Free Republic

Polls in the world’s largest democracy India will open on April 19, the country’s election commissioner announced on Saturday, setting the stage for a nationwide election expected to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi clinch a rare third consecutive term. An estimated 960 million people in a country of 1.4 billion are eligible to vote in the widely anticipated polls that will take a month to complete. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to secure another five years in power, ruling an India that has become increasingly polarized along religious lines. Polling will unfold over seven phases around the country...

A bill establishing a religious test for immigrants has passed the lower house of Parliament, a major step for Modi. India took a major step toward the official marginalization of Muslims on Tuesday as one house of Parliament passed a bill that would establish a religious test for migrants who want to become citizens, solidifying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda. The measure would give migrants of all of South Asia’s major religions a clear path to Indian citizenship — except Islam. It is the most significant move yet to profoundly alter India’s secular nature enshrined by its founding leaders...

Anglo-Indians are unlikely to be nominated to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies from now on with the government on Monday introducing a bill to amend the Constitution seeking to not to extend the provision that is in place for the past 70 years but expires in January next year. Earlier, Congress MP Hibi Eden had written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his "urgent intervention" to reverse the government move. "The Anglo-Indian community has contributed significantly to the country and they are a vital part of our vibrant and diverse population. The revocation of their rights for reservation even when...

Does Shift of Political Power in India Fuel Islamic Menace? Confusing reports are coming in regarding the election results, and impact of the changes in Lok Sabha. Perhaps input from others, political consultants or international affairs analysts can provide more information to elucidate more clearly the recent developments for the conservative American audience, such dialog is welcome. The bad news is, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA, consisting of the conservative and center BJP and alliances) has lost the elections. The loss is a surprise, polling as recent as May 6, 2004 showed the NDA would met the magic number of...