Good morning,
When it comes to “commitment and intelligence,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “far superior to his populist counterparts” ruling other parts of the globe, wrote Ramachandra Guha in a 2024 essay. He is “extremely popular,” Guha noted, and “bestrides the country like a colossus.” That is, in part, why it was so surprising this week to see Modi make a rare concession and back down in the face of dissent. Student protests, set off by the leaking of an exam paper, forced the resignation of the education minister—only the second time in 12 years that one of Modi’s cabinet ministers has stepped down under public pressure. As the world debates whether Modi has lost his aura of invincibility, Guha’s essay explains why the leader has gotten his way for so long and what his “façade of triumph and power” has obscured about India.
Until next week, |
