Leaders | One country, 28 systems

Modi’s “one India” goal is good for the economy, but not for politics

In the next decade regional tensions will build in India

Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, presides over the closing session of the G20 Summit — Image: EPA

Sep 14th 2023

The world has been seeing the bright side of India. In August it landed a spacecraft on the Moon. In the latest quarter gdp grew at an annual rate of 7.8%, making it the world’s perkiest big economy. Narendra Modi, the prime minister, has just hosted a g20 summit where other leaders, including Joe Biden, courted Asia’s rising behemoth. Yet inside India the talk has turned to whether Mr Modi’s hunger for power and dreams of national renewal could lead him to bend the constitution. There are signs he wants to increase the clout of national politics and the central government, and dilute the influence of India’s 28 states—many of which are not run by his party.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “One country, 28 systems ”