India Election Democracy
Politician Waheed-Ur-Rehman Para poses for a photograph at the Dal Lake in Srinagar, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, April 3, 2024. Para has been jailed twice by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, first on allegations of stoking political unrest, then on charges of supporting militant groups -- charges he denies.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are increasingly wielding strong-arm tactics to subdue political opponents and critics of the ruling Hindu-nationalist party. A decade into power, and on the cusp of securing five more years, the Modi government is reversing India’s decadeslong commitment to multiparty democracy and secularism. His Bharatiya Janata Party has brought corruption charges against many officials from its main rival, the Congress Party, but few convictions. Violence is on the rise against the Muslim minority. And the country’s judiciary increasingly aligns with the executive branch.