Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent political stumbles are a reminder of the unruliness of India's democracy. Last week, Modi's government failed to get an amended land-acquisition bill — probably the most important reform he's yet tried to implement — through Parliament. Modi's only choice now is to extend the measures by executive order.
That will only buy him time until Parliament reconvenes in a month, though; it won't convince businesses to invest. More worryingly, India's opposition, devastated and weak after Modi's sweeping election win 10 months ago, is rejuvenated and likely to block more radical reforms if for no reason other than to take him down a peg.
Indian leaders long envied Singapore's late Lee Kuan Yew because without political opposition, he was able to get things done. But Lee himself made the point that India's democracy was no excuse for slow growth and stalled reforms. Speaking in Delhi in 2005, Lee said, "Democracy should not be made an alibi for inertia. ...