{"id":7452,"date":"2024-06-18T07:03:20","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T22:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/?p=7452"},"modified":"2024-06-13T23:26:12","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:26:12","slug":"indias-election-cracks-start-to-show-in-authoritarian-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/regions\/indias-election-cracks-start-to-show-in-authoritarian-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Election: Cracks Start to Show in Authoritarian Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Andrew Firmin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LONDON(IPS)\u00a0<\/strong>– India\u2019s Hindu nationalist strongman Narendra Modi has won his third prime ministerial term. But the result of the country\u2019s April-to-June election fell short of the sweeping triumph that seemed within his grasp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shed seats compared to the 2019 election<\/a>, losing its parliamentary majority. Modi remains prime minister thanks to coalition partners. It\u2019s a long way from the 400-seat supermajority Modi proclaimed<\/a> he wanted \u2013 which would have given him power to rewrite the constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outcome may be that Modi faces more checks on his power. If so, that can only be good news for those he\u2019s consistently attacked \u2013 including civil society and India\u2019s Muslim minority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modi\u2019s crackdown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Modi, in power since 2014, civic space conditions have deteriorated<\/a>. India\u2019s election was accompanied by the usual headlines about the country being the world\u2019s largest democracy. But India\u2019s democracy has long been underpinned by an active, vibrant and diverse civil society. Modi has sought to constrain this civic energy, seeing it as a hindrance to his highly centralised and personalised rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modi\u2019s government has repeatedly used repressive laws, including the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, to harass, intimidate and detain activists and journalists on fabricated charges. Law enforcement agencies have raided numerous civil society organisations and media companies. In October 2023, for example, police raided<\/a> the homes of around 40 staff members of the NewsClick portal and detained<\/a> its editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was one of many attacks on media freedoms. Independent journalists routinely face harassment, intimidation, threats, violence<\/a>, arrests and prosecution. Last year, the government banned<\/a> a BBC documentary on Modi, followed by tax investigation raids<\/a> on the corporation\u2019s Indian offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authorities have also used the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act to block access to international funding for civil society organisations, targeting those critical of their attacks on human rights. In 2020, the government amended the law to make it even stricter, extending powers to freeze bank accounts. Since the start of 2022, the authorities have cancelled registrations of almost 6,000<\/a> organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authorities have also unleashed violence against protesters. In 2019, citizenship legislation created a way for undocumented migrants to become Indian citizens \u2013 but only if they weren\u2019t Muslim. Despite India\u2019s secular constitution, the law introduced religious criteria into the determination of citizenship. The passage of this discriminatory law brought tens of thousands to the streets. Security forces responded<\/a> with beatings, teargas and arrests, accompanied by internet shutdowns<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the same when farmers protested in 2020 and 2021, believing new farming laws would undermine their ability to make a living. The farmers ultimately triumphed<\/a>, with Modi repealing the unpopular laws. But several farmers died as a result of the authorities\u2019 heavy-handed response, including when a minister\u2019s car ploughed into<\/a> a crowd of protesters. Once again, the authorities shut down internet and mobile services, and police used batons and teargas and arrested<\/a> many protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the new citizenship law made clear, those who have least access to rights are the ones most under attack. Muslims are the BJP\u2019s favourite target, since it seeks to recast the country as an explicitly Hindu nation. The party\u2019s politicians have consistently stoked anti-Muslim hatred, including over the wearing of hijabs<\/a>, interfaith marriage and the protection of cows \u2013 a revered animal in Hinduism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modi has been accused of spreading anti-Muslim hate speech and conspiracy theories<\/a>, including on the campaign trail. During the election, he called<\/a> Muslims \u2018infiltrators\u2019 and alluded to India\u2019s version of a narrative often advanced by far-right parties \u2013 that a minority population is out to replace<\/a> the majority through a higher birthrate and the conversion of partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BJP\u2019s populist rhetoric has encouraged hatred and violence. In 2020, Delhi saw its worst riots in decades, sparked by violence at a protest against the citizenship law. Groups of Hindus and Muslims fought each other and 53 people<\/a> were killed, most of them Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top-down institutional violence followed the unilateral revocation<\/a> of Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s special autonomous status in 2019. The removal of constitutional protections for this Muslim-majority region was accompanied by a military occupation, curfew, public meeting ban, movement restrictions and one of the world\u2019s longest-ever internet shutdowns. Indian government authorities have detained<\/a> thousands of Kashmiri activists and criminalised<\/a> countless journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disinformation thrives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the election, the state detained key opposition politicians such as<\/a> Delhi\u2019s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and froze opposition bank accounts, including<\/a> of the main opposition party, Congress. Almost all<\/a> politicians investigated by the government\u2019s Enforcement Directorate are from the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian elections always take several weeks, given the huge logistical challenge of allowing up to 969 million<\/a> people to vote. But this one, spread over 82 days, was unusually long. This allowed Modi to travel the country and make as many appearances as possible, representing a campaign that put his personality front and centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disinformation was rife in the campaign. BJP politicians spread<\/a> claims that Muslims were engaged in what they called a \u2018vote jihad\u2019 against Hindus, accompanied by accusations that the opposition would favour Muslims. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was a particular target<\/a>, with false allegations of links to China and Pakistan and doctored videos in circulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite the many challenges, the opposition coalition performed better than expected. The result suggests at least some are tired of the Modi personality cult and politics of polarisation. And for all the BJP\u2019s attempts to emphasise economic success, many voters don\u2019t feel better off. What matters to them are rising prices and unemployment<\/a>, and they judged the incumbent accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s to be hoped the result leads to a change in style, with less divisive rhetoric and more emphasis on compromise and consensus building. That may be a tall order, but the opposition might now be better able to play its proper accountability role. Modi has lost his sheen of invincibility. For civil society, this could open up opportunities to push back and urge the government to stop its onslaught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Firmin<\/strong>\u00a0is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for\u00a0CIVICUS Lens<\/a>\u00a0and co-author of the\u00a0State of Civil Society Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INPS Japan\/IPS UN Bureau<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Andrew Firmin LONDON(IPS)\u00a0– India\u2019s Hindu nationalist strongman Narendra Modi has won his third prime ministerial term. But the result of the country\u2019s April-to-June election fell short of the sweeping triumph that seemed within his grasp. Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shed seats compared to the 2019 election, losing its parliamentary majority. Modi remains prime minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,93,32],"tags":[101],"class_list":{"0":"post-7452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-asia-pacific","8":"category-politics","9":"category-regions","10":"tag-ips-noram"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7452"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7456,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7452\/revisions\/7456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}