From April to June of this year, over 650 million Indian citizens cast their votes for the Lok Sabha, India’s parliament. Once elected, these members determined the next prime minister — backed by the National Democratic Alliance coalition, incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a historic third term. He declared his electoral success “a victory of the biggest democracy of the world.”
On the surface, this ideological continuity suggests stability in this diverse nation — yet, this is not the case. Modi’s reelection signals the entrenchment of his anti-democratic and hyper-nationalist rhetoric within the Indian political system.
Modi is the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, once a minor right-wing movement now mainstream due to his electoral success. The defining principle of the BJP is Hindutva, an ethnonationalist policy that aims to rid secular India and create a Hindu state.
First rising to power as the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001, Modi had a bloody history with India’s cultural divides. He was accused of intentionally permitting anti-Muslim riots in 2002 — which killed over 1000 people — by both domestic and international humanitarian organizations. The U.S. government denied him a visa in 2005 due to “severe violations of religious freedom.”
Yet, this gory past has faded from relevance after the BJP’s landslide win and his subsequent appointment as Prime Minister in 2014. Modi was acquitted by the Indian Supreme Court in 2013, and his government continues to censor details on his involvement. A 2023 BBC documentary, “India: The Modi Question” was blocked by Modi’s Ministry of Information, dubbing it a “propaganda piece” to peddle a narrative. Thirteen students were detained for attempting to screen the documentary.
This follows a trend of diminishing freedoms under Modi’s rule. Falling to 159th out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index, rampant violence against journalists, and high-profile instances of media consolidation threaten the flow of information to Indian citizens. Twenty-one journalists have been imprisoned in the last ten years, compared to five the decade before. These suppression tactics leave the Indian electorate less informed and more vulnerable to Modi’s dangerous populist rhetoric.
This March, New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested under bribery charges by the Modi-controlled Enforcement Directorate. Kejriwal has been an outspoken critic, stating at a rally earlier this year, “We all have to come together to save the country from dictatorship.” Kejriwal’s party has denied the charges, claiming that these are attempts by the BJP to discredit the opposition. He remains in jail.
Modi has continued to be accused of mis-wielding his political power to sway this year’s election. The Congress Party, the second-largest political party after the BJP, had its bank accounts frozen in February due to tax disputes. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the freezing of assets “criminal action on the Congress Party done by the prime minister” in a press conference. Congress leaders claimed to be unable to financially support campaigns at a crucial time in the election cycle. The BJP denied that the charges were politically motivated.
A recent investigation by The Indian Express found that federal agencies prosecuting anti-BJP politicians isn’t a one-off incident. Since 2014, 95% of the politicians investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate were members of opposing parties.
More strikingly, the report found that 23 out of 25 opposition officials who the CBI or ED charged had investigations dropped once they switched party affiliation to align with the BJP. The opposition dubs this phenomenon the “washing machine” — or when politicians are seemingly “washed” of legal consequences after allying with the BJP.
The ethnonationalist foundation of the BJP adds an insidious element to questionable political policy. Modi’s commitment to Hindutva is fundamental to his government’s measures against opponents.
The BJP’s decade-long goal of cementing Hindutva in law and culture extends beyond claims of financial fraud and political corruption. This crusade has led to violence and bigotry going unpunished and rampant. Almost 200 million Muslims reside in India, and under Modi, are being reduced to second-class status.
In early 2020, violence broke out on the streets of New Delhi, India’s capital. Fifty-three people were left dead, and almost 600 injured. Most victims were Muslim targets of vigilante Hindu mobs — mobs enabled by the Delhi police. As videos of the police encouraging crowds to throw rocks and beat Muslim protesters surfaced, Home Minister and staunch Hindu nationalist Amit Shah claimed the riots were a “deep conspiracy” instigated by opposition leaders.
This violence then spread throughout the country and into rural areas. Lynch mobs targeting Muslims have gone unpunished by the BJP, and instead, laws targeting members of the religious group have continued to be passed. A new citizenship amendment implemented in March allows illegal immigrants to become naturalized rapidly — as long as they are non-Muslim. The law was initially passed in 2019, but protests that resulted in 23 deaths put the process on hold. This March, the government began to enforce the amendment.
Modi and his government have been at work creating two separate Indias. Discriminatory Hindutva policies leave Indian Muslims fearful and hopeless as they face barriers in employment, education, and housing. Elected officials villainize the Muslim population with no restraint, spreading fears about conspiracies like “love jihad” and population replacement.
Political opponents aren’t the only ones being silenced. After publicly condemning the BJP’s treatment of Muslim minorities, Amnesty International was forced to cease operations by the government in 2020. Their offices were raided and bank accounts were frozen, though the government claims the organization violated foreign funding laws. This followed the cancellation of 20,000 NGO funding licenses in 2018.
When international humanitarian organizations are being shunned by a nation, it becomes increasingly difficult for the people to know the truth about their government’s policies.
As the Indian economy evolves, so do Modi’s nationalism-fueled suppression tactics — which never receive more than a slap on the wrist from the U.S. After Modi’s victory this year, President Biden tweeted “The friendship between our nations is only growing,” a celebratory tone mirroring that of Modi’s lavish visit to the White House in 2023.
State Department investigations reinforce claims of human rights abuses under the Modi government, yet the Biden administration sidesteps confrontation. Fear of China’s growing strength dictates India-U.S. relations, and Washington wants India on our side.
Democrats and Republicans ally with Modi, with the 2019 “Howdy Modi” rally attracting over 50,000 Trump and Modi supporters. Showering Modi with praise for his “exceptional job” in India, Former President Trump touted Hindu nationalism as a noble form of patriotism. A Trump victory in November would continue similar trade policies, but his previous statements indicate he’ll ignore Modi’s humanitarian offenses.
America prides itself on promoting democratic freedoms worldwide, yet our foreign policies tell another story.
What abuses will Western leaders overlook to maintain an Indo-Pacific ally? Condemnation of Modi’s erosion of Indian democracy is necessary and urgent. Ignoring his actions sends a message: that economic gains overshadow perversions of justice in the eyes of America.
