The hollowing out of India’s democracy is aided by the WestBy lending credence to Bharatiya Janata Party hype, Western business leaders, politicians and media have become complicit in India’s democratic declineBy Pranab BardhanIndia’s ongoing parliamentary election, in which nearly 1 billion people could cast their votes over a six-week period, should represent an extraordinary exercise of democracy. After all, the leader who has presided over this process — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — remains wildly popular. These defections contribute to a decline in reported political corruption, but the actual extent of the problem is another story. By blocking investigations of questionable business deals involving BJP leaders, the government effectively grants those it favors a kind of “sovereign guarantee” of impunity. By lending credence to BJP hype, Western business leaders, politicians and media have become complicit in the hollowing out of India’s democracy.

Source: Taipei Times May 09, 2024 18:25 UTC