Twelve years and counting: Modi's India between majoritarian politics and democratic erosion

By Ram Puniyani 

On June 10th of this year, Modi became the longest-serving Prime Minister of India, breaking the record previously held by the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Just a few weeks earlier, he had completed 12 years in office. The BJP's propaganda machinery is using both occasions to further burnish Modi's image. Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states are publishing full-page advertisements in newspapers touting his "great" achievements.

These achievements include monthly rations for 810 million poor, 40 million homes under the PM Awas Yojana, 105 million Ujjwala LPG connections, and 120 million toilets. Jan Dhan accounts, the metro network, youth skill training, Ayushman Bharat health coverage, defense exports, and welfare schemes for farmers and the middle class are also prominently cited.

Particular emphasis is placed on the construction of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, and the development of pilgrimage sites such as Kedarnath Dham and Mahakal Dham in Ujjain. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand has been especially active in this direction, establishing Sanskrit schools in every district, setting up a Centre for Hindu Studies at Doon University, incorporating the Bhagavad Gita into the school curriculum, and promoting tourism to Hindu and Sikh pilgrimage sites.

The reality, however, tells a different story. Over these 12 years, the very foundations of democracy — built at great cost by India's freedom fighters and nurtured by Nehru — have been steadily undermined. India has been falling rapidly in global democracy indices, with several international agencies now classifying it as an "elected autocracy." Press freedom and religious freedom are simultaneously in decline. Even senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani — now largely sidelined — observed that the Modi government was presiding over an undeclared emergency.

Independent institutions such as the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department, and the CBI have effectively become instruments of the ruling government. The judiciary, too, appears increasingly deferential to executive authority. The troubling extent of this was on display when a Chief Justice claimed to have written the Babri Masjid verdict following a divine instruction received in a dream.

In a democracy, the Prime Minister is first among equals within the Cabinet. In the current era, however, most decisions flow from a single office. The Prime Minister has further elevated his own stature by describing himself as "non-biological."

While his tenure has seen no major communal riots — the 2020 Delhi violence being a notable exception — the government has spared no effort to marginalise Muslim and Christian minorities and weaken their civil rights. Hindutva politics pervades public life. Large-scale massacres have given way to a steady drumbeat of attacks on religious minorities.

Several of his most consequential decisions — including the COVID-19 lockdown, demonetisation, and the rollout of GST — have inflicted serious hardship on ordinary people. Demonetisation, promoted as a decisive blow against terrorism and black money, devastated small and medium industries and threw millions of workers out of employment, even as 99.3 per cent of the demonetised currency eventually returned to circulation. The sudden COVID-19 lockdown, imposed without warning, created immense suffering among the poor and marginalised. The image of a schoolgirl cycling her ailing father nearly a thousand kilometres home encapsulated that suffering. Meanwhile, vaccine companies reaped enormous profits, and a godman enriched himself by marketing dubious medicines that were publicly endorsed by two Union Ministers.

The informal sector and small industries, already battered by demonetisation, were further crippled by the chaotic implementation of GST. Despite the government's tall claims, a Reuters report on the rise of youth-led political satire groups has highlighted deepening anger among India's young over unemployment and economic insecurity. Surveys cited in the report show high anxiety among the young about jobs and the future. The unemployment rate among Indians aged 15 to 29 stands at around 9.9 per cent, with concerns about inflation and opportunity continuing to mount.

On healthcare, despite official claims of expanded access, the poor and ordinary citizens continue to face serious difficulties obtaining adequate treatment. The situation in education is, if anything, worse. The new education policy pushes schooling toward privatisation while simultaneously communalising the curriculum — sowing hostility toward minorities and elevating the values of texts such as the Manusmriti. The case of Uttarakhand illustrates how education is being steered toward the project of a Hindu nation. Sanskrit has its importance, but the demands of the present moment call for employment-oriented, skills-based education. Job creation, agricultural distress, healthcare infrastructure, the quality of education, and income inequality remain grave challenges.

Opposition leaders and independent analysts have repeatedly accused the government of favouring large corporate interests while small businesses struggle. The Financial Times has reported on growing economic difficulties, fears of inflation, and widespread public anxiety about financial hardship. Critics argue that behind the vigorous rhetoric of growth, the economic burden on middle- and low-income families has increased substantially.

The current regime is also steadily narrowing democratic space. Reports of vote theft and electronic voting machine manipulation in favour of the ruling party have circulated for some time. More recently, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has resulted in the mass deletion of voters suspected of being unsympathetic to the BJP. In West Bengal alone, 9.1 million voters were removed, with a further 2.7 million appeals pending. Under court pressure, officials have said these voters may cast their ballots next time — cold comfort for those disenfranchised in the interim.

Modi's promises of ₹15 lakh in every account, 20 million jobs a year, and controlled inflation have proven hollow, even as a narrow corporate elite continues to enjoy privileged access to resources. The weakening of democracy will ensure that the economic condition of the majority remains unchanged — and that religious minorities are progressively reduced to second-class citizens.