Earlier this month police in Delhi raided the homes of several prominent journalists in connection with an investigation into the funding of news website NewsClick. Officials are reportedly investigating allegations that NewsClick got illegal funds from China - a charge it denies, the case is currently in the Indian supreme court. Are the raids an attempt by the government to "muzzle" free speech, as some activists say - or simply a straightforward police investigation into the funding of news website Newsclick? Critics say the harassment of journalists, nongovernmental organisations, and other government critics has increased significantly under the current administration. In addition to this, Prime Minister Modi’s premiership has been dogged by persistent allegations over his political party’s anti-Muslim stance. Has Modi’s re-definition of India as a Hindu nation intensified discrimination against minorities? India is known as the world’s largest democracy - over one billion people are eligible to vote in its general election in 2024. But is democracy now under threat in India? Shaun Ley is joined by: Lisa Mitchell - Professor of anthropology & history in the Department of South Asia Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Author of a recent book: 'Hailing the State: Indian Democracy between Elections'. Debasish Roy Chowdhury - journalist and co-author of the book 'To Kill A Democracy: India's Passage To Despotism'. Tripurdaman Singh - a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London Also featuring: Swapan Dasgupta - national executive member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Hartosh Singh Bal - the Executive editor of Caravan News Magazine Produced by : Rumella Dasgupta & Ellen Otzen This programme has been edited since originally broadcast (Photo : Journalists protesting in Delhi this week, Credit : Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.
You are actually radioactive and everything alive is unexpected elements from.
The BBC World Service.
Search for unexpected elements wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
This is the real story from the BBC.
I'm Shawn Lay with your weekly exploration into a story that's making news and changing lives.
And this week.
India is the world's largest democracy, but our personal liberties such as freedom of speech under attack.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in power for the last nine years, says he hasn't abandoned the values that inspired India's fight for freedom.
We have proved that democracy can deliver any caste, creed, religion or gender based discrimination has no place in our society.
Critics say the ruling BJP proudly promotes India's Hindu identity but at the expense of its minorities.
Indian Muslims, the largest, say they are paying the price.
I do happen to be somebody who has been very vocal consistently in her criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Besides of course, the fact that I'm a woman and a Muslim woman at that, a community that is at the receiving end of persecution.
A police operation earlier this month targeting a single online News site involved 30 simultaneous police raids.
Many Indian journalists say this is a continuation of a government attack on independent press.
The messaging is clear to the media.
We are after you and the threats are escalating and we are not going to stop this whole process of intimidation at any step.
However, prominent members of Mr.
Modi's party say it's a conspiracy theory with no basis in fact.