Modi, Resist the Urge to Be India's Xi Jinping
The prime minister can make the most of his economic opportunity only by suppressing his strongman instincts.
Go the other way.
Photographer: AFP Contributor/Getty ImagesAt the time of his first bid to become India’s prime minister five years ago, Narendra Modi was seen by many in Mumbai as a reformer rising to slay crony capitalism, corruption and policy paralysis. It was the bureaucracy in New Delhi that had misgivings about the then chief minister of Gujarat state, known for his highly centralized style of working.
By now, the political capital has accepted Modi as the boss man. By contrast, the financial capital of Mumbai is anxious about further centralization of power. He’s already being referred to as India’s Xi Jinping. Given the difficulties that have beset China’s private sector under the president’s muscular leadership, that comparison isn’t exactly flattering.