Over the past year, many independent journalists in India have accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of forcing independent institutions like the judiciary and the Election Commission to “toe the government line.”
With regards to the judiciary, the critics note that professor of English languished in prison for six and a half years under an antiterrorism law before being granted bail, while “many young Muslim activists” continue to rot in jail with no respite. Ahead of the elections, a prominent member of the election commission member was forced to resign, while two government loyalists were appointed to the board without seeking the consent of the Supreme Court.
The BJP’s rise to power, and sustaining of the same, has been facilitated with a huge amount of money, propaganda machinery and capture of mainstream media. This has pushed opposition parties to the sidelines, with reports of many prominent leaders being blackmailed into joining the BIP following direct threats from state agencies. The much-hyped economic gains under the BJP have also been brought into question, as the past 10 years have seen some of the highest unemployment rates in the country—42 percent of graduates under-25 remain unemployed. Similarly, some 85,000 government schools have been closed and per capita out of pocket expenditure on health has increased drastically, and India now has some of the worst numbers on the ratings of children and women suffering from malnourishment and anemia besides worsening freedom indices.
A key reason for the drubbing the BJP took in this year’s polls was likely the economy, as a recent nationwide survey found unemployment and hunger remained the primary concern for a range of people. The opposition Congress Party seized on this, campaigning on rights issues, including abolishment of discriminatory laws; restoring of personal freedoms; and bringing the focus back on economic and caste inequality, recovering some ground it had lost over the past decade. By contrast, the BJP appears to have decided to double down on its Hindutva-led politics, celebrating Modi for his “decisive action” against Muslims nationwide and pledges to establish India as a Vishwaguru (Hindu nation). Unfortunately, a compliant media has largely ignored these issues, leaving an uninformed public that sees Modi as a leader who delivers on guarantees, all while ignoring his government’s inability to address unemployment, economic and caste inequalities, hunger and illiteracy.