Difficult questions |
The sharp exchange between an Indian diplomat and a Norwegian journalist in Oslo this week was not really about one question shouted at a Prime Minister. It was about two radically different understandings of democracy colliding in public view. For much of the Western press, adversarial questioning is considered a professional obligation. Political leaders are expected to face uncomfortable queries, particularly on issues involving civil liberties, dissent and institutional accountability.
The refusal of a head of government to engage with unscripted media questions over an extended period inevitably becomes a story in itself. India now finds itself confronting that reality abroad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains one of the world’s most electorally successful and politically dominant leaders. His government can legitimately point to India’s democratic scale, noisy electoral culture and constitutional protections. Yet none of that automatically shields it from international scrutiny over press freedom, minority anxieties or the shrinking space for dissent perceived by critics. What made the Oslo episode striking was not merely the journalist’s persistence but the intensity of the reaction it provoked among sections of........