India Is Transforming. But Into What?
India is known as a country of paradoxes, and a new one has recently emerged. At the same time that the country is poised to become a major global player \u2014 with a booming economy and a population that recently surpassed China\u2019s \u2014 its democracy is showing signs of decay.\n\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration have silenced critics and independent institutions. India\u2019s social media discourse has turned increasingly right wing and hostile to Muslims. And Canada and the United States have accused Indian government officials of involvement in assassination plots against Sikh activists.\n\nPratap Bhanu Mehta is an honorary senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research, New Delhi; a professor at Princeton University; and an editor of \u201cThe Oxford Handbook to the Indian Constitution.\u201d In this conversation, he walks our guest host Lydia Polgreen through India\u2019s rising illiberalism. \u201cThe signs for Indian democracy are looking very ominous,\u201d he says.\n\nThey discuss the paradox between India\u2019s flourishing economy and culture and signs of weakening democracy, especially at a moment when many Western countries are cheering a rising India as a democratic counterweight to China. They also talk about what makes Modi such a remarkable and effective political leader and what the United States and other countries could or should do in response to a more assertive India that is shattering norms at home.\n\nMentioned:\n\nThe Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru\n\nBook Recommendations:\n\nThe India Trilogy by V.S. Naipaul\n\nIndia in Asian Geopolitics by Shivshankar Menon\n\nDreamers by Snigdha Poonam\n\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\n\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\n\nThis episode of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Mixing by Efim Shapiro. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show\u2019s production team also includes Emefa Agawu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.