His government has significantly strengthened the Indian market at an international level. However, the rise in foreign investment has not translated into growth or job creation. Furthermore, the BJP’s wide electoral base could become eroded because of the government’s support for Hindu extremists and the upsurge in intercommunal (largely anti-Muslim) violence, which is rupturing the country’s social fabric.

Isabelle Saint-Mézard is Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri.

Article published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 83, No. 2, Summer 2018