At 75, India’s Democracy Under Pressure Like Never Before

The Aug. 5 demonstrations by the main opposition Indian National Congress party against soaring food prices and unemployment began like any other recent protest — an electorally weak opposition taking to the New Delhi streets against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s massively popular government. However, the protests quickly took a turn when key Congress lawmakers led by Rahul Gandhi — Modi’s main opponent in the previous two general elections — trooped to parliament, leading to fierce standoffs with police. “Democracy is a memory [in India],” Gandhi later tweeted, describing the dramatic photographs that showed him and his party leaders being briefly detained Read Full Article »