Newfoundland & Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador Opinion

Share this Story : PNI Atlantic News Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

GWYNNE DYER: What can the justice system do to combat tyranny in US, India?

India and the US, the world’s biggest democracies, are in danger from populist governments, leaving the justice system the last defence

India and the United States are the world’s two biggest democracies, and both of them seem to be in danger.

Subscribe now to access this story and more:

Unlimited access to the website and app

Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts

Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists

Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.

Unlimited access to the website and app

Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts

Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists

Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.

Access additional stories every month

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting community

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Sign In or Create an Account

In each of them, populist federal governments are deliberately polarizing the population, radicalizing the politics, and seeking to undermine the impartial rule of law.

In other places, such an approach has often ended in tyranny or civil war.

How do India and the U.S. compare?

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a classic populist leader, although he prefers an austere and religious style to the more florid approach favoured by Donald Trump. Both men control their political parties with an iron hand, both flaunt their religions in public (although only Modi really has one), and both try to eliminate or co-opt all rival centres of power.

Both men also have a complete disregard for the truth. Their rhetoric about helping the poor while actually serving the purposes of the rich is the same. Above all, their scapegoating of minorities is the same. (For Modi, it’s Muslims, for Trump, it’s practically anybody non-white.) Yet neither man is really preparing to stage........

© PNI Atlantic news