Welcome to The Political Fix by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, a newsletter on Indian politics and policy. To get it in your inbox every week,...
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The Big Story: Optics
India has become more illiberal under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Many have argued that the outcomes of Modi’s biggest recent policy decisions – stripping Jammu and Kashmir of the autonomy it had been guaranteed under the Constitution, creating a process for the neighbourhood’s persecuted minorities to become Indian citizens, making it easier for farmers to sell their produce outside tightly regulated state markets – have reasonable aims that are good for the republic.
However, it should be clear even to Modi’s supporters that the means by which just these recent efforts have been achieved reflect the government’s troubling majoritarian attitude towards the key tenets of India’s checks-and-balances democratic system. There has been a long crackdown on any political activity by all residents of Kashmir (including detaining all major politicians and prohibiting access to high-speed internet). Thediscriminatory citizenship law for the first time created a religious test for Indian citizenship that was advertised with blatant dog-whistles and the use...
