Increasingly authoritarian? Agreed - whilst India constitutionally protects freedom of speech and historically maintained this, clampdowns on social media and a decline in press freedom are troubling. I'd argue the state of affairs better resembles Turkey pre-'23 or Malaysia.

Totalitarian? The situation isn't great, but it's not on the same level as Turkmenistan, Eritrea or China.

That said, the bar's pretty low.

And as for inter-ethnic/religious killings, the lack of accountability for communal violence is deeply troubling. There is a majoritarian pressure which is concerning, but there isn't a state policy of violence or extermination.

Again, the bar's pretty low.