These are some warning signs that you might be in a cult.

Taboo Topics: questions that can't be asked, doubts can't be shared, misgivings that can't be voiced.

The Elect: a shared delusion of grandeur that there is no Way but this one. The corollary: you're lost if you leave

Spiritual Clones: stereotypic behavior, such as people who walk, talk, eat and dress just like their leader; psychological stereotyping, such as an entire group of people who manifest only a narrow range of feeling: always happy, or reducing everything to a single explanation

Loyalty Tests: members are asked to prove loyalty to the group by doing something that violates their personal ethics

Humorlessness: no irreverence allowed. Laughing at sacred cows is bad for your health.

Cult recruiters often rely on two different kinds of propaganda: the winding diatribe and the thought-terminating cliche. The diatribe is when someone talks at length, sounds smart, and seems to know what they’re talking about but isn’t making sense, think of all the speeches

and the thought-terminating cliché goes like this, if you question the steps taken by the leader you will get a response, 'that at least he is doing something' or it will help us be more united, without defining what ‘at least something’ or ‘united’ is supposed to mean.

Saying “will help us feel united” isn’t meant to be a good argument, it signifies “I have said something so axiomatically true the argument needn't continue.” A thought-terminating cliche; something may not be true but feels true and gives you permission to not think about it

if you’re trying to sell people on something that’s fundamentally irrational, you’re going to rely heavily on Peripheral-Route tactics, which is what the winding diatribe and the thought-terminating cliche are.

This technique means instead of the content of what is said how it is said gives validity to the idea that is being sold. Like making the demonitization speech by an economically challenged person would ordinarily be doubted but when it comes from a setting of addressing country

the secondary character gives the idea validity, this is precisely why celebrities endorsing a brand makes the brand more valuable to public.
This then becomes a self re-enforcing cycle where people instead of arguing about the validity of the diatribe or tests participate

These rituals then strengthen the cult instead of breaking it. In fact cult members would try to one up each other to show their loyalty to the cult leader. In some cases that has resulted in excess abuse being allowed with consent. This could in the end become like Jonestown

How cults end is a whole different subject however most examples in front of us like Jonestown, Heavens gate etc. are scary and terrifying.

Numbers, facts won’t change anything and at the core of this Modi love is the identity of being a Hindu now you can’t replace that and therefore you can’t replace Modi. In that regard to be honest I feel what tharoor has been trying to do still makes more sense

People are essentially emotional beings and it’s time we realize that rational arguments can not deter emotions. Emotional choices need emotional responses to change minds. I don’t know how though but that basically the conclusion