Under Modi's leadership, India has seen the rise of repressive policies, particularly targeting religious minorities, especially Muslims, under his Hindutva ideology. One of the most contentious actions was the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) following his second landslide victory in 2019, which granted citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. By excluding Muslims, the law was widely criticised as discriminatory, violating India’s secular constitution, and fueling protests that were met with excessive government force, leading to civilian deaths.
Alongside the CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam required individuals to prove their citizenship. This disproportionately affected Muslims, especially those from rural, low-income backgrounds, exacerbating their marginalisation. The combination of the CAA and NRC is seen as an effort to create a second-class citizenry among Muslims.
This disproportionately affected Muslims, especially those from rural, low-income backgrounds, exacerbating their marginalisation.
Modi's government also revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in 2019, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special autonomy. The move, intended to centralise Modi’s power further and supress burgeoning dissent, sparked mass unrest, curfews, internet shutdowns and abduction of numerous local political and religious leaders, further deepening ethnic and religious tensions.
Hindutva’s influence extended beyond the BJP, with divisive issues like the Ram Mandir, where anti-Islamic rhetoric has clearly permeated India’s judiciary. The Supreme Court’s 2019 ruling to build a Hindu temple on the site of the Babri Masjid mosque, demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992 which ended up killing 2,000 people in the ensuing riots, was incredibly contentious. Modi’s subsequent inauguration of Ram Mandir in 2024 was a tacit endorsement of Islamophobic sentiments within his own part. It was seen as a marked shift, a clear abandonment of India’s constitutional foundations of theological pluralism as well as the paramount impartiality of the Supreme Court and their ability to conduct non-secular, independent rulings.
Moreover, Modi’s government has introduced regional laws targeting interfaith marriages under the so-called "Love Jihad" theory, which falsely claims that Muslim men are coercing Hindu women into conversion through marriage. These laws, reminiscent of the USA’s Jim Crow anti-miscegenation laws and the great replacement theory, mandate government approval for interfaith marriages and have been accused of stoking religious tensions and marginalizing Muslim men. These policies exploit racial and religious fears, fostering division and undermining the inclusive ethos of Indian society. These actions reflect a broader pattern of populist nationalism that undermines India’s secular democracy, concentrating power, and fostering insecurity and division among its population.
These actions reflect a broader pattern of populist nationalism that undermines India’s secular democracy, concentrating power, and fostering insecurity and division among its population.
Despite these repressive policies, Modi has retained widespread popularity, thanks in part to his effective cult of personality cultivation. His image is omnipresent across India, from billboards to social media. Modi was an early adopter of technology, using innovative tactics like hologram broadcasts for rallies and leveraging social media platforms such as Twitter (where he is the most followed politician) and WhatsApp. This approach allowed him to craft hyper-targeted regional campaign messages, enabling direct, personalised communication with voters while bypassing the scrutiny of traditional media channels. This allows his party to benefit from the peddling of divisive misinformation by his followers, whilst allowing Modi to avoid direct culpability. He is even often deified as this quasi-messianic figure destined to lead India to prosperity, even making the outlandish statement that he was born from miracle conception.
His economic success is also undeniable. BJP’s electoral base was cemented in Modi’s first term by delivering on his “Make in India” industrial initiative which aided the deliverance of strong GDP growth, averaging 6.5% annually since 2014, especially impressive in a time where most major economies are floundering.
Adopting a more adversarial foreign policy has also bolstered support, such as the controversial killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil which caused a major diplomatic incident. He has also adopted a much more virulent stance in their contentious borders. Numerous cross border skirmishes with their nuclear armed neighbors, China and Pakistan, over territorial disputes and security concerns regarding regional influence. He has also adopted stronger relations with the US and Western allies to bolster India’s international position, a departure from India’s traditional military alignment with Russia during the Cold War. All of these policies aim to aid his domestic strong-man image.
All of these policies aim to aid his domestic strong-man image.
Modi’s populism has deeply polarised India, particularly toward Muslim communities, and weakened democratic institutions. His administration has been accused of undermining the judiciary, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Election Commission, consolidating power in a way that erodes legislative oversight.
Modi's rise illustrates how populism can effectively garner mass support by appealing to nationalistic sentiments and the promise of tangible economic improvement. However, his leadership also highlights the dangers of authoritarianism and religious exclusion and how the façade of patriotism can be wielded to repress. Populist rhetoric may unite a nation, but it evidently has also been utilised to divide, marginalise, and undermine democratic values.
Despite a partial defeat in the 2024 elections, which forced the BJP into a coalition, Modi pushed forward with the CAA legislation that had been paused after national protests. His declining popularity hasn’t diluted his commitment to Hindutva ideology.
Modi’s case reflects a broader global trend of populist leaders exploiting societal divisions to consolidate power. While populism can win elections, its long-term impact on democracy and social cohesion is profoundly damaging.