Politics Of Authoritarianism In South Asia

This is a rather chaotic week for South Asian politics. Only on Friday was India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi expelled from parliament over a defamation case. Gandhi’s supposed crime was that about two years earlier he had implied that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a ‘thief.’ Gandhi has received a two-year sentence, implying that he can no longer serve in the Lok Sabha. This rather fast ruling shows how adamant Modi has been to silence opposition and weaken democracy. Was it necessary?