Incremental Authoritarianism

Delivering a lecture in Kerala the other day, N Ram, former editor of The Hindu, described Narendra Modi’s style of governance as “incremental authoritarianism.”  Democracy is slowly but steadily being eroded in India by Modi. How does he do it?

·      Consolidation of executive power

·      Undermining of judicial independence or press freedom

·      Weakening of opposition parties

·      Use of state apparatus to target dissent

·      Erosion of civil liberties

·      Nationalist rhetoric used to delegitimize critics

·      Misinformation and disinformation spread via all available forms of media and propaganda machinery

·      Disdain for the Constitution of the country

The Parliament is a mere scarecrow today. A scarecrow in a Waste Land. Mr Modi doesn’t even attend the sessions most of the time. He is abroad usually when the Parliament meets to pass some bills like the ones related to criminal justice such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita which replaced the Indian Penal Code. The most recent instance is the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025.

Modi’s political party possesses what has come to be known as “brute majority” which is also called “tyranny of the majority.” These ‘brutes’ don’t think for themselves. Modi’s wish is their command. If Modi tells them to drink cow’s urine, they will eat the dung too.

Institutions such as the Election Commission, judiciary, and enforcement agencies are mere puppets in Modi’s hands now. Activists and journalists are arrested under draconian laws like the UAPA and sedition statutes. Anyone who dares to question Modi beyond Modi’s tolerance level (which is not much) will face a raid from the CBI, ED or IT department. Most of the media channels that matter have been bought off by Modi’s friends or have been muted enough. India’s position on Word Press Freedom Index is pathetic. Reporters Without Borders describes the condition of India’s press as “very serious.” 

From creativehatti.com

N Ram’s concern is that democracy will soon die in India. Mr Modi will be India’s dictator though elections will continue to take place. India has a long way to go in this regard since Modi is only 74. Contrast that with Trump, 78, and Mao Zedong who lasted till 83+. Celal Bayar of Turkey reached an age of 103! Dictators live long.

And they reward their chelas. Last Republic Day, a woman known as Sadhvi Rithambara was awarded one of the highest civilian honours: the Padma Bhushan. What did this woman do to merit that recognition? She called for a war on India’s Muslims. The Liberhan Commission, formed to investigate the demolition of Babri Masjid, had listed this woman among 68 people culpable of taking the country “to the brink of communal discord.” She was honoured by Narendra Modi for that service!

In 1995, this woman had declared that “Christians will be wiped out from the face of India.” In 2002, she founded an organisation called Durga Vahini, a women’s wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad. One of their major contributions to the country is the blackening of the face of Neetu Sapra, director of a play which Rithambara didn’t like. The Muslims in India are now her hobby horse.

I present this woman only as a case study. There are too many like her in Modi’s India: vicious hate-mongers who go on to win the highest national honours or top positions. That is another way of killing democracy. Subtly.

Back to N Ram. It is much more than incremental authoritarianism that India has to deal with now. How will India do it? I don’t know. I am not even very hopeful. However, I have a friend who is convinced that “the democratic sagacity and wisdom of the Indian mystical pluralism… will cut to size the magical hocus-pocus of the Sangh Parivar” in the due course of time. But dictators live long!