> I see what you're saying, but there is a disconnect here: elect fascists [a strong claim] get fascism but then you say the public lines up behind it. So, it appears to be democratic?

In the era of fake news and propaganda that would put "1984" to shame, people supporting something doesn't mean it's favorable to others and to themselves. There so called "IT cells" of some political parties that spread misinformation and bring out nationalistic pride.

There is a dualism that's commonly seen in India: any foreigner who has visited would've encountered random people wanting to take photos with them (even if those people would never see the photos, but that's not as much an issue nowadays since many people have camera phones), and this is because they consider white skinned people as superior, richer, exotic, and fast and loose (this last one is about women), etc.; at the same time, many people are also made to believe (through fake news and propaganda created by the government and its ministers) that India had a rich history of cultural and scientific advancement unlike any other country in this planet's existence and that foreigners have stolen all these as well as constantly suppress the "facts". This latter point brings about a wellspring of support on various policies, even without understanding how these may be bad for the citizens supporting them.

> In the era of fake news and propaganda that would put "1984" to shame, people supporting something doesn't mean it's favorable to others and to themselves. There so called "IT cells" of some political parties that spread misinformation and bring out nationalistic pride.

While some have IT Cells, others have outsourced their propoganda campaign to firms like Cambridge Analytica. So I guess almost all major parties are in the mix.

Fake news is a global problem and even US based institutions are having a difficult time dealing with it. Not sure how it can be used as an argument to point India as "fascist".

> There is a dualism that's commonly seen in India: any foreigner who has visited would've encountered random people wanting to take photos with them (even if those people would never see the photos, but that's not as much an issue nowadays since many people have camera phones), and this is because they consider white skinned people as superior, richer, exotic, and fast and loose (this last one is about women), etc.; at the same time, many people are also made to believe (through fake news and propaganda created by the government and its ministers) that India had a rich history of cultural and scientific advancement unlike any other country in this planet's existence and that foreigners have stolen all these as well as constantly suppress the "facts". This latter point brings about a wellspring of support on various policies, even without understanding how these may be bad for the citizens supporting them.

I've been made to believe that India had a rich history and culture since I was like five. Statements like India was a golden bird and what not were not rare to hear. From what I remember there was no current government or ministers at that time. Again I am not sure how this relates to fascism.

There's a sort of paradox of democracy which analogous to the paradox of tolerance. The problem is that you can elect people who destroy democratic institutions. i.e. you can democratically destroy democracy. If you tolerate those who would destroy democratic institutions, eventually those who would destroy democracy will get voted in and democracy will be destroyed - you therefore do have to limit democratic freedoms slightly to exclude those people if you wish to preserve democracy itself.

I think that's where the concept of the Republic and the Constitution come into play. For example, if the Constitution places a limit on the number of terms of a rogue Government then it is not possible to elect them again. Of course this assumes that amending Constitution is either impossible or quite difficult.

The public lined up behind Adolf Hitler as well. So I don't think there is a disconnect there.

There is sure one. People also lined up behind leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther Jr. Populists come in all forms.

It would greatly help if we don't use Goodwin's law everywhere and use terms like Nazism, Fascism, Hitler etc. where they are actually due.