India is in the midst of its 18th general election. Almost every opinion survey indicates that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will return for a third straight term in power. The BJP is expected to ride to victory on Modi’s popularity. Despite growing unemployment and massive corruption under his rule, Modi’s approval ratings … Read more
Magazine Is India becoming an “election-only democracy”? Supporters wait for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrive at the venue of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) election campaign rally in Hyderabad, India, March 15, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A. India’s much-anticipated general elections are set to run from April 19 to June 1, 2024. … Read more
“Ram ayenge toh angana sajayenge” – The popular song played on the transistor radio in the small chai ki tapri in a bylane of Delhi’s Sukhdev Vihar, a posh, urban upper middle-class neighborhood, as I sipped my cup of quintessential masala tea. There was an element of joie de vivre in the air as the … Read more
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opened a controversial Hindu temple built on the ruins of a historic mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya, delivering on a crucial Hindu nationalist pledge that his governing party hopes will catapult him to a record third successive term in upcoming elections. The temple, which is still … Read more