7 ms·

It's becoming an illiberal democracy like Turkey. Which is still a lot different than the US imo. e.g.: -After a decade of Modi rule, India now ranked 161 out

by astar1 1y ago

It's becoming an illiberal democracy like Turkey. Which is still a lot different than the US imo. e.g.: -After a decade of Modi rule, India now ranked 161 out of 180 in the world press freedom index: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/22/media/india-elections-press-freedom-decline-intl-hnk/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/22/media/india-elections-press-f... -Political opponents have been arrested on trumped up charges before elections: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest_of_Arvind_Kejriwal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest_of_Arvind_Kejriwal -Extrajudicial killings on Canadian soil and possible attempt on US soil before they were caught (despite extradition agreements between India and these countries): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/india-government-agent-assassination-plot-sikh-nationalist-canada-rcna176048 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/india-government-agent-as... I saw an interesting interview from 50's by one of India's founders on the topic of democracy in India: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WyWUlIbcRH8 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WyWUlIbcRH8 . It seems India still has a long way to go, and the current government is reversing the trend. I really hope the west thinks long and hard about foreign investment in/free trade with India without preconditions (although these are doubtful from the US under the current administration, maybe the EU can step up). The west had this idea that opening up trade with China would make the country more democratic and free, but it had the opposite impact (the extra resources only made things worse in these areas at home and aborad, especially after Xi's takeover in 2014).

swiftcoder 1y ago
I'm unclear which of those things you don't think applies to the US as well? It may not be as blatant, but the current administration is openly attempting to muzzle the press (i.e. banning the AP from Whitehouse), the last few US elections have been mired in law enforcement interactions (FBI investigation into Hilary's emails, Trump's various trials), and extrajudicial killings on foreign soil have openly been a thing since Obama's drone-strike-happy administration.
- astar1 1y ago
  it's still no where near the same. Adani, india's richest man, has close connections to Modi and is under indictment by the US for bribery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indictment_against_Gautam_Adani_et_al https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indictment_against_Gautam_Adan... . He also bought one of india's last major independent traditional media outlets (NDTV) years ago. The comparison I can think of is if MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News were all run like Fox news in terms of alignment with Trump. In a country where 25% the population is illiterate this is especially concerning as a significant portion of the electorate can only access their news from traditional media (TV, radio).
  - astar1 1y ago
    oh i forgot to add, the internet penetration rate is around 50% in India, so 50% of the population can't even access youtube on demand.
utkarsh858 1y ago
The first point is completely invalid, here a lot of press, YouTubers berate Indian government in daily basis they do not suffer any setbacks except when netizens call out false propaganda in numbers for both pro and anti government media. Second point the Indian leader arrested was involved in huge scams in liquor and policy, he used to live in a lavish palace and got called out by enforcement directorate. It's good he got arrested. Canada has not provided even a single proof for Indias involvement in extrajudicial killings but instead harbor people who threaten Indians regularly. Despite extradition treaty Canada has become a safe harbor of terrorists and refused to extradite terrorists even after repeated requests by India. Reversing the trend ? Are you kidding me, previous government imposed emergency rule when their position was threatened and commited human rights abuses.
- bdhe 1y ago
  > Despite extradition treaty Canada has become a safe harbor of terrorists and refused to extradite terrorists even after repeated requests by India. This seems troubling. Can you share some examples of this? > Canada has not provided even a single proof for Indias involvement in extrajudicial killings I don't know about Canada, but did you read this about the case in the US? https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-charges-against-indian-government-employee-connection-foiled https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-c... It's pretty comprehensive that the person hired was connected to the Indian govt.
  - utkarsh858 1y ago
    Some examples: https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/khalistani-terrorist-pannun-threatens-attack-on-pm-modi-and-cm-yogi-during-maha-kumbh-2025/ https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/khalistani-terrorist-pannun-... https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/we-take-threats-very-seriously-mea-raises-security-concerns-with-us-after-pannun-threatens-ambassador-kwatra/ https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/we-take-threats-very-serious... https://www.opindia.com/2024/11/us-supported-khalistani-terrorist-pannun-threatens-to-attack-hindu-temples-for-fireworks-on-diwali/ https://www.opindia.com/2024/11/us-supported-khalistani-terr... Regarding extrajudicial killings if I remember correctly arrested person was Indian, not sure if it was proved that he was connected to Indian govt. And for Canada yes they didn't provide any proof but instead had to backtrack on their statements: https://www.opindia.com/news-updates/canadian-pm-justin-trudeau-admits-they-had-no-evidence-before-accusing-india-of-killing-khalistani-terrorist-hardeep-singh-nijjar/ https://www.opindia.com/news-updates/canadian-pm-justin-trud...

by astar1 1y ago

swiftcoder 1y ago

I'm unclear which of those things you don't think applies to the US as well? It may not be as blatant, but the current administration is openly attempting to muzzle the press (i.e. banning the AP from Whitehouse), the last few US elections have been mired in law enforcement interactions (FBI investigation into Hilary's emails, Trump's various trials), and extrajudicial killings on foreign soil have openly been a thing since Obama's drone-strike-happy administration.

astar1 1y ago
it's still no where near the same. Adani, india's richest man, has close connections to Modi and is under indictment by the US for bribery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indictment_against_Gautam_Adani_et_al https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indictment_against_Gautam_Adan... . He also bought one of india's last major independent traditional media outlets (NDTV) years ago. The comparison I can think of is if MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News were all run like Fox news in terms of alignment with Trump. In a country where 25% the population is illiterate this is especially concerning as a significant portion of the electorate can only access their news from traditional media (TV, radio).
- astar1 1y ago
  oh i forgot to add, the internet penetration rate is around 50% in India, so 50% of the population can't even access youtube on demand.

utkarsh858 1y ago

The first point is completely invalid, here a lot of press, YouTubers berate Indian government in daily basis they do not suffer any setbacks except when netizens call out false propaganda in numbers for both pro and anti government media. Second point the Indian leader arrested was involved in huge scams in liquor and policy, he used to live in a lavish palace and got called out by enforcement directorate. It's good he got arrested. Canada has not provided even a single proof for Indias involvement in extrajudicial killings but instead harbor people who threaten Indians regularly. Despite extradition treaty Canada has become a safe harbor of terrorists and refused to extradite terrorists even after repeated requests by India. Reversing the trend ? Are you kidding me, previous government imposed emergency rule when their position was threatened and commited human rights abuses.

bdhe 1y ago
> Despite extradition treaty Canada has become a safe harbor of terrorists and refused to extradite terrorists even after repeated requests by India. This seems troubling. Can you share some examples of this? > Canada has not provided even a single proof for Indias involvement in extrajudicial killings I don't know about Canada, but did you read this about the case in the US? https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-charges-against-indian-government-employee-connection-foiled https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-c... It's pretty comprehensive that the person hired was connected to the Indian govt.
- utkarsh858 1y ago
  Some examples: https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/khalistani-terrorist-pannun-threatens-attack-on-pm-modi-and-cm-yogi-during-maha-kumbh-2025/ https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/khalistani-terrorist-pannun-... https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/we-take-threats-very-seriously-mea-raises-security-concerns-with-us-after-pannun-threatens-ambassador-kwatra/ https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/we-take-threats-very-serious... https://www.opindia.com/2024/11/us-supported-khalistani-terrorist-pannun-threatens-to-attack-hindu-temples-for-fireworks-on-diwali/ https://www.opindia.com/2024/11/us-supported-khalistani-terr... Regarding extrajudicial killings if I remember correctly arrested person was Indian, not sure if it was proved that he was connected to Indian govt. And for Canada yes they didn't provide any proof but instead had to backtrack on their statements: https://www.opindia.com/news-updates/canadian-pm-justin-trudeau-admits-they-had-no-evidence-before-accusing-india-of-killing-khalistani-terrorist-hardeep-singh-nijjar/ https://www.opindia.com/news-updates/canadian-pm-justin-trud...