India's assault on Muslim rights — and democracy

Zack and Alex are joined by Vox reporter Sigal Samuel to talk about two recent measures in India that, when combined, amount to a plan for stripping citizenship from hundreds of thousands of Muslims. They explain what the laws actually do, the scary Hindu supremacist ideology motivating Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the impact Modi’s premiership is having on Indian democracy. They then zoom out to put India in global context, comparing democratic backsliding there to what we’re seeing in the West and its persecution of Muslims to what you’ve seen in two other nearby countries (China and Myanmar). References: Sigal’s piece on the India laws is here. Read Dexter Filkins’ brilliant longread on India under Modi in the New Yorker. Zack’s piece on Hungary’s democratic backsliding is really worth your time. If you need a quick brush-up on the Kashmir crisis, Alex explains it for you in under 600 words. Netflix’s Hasan Minhaj talked about being barred from the “Howdy Modi” event, even though he was celebrated at it. Hosts: Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox Sigal Samuel (@SigalSamuel), staff writer, Vox Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox More to explore: Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram. About Vox: Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com  Newsletter: Vox Sentences  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices