India’s 2024 general election is of huge consequence for the country itself and for all of Southasia. Once the touchstone for democracy and secularism in the Subcontinent, and perennially a defining force in Southasian diplomacy and cooperation, India is today in democratic decline after ten years under the rule of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, with its bilateral relationships across the region transformed by the imperatives of Modi’s agenda.
The effects are felt acutely all over India and Southasia, yet much of the Indian and international media coverage of the 2024 election is fixated disproportionately (and often myopically) on the heartlands of the BJP’s support in northern and central India. Lost or muted in this coverage are the revealing perspectives of those on the edges looking in: national neighbours, but also Indian citizens from beyond the BJP’s power base, often facing the brunt of the Modi government’s attempts to reshape India and its place in the world.
‘Modi’s India from the Edges’, a special series from Himal Southasian, brings you critical wide-angle Southasian analysis of Modi’s reign and its ramifications, with a new piece each week presenting insights from top journalists, academics and experts across the region. Over the course of the Indian election, Himal examines how India’s relationships with neighbours like Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have changed; how voters in Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Manipur assess Modi’s tenure; and how India’s image and symbolic place in Southasia has been altered by a decade of Hindu nationalist rule.
Independent newsrooms like Himal’s need your support to bring out underrepresented perspectives and underreported stories. Contribute to Himal’s fund for its series on the 2024 Indian election. Himal does not depend on advertising, corporate support or a restrictive paywall. Your support helps keep our in-depth, independent journalism open-access and free to read for all. We aim to raise USD 2500 to fund Himal’s expenses for the series.