On May 28, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Indian Parliament, a triangle-shaped edifice of concrete and stone, in a grand ceremony suffused with religious symbolism. The swarm of television cameras stayed transfixed on Modi as he performed a lengthy puja, a Hindu worship ritual, surrounded by a bevy of priests. Then, amid the chanting of Vedic mantras, Modi carried a gold-plated scepter, associated with an ancient Hindu kingdom, through the fufcorridors of Parliament, before installing it above the chair of the speaker.
Nearly the entire opposition boycotted the consecration of the new Lok Sabha, or House of the People, dubbing it Modi’s “coronation.” It was a familiar made-for-television spectacle, emblematic both of Modi’s leadership style as well as the state of Indian democracy.
The opposition’s boycott was prompted not just by the nakedly partisan tenor of the event but also a range of proximate grievances. These included the disqualification of several opposition leaders from the Lok Sabha and the bulldozing of controversial laws without debate.
