[untenured]

In short, the secular, freemarket indian parties are a crtical part of the ruling coalition headed by the BJP.

I'm surprised how free-market they've been; before they took office I thought that whole "swadeshi" thing was a big part of their platform. I know some of their extremist trouble makers have attacked stores selling Valentine's Day paraphenalia and (as you say) a KFC, but the anti-Western variety seems to be the least extreme of the strains of cultural protectionism that crop in BJP thinking.

[swarthyguy]

"Swadeshi" -- self sufficiency was actually a Gandhian and Congress concept that was also taken up by the rightwing parties like that composing of the BJP coaltion because of its popularity. Unfortunately, a dogmatic adherence to it led to closed import markets and a severe case of statism.

As a country, India still adheres to it as a concept but with a flexibility component; if there's a better mousetrap elsewhere, let's import it and reverse engineer it. Let's learn from those who do things better seems to be the ever increasing mantra.