The discovery of Modi's India

Narendra Modi's is not a picture of a leader concerned about the well-being of the country he governs but of fulfilling a personal and political agenda in spite of it

All of a sudden, the vast sprawl of Hindu middle class India, the most vocal and articulate bhakts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have metamorphosed into sharp critics. This disillusionment has less to do with his record as prime minister when economic growth tanked, unemployment reached new highs and Indian society hit unprecedented levels of polarisation between 2014 and 2019. In 2020, the sight of millions of migrants making the arduous trek to their rural homes, victims of the world’s most draconian lockdown, did little to dent Mr Modi’s popularity. After all, little of what went before impacted his supporters;