakers in mosques.
“Efforts are being made to create problems for us. We cannot even speak freely,” he said.
His voice was interrupted by Santosh Kumar Agarwal wearing a cotton vest. He sat cross-legged on the top bunk, listening to Subhan’s concerns.
“He speaks the language of Pakistan,” Agarwal said, criticizing Muslims, who make up 14% of the population. A stinging suggestion: If you’re unhappy with the government, move to Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Agarwal, a Hindu, has voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party for decades. He said that under the Modi government, India is reaching new heights.
What about Subhan’s concerns?
“You know, (Muslims) may be facing problems,” Agarwal said. “We have no problems at all.”
And the demolition of Muslim property?
“They (Muslims) usurped public land under the previous government. That is why they are crying now,” he said.
Air-conditioned class
As the train traveled south, the terrain became greener and the farms grew larger. As the landscape passed by, the houses of wealthy people stood out.
For several more hours on board, the highest-paid passengers removed freshly starched white bedding from the brown paper bags delivered to their bunks.
Nikunj Garg, a medical worker, is concerned about rising unemployment and problems in the education system. She believes that the quality of life for all Indians should be improved. “It’s the little things that matter the most,” she said.
One slot earlier, Samodra Meena questioned the Modi government’s hallmark government policies that are said to be women-friendly, such as access to clean drinking water and cooking gas, saying they are not good for families. . “I want a change of government,” she said.
Mahadev Prasad was also in the same vehicle. Prasad and his family were planning to go to Madurai, one of India’s oldest cities known for its Hindu temples. He carried holy water from the Ganges as an offering to one of the temples.
Prasad is confident that Modi will return to power for an unusual third term. He praised the government’s decision to strip Muslim-majority Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status. And he supports Prime Minister Modi’s increased infrastructure spending and decision to build a Hindu temple on top of a destroyed mosque.
Has his life as a businessman improved?
“Every industry has slowed down. Some in my area are closed,” he said. But for Prasad, Modi has achieved something important.
Citing a widely held theory among Modi supporters, he argues: “Indians used to not get much respect while traveling abroad. But now we are respected.”
Vinoth Kumar, who was sitting next to Prasad, didn’t seem too impressed.
Kumar, 32, a communications engineer from Tiruchirappalli, a city in southern India, is a harsh critic of the Modi government. He said PM Modi’s Hindu-first policy has increased divisions based on language, ethnicity and religion.
Mr. Kumar predicts that if Mr. Modi wins another term, “this country will become secular.”
At the end of another day, the hustle and bustle of the train was replaced by quiet whispers. More passengers disembarked before the train terminated at Kanyakumari’s vast beach, which was crowded with hundreds of men and women wading in the surf.
They held hands and looked east as the sun rose over the horizon.
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For more of AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific.
