“India is indeed the mother of democracy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared in March 2023 at the Summit for Democracy. It was an event hosted by the US State Department to bring together the world’s democratic powers for a “democratic renewal,” combat authoritarian trends, and safeguard, among other things, human rights. India was being positioned by its leader as not only the world’s largest democracy but also its oldest. “The idea of elected leaders was a common feature in ancient India,” Modi said at the summit, “long before the rest of the world. In our ancient epic, Mahabharata, the first duty of citizens is described as choosing their own leader.”
But there are at least two versions of the events unfolding in the world’s largest democracy. One is promoted; the other is suppressed.
