Manoj Kumar Jha’s In Praise of Coalition Politics And Other Essays on Indian Democracy is a searing collection of essays, trenchant in its criticism of the state of Indian democracy ever since the BJP rose to power in 2014. They make a scathing commentary on what the author believes is the steady erosion of democratic norms in India over the last decade.
A Rajya Sabha MP from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jha trains his focus on the Modi government—now in its third term—and the manner in which it has ridden roughshod over the Constitution’s core values of secularism, liberty, and equality. Constitutional principles valuable to its architects, he argues, are being torn asunder.
Many of the essays have appeared earlier in print or online, but are updated and revised here, alongside fresh writings. What makes them compelling is the way Jha weaves current developments with historical references.
Unsurprisingly, as an opposition leader, he attacks the government. Yet the essays remain disturbing in their detail, underlining authoritarianism in governance, polarisation, and the crackdown on dissent. Expressing deep concern over the persecution of minorities, in particular Muslims, Jha writes, “Mob violence and lynching are not only routinised but sanctified as well,” he notes. “The vicious targeting of political enemies has become a legitimate manner of doing politics.”
At another point, he writes, “We have not witnessed such a pervasive onslaught on citizens’ rights in the post-Independence political history of India as we do today, that our present context feels even more daunting and bleak than the days of the Emergency. The very idea of India, which is inclusive, diverse, and compassionate towards its vulnerable groups, is in danger”. The introduction of the book encapsulates the author’s views on a range of issues, including the democratic backsliding in India.
Jha does not mince his words when he talks about the plight of Muslims in different essays. In one of them, Jha pens a moving letter to Mahatma Gandhi, “Within the borders of this country, new walls have been built between communities and people, and centuries-old ties now lie shattered on the ground”.
In the essay titled Bapu! The Government of the Day is Determined to Prove Jinnah Right, he talks about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, brought in under Modi 2.0 in 2019. The author laments that “after this new law, the very Preamble of the Constitution feels like it belongs to someone else, and the values and traditions enshrined in it feel alien. Efforts to destroy the soul of this large-hearted, pluralistic nation have gone frighteningly far. It is the season of the victory of falsehoods”.
The author also excoriates the Modi government for bringing in the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which he describes as “an act of economic ruination and humiliation dressed in the language of procedure”. In the powerful essay on Waqf as Trust, Not Just Title, the author also makes a telling point in saying that, “to alienate Muslims from the nation’s narrative is to amputate the nation’s own history. It is not Muslims alone who are being wronged, it is India itself that is being made desolate, mean and small”.
The Government is Not the Nation notes that draconian laws are being used to put individuals behind bars by conflating questioning with critiquing the nation. He also warns that “majoritarianism disguised as nationalism is a dangerous ploy”.
There are other interesting essays, such as the one on Kashmir, where Jha calls for reopening the space for a political dialogue, and on the Manipur violence, where he notes Modi’s “absolute silence on the issue” and the caste census on which he says the government did a “dramatic somersault” by announcing it.
Writing a letter to India’s first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, Jha bemoans “how this regime is virtually at war with universities all over India” and is “coming up almost on a daily basis with new ways of attacking higher education”.
Amidst this dark and oppressive tone, the author seems to hold on to hope. This is expressed in the lead essay, In Praise of Coalition Politics, which was written following last year’s general elections, where the BJP failed to win an outright majority and had to depend on other political parties to form the government.
Jha believes the outcome of the election this year was “a vote for diversity, pluralism, wide representation, debate, dialogue and accommodation”. While he concedes that the BJP “continues to be imperious and arrogant”, he is confident in saying that Modi and his party will ultimately have to “submit to the people’s mandate”.