TIME Magazine, in its issue dated 20 May 2019, carried a cover story on Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the title, 'India's Divider In Chief’. This is in stark contrast to the magazine’s cover in May 2015, where they featured Modi with the title, 'Why Modi Matters'.
The timing of the cover is certainly fascinating as the Lok Sabha elections is coming to a close. Twitter users threw in their two cents about TIME Magazine’s change of tone.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee posted the covers from both 2015 and 2019 and said, “From a hope for Indians, he has become what his supporters would call the Tukde Tukde Chief - a man who divided India.”
One Twitter user compared the TIME cover to the 2002 cover of India Today Magazine that carried a picture of Modi with the title ‘Hero Of Hatred’.
“Looks like, the only thing which is constant in Modi’s life is his ability to spread poison and hatred,” he said.
Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said “India’s Divider-In-Chief” is also the “biggest multiplier of hate”.
Another Twitter user Salman Nizami compared TIME Magazine covers from 2014, 2015 and 2019. He captioned it, ‘Modi’s achievement in 5 years’.
Journalist Rifat Jawaid said, “Many months ago, in a speech in Kolkata, I started calling Modi ‘Prime Hate Monger’ and Amit Shah 'Shahenshah of hatred.' Glad even TIME Magazine is agreeing with my assertion.”
One commented that the spirit of journalism has “still not taken a bow to Modi and BJP”.
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