The US should not normalize Modi’s autocratic and illiberal India at the G20

‘Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, has painted India as an inclusive, emerging global power. Yet behind these lofty ideals lies a very different, and dangerous, reality.’ Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

In December 2021, President Joe Biden hosted an event billed as a “Summit for Democracy”. Biden opened his address to the summit by describing his motivation for holding it: “in the face of sustained and alarming challenges … democracy needs champions”.

Since that time Biden has embraced, as allies, autocrats and would-be autocrats all over the world, including the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who US intelligence has said was responsible for the brutal murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. More recently, Biden invited Benjamin Netanyahu, who is presiding over the destruction of Israel’s democracy by targeting its judicial system, for an official visit to the United States.