THE facade of India as a seamless Vishwa guru is being increasingly challenged by a series of internal crises that reveal deep-seated systemic fissures. From IIOJK to Manipur and Noida, a pattern of digital authoritarianism and the use of state force have sparked a global conversation regarding the health of Indian democracy.
In IIOJK, the landscape of dissent has shifted from the streets to the server room. Since the revocation of Article 370, the Administration has intensified its grip through an open-air prison model. The most recent and controversial tactic involves the strategic tagging of political movements with narcotics. By weaponizing the PITNDPS Act, the state has begun deploying GPS tracking anklets on Kashmiri youth, effectively criminalizing a generation under the guise of drug enforcement.
This surveillance state has now permeated civilian life. Through NCORD (National Narcotics Coordination Portal) meetings, the security apparatus has integrated educational and agricultural sectors into its intelligence network. Schools are increasingly viewed as hubs for monitoring and preventive education, while agricultural monitoring serves as a pretext for rural intrusion. By bypassing international scrutiny through the lens of social welfare, the state has arguably intensified the socioeconomic instability of the region.
Further east, the state of Manipur continues to blister under ethnic violence that has evolved into what rights groups describe as state-sponsored cleansing. By February 2026, the humanitarian toll reached staggering proportions. Reports from the Kuki Human Rights Council highlight over 250 deaths and the displacement of 60000 individuals into squalid camps. The physical destruction is equally immense, with nearly 4800 houses razed and 386 churches demolished.
The core of the grievance lies in perceived state complicity. With 90% of the Manipur Police being of Meitei descent, the Kuki-Zo minority finds itself marginalized; nearly 98% of all arrests in the conflict have targeted the Kuki community. The looting of 1200 arms from police armories has further fueled the fire. Consequently, the Kuki leadership has turned to the United Nations, demanding an independent investigation and the creation of a separate Union Territory to escape what they term Hindu-majority tyranny.
The unrest is not limited to ethnic or territorial borders; it has reached the heart of India’s economic miracle. In April 2026, the industrial hub of Noida saw a massive uprising of the labor class. Roughly 45000 factory workers from garment and electronic units blocked major expressways to demand a living wage. Despite working 12-hour shifts for a mere 13,000 per month, their request for an 8-hour day and a 35% wage hike was met not with dialogue, but with tear gas and lathi charges.
The response from the Uttar Pradesh government was swift and punitive. Over 350 workers were detained and officials attempted to delegitimize the protests by suggesting Pakistan links and external conspiracies. This tactic has become a hallmark of the current administration’s approach to dissent. These events suggest that India’s path to development is fraught with internal contradictions. Whether through high-tech tracking in Kashmir, ethnic polarization in Manipur or the suppression of labor in Noida, this tyrannical approach is creating a volatile environment. The cracks in the Naya Bharat’s facade are explicitly visible!
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar and a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad.
