Time - USA (2021-03-01)

18 Time March 1/March 8, 2021

Global powers tend to prefer India because of
its standing as the world’s largest democracy.
At the same time, India’s adversarial relation-
ship with neighboring Pakistan, as well as its in-
creasingly anti-Muslim policies, positions it as
a bulwark against so-called Islamic terrorism.
Over the past few years, however, the rise
of right-wing authoritarianism has brought
India’s democratic standing into question.
India has plummeted in democracy metrics
across the board, including the World Press
Freedom Index, where it now ranks 142 out
of 180 countries, four spots behind South
Sudan and three behind Myanmar. The
Human Freedom Index ranks India at 111 out
of 162 countries, just four ahead of Russia.
The full force and au-
thoritarian tactics of the
Indian government have
been showcased as it re-
sponds to the largest pro-
test in its history. Since
September, hundreds
of thousands of Indians,
many from the majority-
Sikh Punjab state, have
gathered in New Delhi to
protest three new agri-
cultural laws that aim to
deregulate India’s agricul-
tural industry and open it
up to free- market forces.
After months of protests,
the world’s eyes started to
focus on the Indian gov-
ernment’s undemocratic
measures, including press
censorship, journalist
detention, Internet shut-
downs and violent crackdowns.
Hindu nationalists have used the occa-
sion to call for genocidal violence against
the protesters. These calls refer to a period
of Indian history reminiscent of what’s hap-
pening today. In the 1970s and ’80s, Punjabi
Sikhs led similar agitations that called for
better government support of agriculture.
Their sustained protests, along with a self-
determination movement, drew the ire of the
Indian government, which painted the efforts
as anti national and launched a series of at-
tacks that resulted in mass atrocities.
Understanding this past state violence
helps us see the long-standing grievances
that Punjabi farmers have with the
government. It also shows how the Indian
state deploys and enacts violence against its
own citizens and, perhaps most crucially,

anticipates what might happen in India

today if the Indian government is not held

accountable for its current actions.

Those who have been paying attention

to Indian politics in recent decades will not

be surprised at all. The Prime Minister of

India, Narendra Modi, who in 2002 presided

over anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat as the

state’s chief minister, is also the figurehead of

right-wing Hindu nationalism.

Since Modi became Prime Minister in 2014,

his government has faced a barrage of criticism

from human-rights groups, foreign nations, In-

dian civil society and opposition political par-

ties for its treatment of minority communities.

Today, Modi’s right-

wing government has

responded to the farmers’

protests by lying about

and defaming its own

citizens. Senior leaders

have called the protesters

“anti nationals” and

“goons.” International

commentators, too, have

not been spared. When

singer Rihanna and activist

Greta Thunberg called

for greater international

scrutiny of Indian

authoritarian tactics

being used against the

protesters, the Ministry of

External Affairs described

celebrities’ tweets as

“neither accurate nor

responsible.”

This time, however, In-

dian masses and global observers are not fall-

ing for Modi’s lies. They see that this move-

ment is not about ethno-nationalism; rather,

it arises in opposition to it. It is a movement

rooted in Punjabi Sikh experiences and now

supported by people all across India who are

tired of seeing their country and their com-

munities ravaged by economic despair and

social division. It is a movement that cuts

across lines of identity.

But this is not just India’s fight. In a world

grappling with rising authoritarianism, pro-

paganda, human-rights abuses and anti-

democratic practices, quashing right-wing

nationalism is in everyone’s best interest.

Letting it go unchecked, especially in the

world’s largest democracy, puts us all at risk.

Singh is a scholar and historian of South Asia

Demonstrators protest the arrest of

activist Disha Ravi outside New Delhi

police headquarters on Feb. 16

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TheView Opener

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