Modi’s Long Game

India has long been described as “the world’s largest democracy,” although in recent years, it has experienced significant backsliding: Freedom House, the V-Dem Institute, and the Economist Intelligence Unit have all downgraded India in their rankings, most acutely since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his second term. Successive Indian governments have weakened human rights, but the process has accelerated under Modi, who has held office since 2014 and limped back last month after an election that saw him lose his governing majority.