--- title: The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete description: Indians head to the polls on April 19 and are expected to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi another five-year term. canonical: https://time.com/6968332/modi-india-transformation-election/ author: Michael Kugelman article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-04-19T08:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:28:45.904Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete og:description: Indians head to the polls on April 19 and are expected to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi another five-year term. og:url: https://time.com/6968332/modi-india-transformation-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3d1efd2469ae8e8/698a55be9d83e8d482b99f9b/GettyImages-2148609248.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: India Prepares For First Phase Of General Elections og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete twitter:description: Indians head to the polls on April 19 and are expected to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi another five-year term. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3d1efd2469ae8e8/698a55be9d83e8d482b99f9b/GettyImages-2148609248.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete by [Michael Kugelman](https://time.com/author/michael-kugelman/) ## Michael Kugelman Michael Kugelman is a Senior Fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council. Apr 19, 2024 8:00 AM UTC  People wave a placard as they attend an election campaign rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14, 2024 in Mysuru, India. People wave a placard as they attend an election campaign rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14, 2024 in Mysuru, India.Abhishek Chinnappa—Getty Images by [Michael Kugelman](https://time.com/author/michael-kugelman/) ## Michael Kugelman Michael Kugelman is a Senior Fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council. Apr 19, 2024 8:00 AM UTC Earlier this month, two Indian writers published an [ode ](https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-rising-chorus-rachana-shah-and-rhythm-wagholikar-s-anthem-for-prime-minister-modi-3084649)to their Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Written in lyric form and titled “Forever In Our Hearts,” it recounts his achievements while singing his praises in highly effusive language. “With courage and wisdom/you show citizens the way,” it gushes. “Oh Modi, oh Modi/their hopes never sway/A people’s beacon, in whom they see light/Oh Modi, oh Modi, guiding day and night.” Such reverence captures the essence of Modi’s popularity. Many simply respect him; many others seemingly worship him. He’s beloved by a large majority of the country, as evidenced by an approval rating that climbed to a new high of [75%](https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modis-approval-rating-soars-by-febuary-2024-9197768/) earlier this year. Victory in the [upcoming general elections](https://time.com/6966257/election-india-2024-guide-results/)—which begins [Friday and runs through June 1](https://time.com/6958093/india-elections-2024-phases-long/)—is widely expected. There’s much that explains Modi’s [popularity](https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/indias-teflon-man/). That includes his personality (supporters view him as incorruptible), leadership and [communication](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/world/asia/india-modi-radio-mann-ki-baat.html) styles, and his policy achievements at home and abroad—not to mention a [weak opposition](https://time.com/6962684/india-election-2024-opposition-party/) and the [massive BJP machine](https://www.ft.com/content/d5a1dfaa-ecfb-45c5-b60d-458f89228ea3) behind him. Above all, and perhaps most worryingly, he’s won over millions for his government’s aggressive Hindu nationalism. That includes [laws ](https://apnews.com/article/india-citizenship-law-modi-muslims-caa-28909f8df0e6d5e0915e065195abef14#:~:text=The%20Citizenship%20Amendment%20Act%20provides,majority%20in%20all%20three%20nations.)and [policies](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/9/cant-just-remove-it-protest-around-hijab-in-indias-karnataka) that discriminate against Muslims (such as [denying fast-track citizenship](https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-moves-implement-citizenship-law-opposed-by-muslims-weeks-before-election-2024-03-11/) to Muslim refugees from neighboring nations, [restricting or banning beef ](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/03/03/390469774/indian-state-bans-the-slaughter-sale-and-consumption-of-beef)in some states, and [expunging](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/world/asia/india-textbooks-changes.html) mentions of Muslim history from school textbooks). Some of Modi’s party colleagues and supporters have [resorted](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hindu-extremists-india-escalate-rhetoric-calls-kill-muslims-rcna12450) to [hate speech](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/75-of-hate-speech-events-in-bjp-ruled-states-report/article67888978.ece), and the country has seen [pronounced](https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2100513/modis-party-stokes-anti-muslim-violence-india-report-says) and [rising](https://efe.com/en/other-news/2023-12-14/two-attacks-a-day-why-india-is-one-of-most-dangerous-places-for-christians/) numbers of attacks on religious minorities. Modi supporters have also propagated conspiracy theories against Muslims (including the “[love jihad](https://time.com/5915872/love-jihad-india-democracy/)” that baselessly claims that Muslim men court Hindu women to force them to convert). This has all played out against shrinking space for dissent, with [crackdowns on media](https://time.com/6255425/india-raid-bbc-modi-documentary/) and broader civil society. Not all of this is unprecedented. Pre-Modi, India experienced [religious tensions](https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/ASIA%5F100423%5FIndiaSecurityFINAL.pdf) (and [deadly riots](https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/anti-sikh-pogrom-october-31-november-4-1984-new-delhi.html)). Indian Muslims have tended to be the most vulnerable, but communal tensions have harmed Christians and Sikhs. There have also been periods where democracy struggled—including [states of emergency](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/june-25-on-this-day-in-1975-indira-gandhi-imposed-the-emergency-what-remains-of-its-legacy-101624589306289.html) between 1975 and 1977\. It was [justified](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/photo/emergency-19-365755-2011-06-27/3) by the then-government of Indira Gandhi (of the Congress party) to restore law and order following massive opposition protests. But those cases were episodic. What’s happening today is continuous, and playing out on a greater scale. And much of it—including the Prime Minister publicly [performing religious ceremonies](https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-counts-down-opening-grand-ram-temple-ayodhya-2024-01-22/)—is very new. **Read More:** [_India’s Ayodhya Temple Is a Huge Monument to Hindu Supremacy_](https://time.com/6564148/ayodhya-ram-temple-modi-india/) The Modi-era actions are highly controversial because of India’s[ constitutionally enshrined secular traditions](https://time.com/6280298/india-religious-freedom-us-state-department-report/) and resilient democracy. But while this Modi-fication of India has not gone down well with many citizens—particularly Muslims—it has far too many backers to be characterized as a wholesale trampling on the public will. This may be the tyranny of the majority, but it’s also something that enjoys a public mandate. For Modi and his mammoth base, this new India is stronger domestically and internationally, more confident, and utterly democratic. It delivers big-bang achievements—from [landing on the moon](https://time.com/6307329/india-moon-landing-south-pole/) to becoming a top-performing economy. The Modi-ification of India has provoked pushback, and even [mass protests](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/12/18/one-year-mass-caa-protests-india-muslims-citizenship-amendment-act-modi/). But rarely has Modi [reversed course](https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-modi-repeal-controversial-farm-laws-2021-11-19/#:~:text=GHAZIABAD,%20India,%20Nov%2019%20%28,called%20a%20hard-fought%20victory.) on a new policy or law—and never on religion-based issues. The same is likely to be true in a third Modi term. On the international stage, Modi’s policies have generated extensive criticism. Yet foreign governments are in no position to do anything about it. The West perceives India—because of its size, military, and economic clout—as a crucial partner in efforts to [counter China](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/how-india-is-countering-chinas-influence-in-south-asia-explains-think-tank/articleshow/103184290.cms). Much of the broader world sees India as a partner in these or other ways. There is little appetite to upset India over internal affairs or use any leverage to push a change of tack. It’s India, therefore, not its critics, that has leverage to wield. There is little choice, then, but to accept the reality of a Modi-fied India, and that India will be what Modi and so many of his compatriots want it to be. For the West, this is easy when guided by purely strategic concerns. Sure, there are positions India takes—like its embrace of multipolarity, which risks diluting U.S. power, and its enduring partnership with Russia—that don’t thrill Western capitals. Yet the Modi-fication of India could undermine the U.S. and its allies’ interests. For instance, Washington wants India to attract more foreign tech firms to reduce their presence in China. But New Delhi’s [crackdown](https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/27/modi-big-tech-india-bbc-documentary-twitter/) on social media content risks scaring some away. A third Modi term could also produce more communal unrest, distracting his government’s foreign policy bandwidth. All that said, the Modi-fication of India is not necessarily irreversible. Whether after his third term or beyond, the 73-year-old Modi will have to retire. The BJP, deprived of its wildly popular leader, may struggle to adjust without a man so closely associated with the party. This may provide an opening for a Congress that has floundered since losing power in 2014\. Political opportunities could also emerge for new BJP leaders with different ideas and policies. Much will depend on who succeeds Modi as BJP head. The [two top candidates](https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Political-battle-to-succeed-Modi-brews-quietly-in-India#:~:text=Amit%20Shah,%20from%20Gujarat%20like,command%20in%20the%20Modi%20administration.), interior minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, are fervent and at times [aggressive](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-51382414) [proponents](https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1RO1YC/) of Hindu nationalism. Other possible successors are [more moderate](https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Political-battle-to-succeed-Modi-brews-quietly-in-India#:~:text=Amit%20Shah,%20from%20Gujarat%20like,command%20in%20the%20Modi%20administration.). Nevertheless, for now and certainly in the immediate aftermath of June 1, don’t expect any modifications to India’s Modi-fication. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6968332/modi-india-transformation-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6968332/modi-india-transformation-election/"},"headline":"The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete","datePublished":"2024-04-19T08:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:28:45.904Z","description":"Indians head to the polls on April 19 and are expected to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi another five-year term.","url":"https://time.com/6968332/modi-india-transformation-election/","keywords":["world affairs","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3d1efd2469ae8e8/698a55be9d83e8d482b99f9b/GettyImages-2148609248.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michael Kugelman","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/michael-kugelman/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3d1efd2469ae8e8/698a55be9d83e8d482b99f9b/GettyImages-2148609248.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"India Prepares For First Phase Of General Elections","caption":"India Prepares For First Phase Of General Elections","creditText":"Abhishek Chinnappa—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/world-affairs/","name":"world affairs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6968332/modi-india-transformation-election/","name":"The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete"}}]}] ```