For the past 15 years, democracy has been on the decline around the world. The Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated existing issues as authoritarian leaders used the economic and physical insecurity of the past two years to further their own agendas. India was not spared the heavy blows from the pandemic; in fact, according to International IDEA, India has the most democratic violations among democracies considered to be “backsliding.” India’s status as given by Freedom House dropped four points—71 to 67—and went from “Free” to “Partly Free” just in the past year. Why did this happen? And what does it mean for the future of the world’s largest democracy?
The landslide election of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014 marks the beginning of the modern democratic decline in India. There was a previous instance of democratic erosion in 1975 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi instated a twenty-one-month long state of emergency, but that was more an unwarranted action on her part than a reaction to threats against national security. Having the BJP as the ruling party as well as the election of Narenda Modi to Prime Minister started a snowball effect with the previously fringe group of Hindu nationalists, turning them into the major voice in the country.
The state of India’s democracy is definitely a topic of high concern and needs to be monitored, but the following analysis of the signs of erosion is not meant to signal an approaching autocratic regime by any means. Even though it is currently under threat, India’s commitment to pluralism is still likely to hold in place, ensuring that democracy will not die any time soon. There is a clear path to beating back the recent violent wave of Hindu nationalism. In order for the country to move past this governmental promotion of Hindutva, a functional alternative to the BJP will need to arise; one that promises development and competent governance without the ethno-religious ideological core.
Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt discuss the guardrails of democracy in their book, How Democracies Die, stating that a well-designed constitution does not guarantee a secure democracy (Levitsky, Ziblatt 2018, 98). India had been faring well since its independence from Britain in 1947 and the establishment of its constitutional democracy in 1950. The Western champions of democracy were hopeful, as the constitution was fairly liberal with strong democratic institutions compared to most other former British colonies. India differs in relation to its neighbors in that it did not have to go through a civil war or a coup d’etat when it was transitioning to a democracy. A significant fact that highlights just how far the framework of the country’s democracy is being threatened by the current ruling party, however, is the fact that the primary drafter of the constitution, Bhimrao Ambedkar, was an Untouchable. And yet, today the main reason for the recent democratic backslide in India is the belief that not everyone is equal; a belief that is antithetical to the foundations of democracy. This idea is promoted by Modi and supporters of the BJP through all the discriminatory legislation and disenfranchisement of Muslims and other minorities, pushing the concept of a “pure” India being a solely Hindu state.
Religious-based conflict has always been an issue prevalent in the region, but the rise of populism and nationalist ideology has heightened tensions to lethal levels. In 2019, the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed, which provides a fast track to Indian citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Massive protests broke out in response to this piece of legislation, since it helped every minority except for Muslims. It was dubbed the “anti-Muslim act” as the government instituted violent crackdowns on protestors. This act, in conjunction with the institution of the National Register of Citizens, spread fear that the government was working towards complete disenfranchisement of Muslims in India. Because of the unexpectedly widespread backlash against these acts, the NRC has not been instituted nationwide as originally intended and is still being debated over today.
Even though the constitution guarantees civil liberties like freedom of speech and freedom of religion, the Modi and BJP-led government has harassed journalists, NGOs, and other outspoken government critics, as well as systematically marginalized Muslims, Dalits, and other “undesirable” minorities. Modi has also weakened democratic institutions, particularly the judiciary. It is technically independent from the political structure of the country, but in recent years, the lower and middle courts have been showing signs of corruption and increased politicization, leaning into the BJP agenda. Freedom House notes that “the unusual appointment of a recently retired chief justice to the upper house of Parliament, a pattern of more pro-government decisions by the Supreme Court, and the high-profile transfer of a judge after he ruled against the government’s political interests all suggest a closer alignment between the judicial leadership and the ruling party.”
Corruption, violence, and weakened democratic institutions are all alarming signs of democratic erosion, but they are not undefeatable roadblocks. India still has fully functional elections that allow for parties other than the BJP to gain power, providing hope for a change in the national discourse surrounding religion and the rights of minorities and immigrants in the country once a competent rival party gains traction.
Muntaha Syedah Qadri
Hey Tasha! I found your post to be very interesting to read. I did not think that democracy has been on the decline for the past 15 years. Leaders are the main aspect that makes me believe that they are the reason behind the decline. This is because they are usually the ones in charge and have the ability to monitor the state’s democracy status. For example, in India’s case, Modi would be the target. He is the one who should have kept everything in line, but he ended by weakening the democratic institutions, mainly the judiciary. I feel that this topic can relate to the status of Pakistan’s government. Pakistan’s main reason for its government’s failure is corruption and violence, which makes the government’s institution weaken. I see it as that a leader like Modi should not be able to stay in office for so long that it weakens the democracy of a country. He should be overthrown as he causes a limitation of civil liberties that eventually causes violence to occur. This essentially describes the reason behind democratic backsliding. This can be seen from the reason that Modi is against Indian Muslims, which drives the statement that not everyone is equal.
After reading your blog post, I hope the future of India improves. At this rate, India’s democracy should diminish in a couple of years. I feel as time goes on, events like the pandemic cause an effect on the government’s status. This affects the people and democratic status, causing more issues to come into play in their agendas.
Tasha Jose
Hi Muntaha, thank you for your input! I did not realize that the decline of democracy was a global trend either, but it seems like democracies around the world have been consistently experiencing signs of erosion for the past 15 years. It is interesting to me that you focus on the leaders being the main reason behind the decline; I see where you are coming from, but I think the existing structure of the government as well as the contemporary political climate are actually more critical to the decline of democracy. For the leaders to come to power, there had to be a “perfect storm” kind of scenario. For these demagogues and leaders to gain power, enough people had to be open to their rhetoric in order to publicly support them and for it to be socially okay enough to gain traction. Like you said in the parallel you drew from India to Pakistan, there was already a history of corruption and violence, which has been weakening democratic institutions. This weakening allowed for the BJP to go from a small fringe group to the ruling party of the world’s largest democracy, also opening the door for Modi and allowing him to further weaken democratic institutions like the judiciary. I definitely agree that he should not be in office much longer and that he is very dangerous for India’s democracy. His belief that Hindus are superior and that India needs to be “pure” again is inherently democratic, as it violates the principle that all people are equal. I am hoping that another party will gain power and rival the BJP in national elections, but yes, if it does not happen within the next couple years, I will also be very concerned about India’s future.
Spencer Toohill
I find it very interesting to see how much the COVID-19 Pandemic has had an effect on eroding democracies especially because it is not the focus of what COVID is doing to the world. I wrote a similar blog post about Hungary – about how Hungary’s democracy was declining before COVID, and since COVID, it has been eroding exponentially. However, it seems as though India is in a much better state than Hungary is in right now. I haven’t heard much about what democracy looks like in India, so it was refreshing to read this blog post with so much optimism for democratic reform. I like how you included Levitsky and Ziblatt’s book because I think it really does apply in India’s case – not only about the fact that a constitution alone cannot protect democracy, but I think the norms of mutual toleration and forbearance can be applied as well. It is very interesting that the religious conflicts are what are most prevalent and affecting democracy, especially because the constitution includes the freedom of religion.
You do a good job of explaining what is happening in India and why it started but my one question for you would be how has COVID-19 directly affected Indian democracy? You mentioned that COVID has affected many eroding democracies and even that India has dropped four points on the Freedom House scale because of it, but what specifically did COVID affect in India? What is the economy, exacerbating religious issues, etc. I think that would be the perfect addition to your blog post!
Tasha Jose
Hi Spencer, thank you for your feedback! It was interesting to look into how Covid-19 has affected backsliding democracies for me as well, because like you said, it has not really been the focus of consequences of the pandemic in the media. Covid exposed a lot of structural weaknesses in democracies around the world, including the U.S., and the physical and economic insecurity caused by the pandemic allowed tyrannical leaders to take advantage of the situation and advance their own agendas. While India has had many democratic violations during the pandemic, it does seem to be a more stable democracy on the whole compared to Hungary. I do believe in being optimistic when it comes to reform, especially for a country like India that has a relatively solid foundation. It is in a very concerning state at the moment, but there is a feasible, available path for reform. I agree with you that Levitsky and Ziblatt’s discussion of mutual toleration and forbearance are also relevant in India’s case.
Religion-based discrimination is so prevalent at the core of the democratic eroding occurring in India because the country has a history with that issue. The United States’s constitution states that all people are equal, but a lot of today’s signs of democratic erosion in the country are rooted in racism. Democratic constitutions are a list of ideals that the country will uphold, so the indicators of erosion are going to be related to regional issues that have a long history in the country. It is interesting to see how the theories and examples we learn in class manifest in different ways in different countries, depending on their history.
The question of how exactly Covid-19 has affected Indian democracy is a good one. I would have to do more in-depth research on it, but I know that the government struggled with dealing with it because there was an economic collapse and they could not access enough of the supplies they needed to treat patients with Covid.
Tay Massey
This is a very informative blog post that taught me much about the current state of democracy in India. It is unfortunate that democratic backsliding has affected India as well. It seems that nationalism and discriminatory beliefs are large contributors to the democratic erosion that India is facing. I find this to be very similar to what is currently happening in many European countries in which Islamophobic beliefs are positively correlated with far-right parties and the erosion of democratic institutions. It seems that Islamophobia is on the rise around the world as can be seen in the United States, Europe, and India. I would be interested to know what exactly the cause of islamophobia in India is. Anti-Islam sentiments in the United States can mostly be attributed to the catastrophic event that took place on September 11th 2001, and Islamophobia in Europe has risen along side anti-immigration sentiments after the refugee crisis in 2015. In the case of India, there have been many religious conflicts throughout its history, but it is unfortunate that it is now affecting India’s democratic institutions. Perhaps the recent difficult times that Covid-19 brought has led to Muslims in India being scapegoated. Populist rhetoric creates “Us versus them” ways of thinking which can often lead to scapegoating, and based on the Citizenship Amendment Act which purposely excluded Muslims, Muslim are not included in the “us” category. This kind of religious form of nationalism creating democratic erosion and discriminatory policies reminds me of what is happening in Poland with the Catholic church and the LGBT-free zones that have been created. It is fortunate that Indians are protesting discriminatory policies which has led to the NRC not being passed. Citizens being able to openly criticize and hold their government accountable is a sign that democracy has not completely eroded.
Emily Prosser
Tasha, this post was incredibly interesting and insightful. I had no idea that India had the most democratic violations of the countries considered to be backsliding. Though I know it is a different situation, as the current rise in nationalism in India is mostly tied to religion, I do think some parallels can be drawn to the rise in right-wing populist movements that rely on nationalist rhetoric that is taking place in many other democracies around the world. Reading about the rise in Hindu nationalism in India, made me realize just how many democracies are dealing with heightened nationalist attitudes. I do think that the religious aspect of this complicates things a bit more for India than it does for other nations dealing with nationalism. In European countries for example, much of the nationalism can be attributed to wide-spread dissatisfaction with immigration policies. Were these European governments to alter their policies, nationalism might be curbed in some manner. However, in the case of India, the trauma that many were left with after Partition has caused generational anti-Hindu and anti-Muslim sentiments. These deeply-rooted feelings towards Muslims is what Modi and the BJP seems to be capitalizing on. Obviously this problem is extremely complicated and is tied to decades of history. However, like you said, hope is not lost for India. I think if there was a strong, stable opposition movement to the BJP that pushed voters to prioritize the democratic values of equality and justice over giving into harmful nationalist rhetoric, we might see an increase in rights and representation for Muslim Indians and other minority groups. As an aside, one of the most interesting sectors of Indian culture where Modi’s discrimination of Muslims is visible is the film industry. Bollywood, one of the most profitable industries in India, is being impacted by Modi’s influence. Many of Bollywood’s most popular actors are Muslim and are being unfairly targeted by Modi’s government. It is interesting to observe as students of political science, but incredibly heartbreaking that Hindu nationalism is beginning to impact the entertainment industry, an industry that in large part should be independent of the broader political climate. I will certainly be watching what continues to happen in India.
Tasha Jose
Hi Emily, thank you for your comment! When doing research for my blog post, I was also surprised to learn that India had so many democratic violations. I think you make a good point about the parallel between the rise of nationalism in India and its rise in other democracies around the world. It is a valid connection to draw because these right-wing populist movements draw on the same basic nationalist sentiments that drive Modi and the BJP’s actions in India. The fact that it is tied to religion more in India does make it more complicated because religious-based violence has pretty much always been a problem, and will continue to be a major issue because of the tangled history of the region. However, I think populism in Europe is just as challenging to combat, just in a different way. Even though the discrimation is towards migrants and immigrants rather than coming from a Hindu nationalist standpoint, the European governments are equally stubborn about coming together and creating solutions to their border and integration issues. All they need to do is commit to increasing the standard of living for immigrants, migrants, and refugees and creating policy that ensures that, but each attempt over the past couple decades has been unsuccessful. It is easy to say there is a clear path to a solution in sight, it is much more difficult to make these solutions a reality considering we cannot force multiple governments to work together and give up resources in the name of the greater good or build up a competent party without an ethno-religious core strong enough to rival the BJP.
It is interesting that you bring up Bollywood because as a fan of the industry myself, it did not occur to me to look into how actors have been affected by Modi’s rule–you are so correct in pointing out that correlation. It is especially chilling because the act of the government going after these Bollywood stars shows the other Muslims in the country that even high-profile Muslims are not safe, making everyone else feel even more physical insecurity.
Sana Iqbal
Tasha, thank you for your insight and variety of information on this pressing issue. I, like some others who read your blog post, feel as though the issues can very well relate back to Pakistan and its military government and its own corruption. I feel as though the international relations aspect of this is very important as well because it speaks a lot about how the country has become what it has and where it may go from here. It’s critical that we don’t forget we’ve been through an entire pandemic that has definitely affected everyone differently, but India’s democracy took an especially big hit. To go from being a free country to a partly free country in the past however many short amounts of years is something to be discouraged by, surely.
I think India does have hope though, if the leaders (Modi) that have taken over the office, leave immediately and once again allow power to the people. I knew things were bad but I honestly didn’t realize how bad until I read your post and got into the details of just what’s not working there. That’s why I believe it so closely relates to Pakistan; the military control there and the silencing of opposing viewpoints, lack of sanctions, etc., are all things that are prevalent in both countries. You can see the democracy eroding in real-time. It’s terrible to see the decline of such powerful countries with such rich histories and people.
Grey Pappas
Tasha, I enjoyed reading your blog post and the optimistic approach that you took with your analysis. As a case study for democratic erosion, India is an interesting example. Because of the large growing population and enormous economic system India’s relationship with democracy is important on a global scale. The policies enacted by the Bhartiya Janata Party that have been discriminatory towards Muslim immigration seem to have a damaging effect on democratic norms in the country. The close relationship between religion and politics in the country is also something that can harm democracy, as separation of church and state is an important aspect of democracy. I believe that the caste system that is prevalent in the Hindu religion plays a large part in the cultural and social inequalities seen in the Indian society. It will be interesting to see how India’s democracy progresses in the future.
Daniel Lagroon
Good evening, Tasha! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post concerning the state of the democracy in India. I haven’t heard or read very much about this, and it has certainly opened my eyes to what is happening with their democracy. The statistics provided by Freedom House are honestly astonishing. Growing up in America, you associate religious freedom with democracy, and it is mind blowing to me that they so blatantly are discriminating against a specific minority while supporting others. The idea of a “pure” India gives me chills and is discrimination in its purest form. The history of the caste system in India and the Hindu religion no doubt plays a part in this and reminds me of how the roots of slavery and racial divisions still stands at the forefront of American politics today. The BJP’s attacks at freedoms of speech and religion directly oppose India’s civil liberties. The evidence of democratic backsliding is mounding, and this article will definitely have me interested in their affairs in the future.
Gabby Pinzon
Tasha, I really like your essay and I learned many new things because of you. I think that you bring up great points about how India has seen corruption, violence, and weakened institutions due to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). I think it is frightening that the BJP wants a “pure” India with only Hindus. I feel like it is very reminiscent of Germany under Hitler and how he viewed the Aryan race. I think that this way of thinking is so dangerous, and I cannot even begin to imagine how Indians must be feeling right now especially Muslim-Indians who are so clearly being targeted and persecuted. On top of this, the corruption in the courts as well as an increase in polarization must be further fueling India’s decline. I think that Modi is bringing India down and must be taken out of office. I think that having him is office is detrimental to India’s success and the livelihood of Indians.
Sterling Snape
Tasha, this is a very interesting post and I love that you are hopeful about the future of India’s democracy! I do not know that much about the government of India, but after reading this I believe that India has a shot at maintaining its democracy because of the fully functional elections. I am worried, however, that if BJP consolidates power and starts changing democratic institutions to fit their agenda, India’s democracy is at a big risk for decline. Hopefully, the elections will remain fully functional and allow another party to come to power in India. I definitely think that India is in a good place to turn their democratic erosion around. The citizens of India just need to realize they have a chance to save their democracy from failure and vote different leaders into office. It will be interesting to watch their freedom house score the next few years.
Ivana Motes
Tasha, you did a phenomenal job with this article about India’s democratic backsliding and downfalls of society. This was a very educational reading and I learned a lot about the conflicts in the region. I like how you keyed in on certain threats to the country’s democracy, specifically religious based conflict. It is sad that even in 2019, there was legislation being passed to actively discriminate against Muslim immigrants and residents in India. I also find it very interesting that even as India does have many modern resources and capabilities that some others do not, they still enact such restrictions on civil liberties and use naitonalist tactics which are negative for any democracy – as we all saw in the United States over the past few years.
The corruption and violence is very clearly on the back of the leaders in charge, which is sad. I learned alot from your reading and hope to see things change sooner than later, otherwise it does seem like backsliding will continue as power hungry people and nationalism rises around the world.
Frances Fields
Hi Tasha! Great blog post!
First of all, I would like to say that it is very refreshing to see someone focus on the positive withing a political sphere. It is human nature to hyper-focus on the negative and this ultimately clouds are judgement and periphery.
Also, very interesting inclusion of How Democracies Die by Levistky and Ziblatt. This is one of my absolute favorite pieces on democracy. Unfortunately, as you describe with India, many countries suffer the loss of mutual toleration and forbearance through the belief that not all citizens are equal. This can be seen through racial injustices in America, as well as the religious issues you speak of in India.
As glad as I am you chose to focus on the positivity of the situation that it is not too late to reverse, I would have liked to see some policy recommendations to accomplish such.
Overall, great post!
Ali Shaikh
Tasha, your blog post was very educational and helpful in understanding the democratic issues currently in India. I see a lot of parallels between the issues in India and the issues in Pakistan. There is a similar populist and nationalist movement occurring in Pakistan that is religiously motivated and there is a lot of anti-foreign and anti-Hindu sentiment. I was unaware that the issues in India were that great. Although there a few differences as Pakistan’s authoritarian consolidation is based on the military, I can see how the corruption and lack of executive authority are tarnishing Indian democracy and society.