Two Years On, Indians Still Adore Modi... But Not His Pak Policy

More than three-fifths of Indians support the use of military force to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

Half of the respondents in Pew’s survey disapproved of Modi’s management of India’s volatile relationship with Pakistan. (Photo: PTI)

Roughly half or more of Indians approve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership style, according to a latest Pew Research Center survey. Almost 56 percent believe he cares about people like them; 51 percent say he stands up for what he believes in; and 49 percent say he brings people together and gets things done.

Indians also favour Modi’s toughness in dealing with the world, the survey said.

Indians Approve Use of Military Force to Counter Terrorism

The survey, released on Monday, showed that about half of the respondents disapprove of Modi’s Pakistan policy. More than three-fifth of Indians support the use of military force to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

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With roughly half (52 percent) of the Indian public worried that ISIS poses a major threat to their country, about six in ten Indians (62 percent) believe that overwhelming military force is the best way to defeat terrorism around the world. Just 21 percent say relying too much on such force creates hatred that leads to more terrorism.

Pew Research Center report

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh (left) with PM Modi (right). (Photo: PTI)

About 68 percent of the respondents feel that India is playing a more important role in the world than it was doing 10 years ago, the survey found.

The survey was conducted among 2,464 respondents from 7 April to 24 May and showed that half of the respondents disapprove of Modi’s management of India’s volatile relationship with Pakistan.

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Indians Disapprove of Modi’s Pakistan Policy

Modi’s Pakistan policy is approved by just 22 percent, said the survey, which was conducted in the months after the terrorist attack at the Pathankot Air Force base.

Notably, more than half of BJP supporters (54 percent) and a plurality of Congress party adherents (45 percent) disapprove of the prime minister’s handling of relations with Pakistan.

Army jawans carry the body a martyr killed in the Uri attack. (Photo: PTI)

Indians Support Increased Defence Spending

As regards its handling of China, BJP supporters are more likely than backers of the Congress party to favour his conduct of bilateral relations.

Pew said Indians are ready to support more defence spending.

Across party lines, more than six in ten (63 percent) think the country should increase spending on national defence, just six percent want to decrease it and 20 percent want to keep it at current levels.

China Seen as Threat

Notably, Indians who see China’s growing military power as a very serious problem are more likely than those who see China’s growing military power as a less serious threat to favor increased military spending, it said.

Modi’s Domestic Policies Find Support

According to Pew, the Indian public’s satisfaction with the direction of the country has increased 36 percentage points since 2013, the year before Modi took power. The survey found that Indian public’s views on the economy have improved by 23 points.

Sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik creates a sand sculpture to pay homage to the soldiers who lost their lives in the Uri attacks. (Photo: PTI)

The belief among people that today’s children will be better off financially than their parents is up eight points.

The survey said that Modi continues to ride a wave of positive sentiments (81 percent) about the way things are going in India, the state of the domestic economy and his own stewardship of the country.

In a 2015 Pew survey, Modi’s approval rating was 87 percent. Modi’s favourable rating of 81 percent is followed by that of Sonia Gandhi (67 percent), Rahul Gandhi (63 percent) and Arvind Kejriwal (50 percent).

Modi has the lowest unfavourability rating of 16 percent, followed by Arvind Kejriwal (27 percent), Sonia Gandhi (31 percent) and Rahul Gandhi (32 percent).

Like Modi, the ruling BJP has an approval rating of 80 percent, followed by the Congress (67 percent) and the Aam Aadmi Party (47 percent).

Pepole hold a prayer tribute for the victims of the Uri attacks. (Photo: PTI)

About half or more of the public approves of Modi’s handling of a range of domestic problems facing the country, like helping the poor and dealing with unemployment (both 62 percent), handling terrorism (61 percent) and dealing with corruption (59 percent).

Indians More Interested in Domestic Issues

“Nevertheless, Indians give priority to issues at home. By more than two-to-one (53 percent to 23 percent) they believe that India should deal with its own problems and let other nations deal with theirs,” Pew said.

“This public preference for a focus on domestic issues reflects ongoing concerns about a range of issues: Roughly eight in ten Indians believe crime, corrupt officials, a lack of employment opportunities and terrorism are very big national problems,” Pew said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Photo: PTI)

Observing that only about a third (31 percent) of the public expresses a favourable opinion of their emerging Asian rival, Pew said these positive views are down 10 percentage points in the past year, but unchanged from 2014.

Beijing Seen as Threat

“Another 36 percent voice an unfavorable opinion and 32 percent have no opinion. Large majorities say Beijing poses serious challenges for India. Seven in ten of those surveyed believe that China’s economic impact on India is a serious problem, including 45 percent who voice the view that it is very serious.

“Nearly half (48 percent) of Indians think China’s relationship with Pakistan poses a very serious problem for India,” Pew said.