In what must be democracy's most spectacular act of self-sabotage since the invention of the campaign promise, America has chosen to double down on its experiment in constitutional chaos. The land of the free and home of the brave has morphed into the land of the fee and home of the depraved, where criminal indictments are merely campaign accessories and court appearances are treated as photo ops.

The peculiar alchemy by which felony charges transform into electoral advantages would have baffled us Indians were we not so at home with it. Each indictment functions as a political aphrodisiac for a particular segment of the electorate, who interpret legal troubles as proof of their champion's accomplishments.

The implications for global democracy are about as subtle as a rock against a house of glass. Autocrats worldwide are presumably updating their playbooks, if they hadn't after Mr Modi's win, realising that the path to power no longer requires the tedious maintenance of democratic facades. Why bother with the pretence when you can simply declare every opposition move a witch hunt and every pointed finger a conspiracy? What we're witnessing isn't merely a political victory; it's an epistemological crisis wrapped in electoral bunting. Truth has become as flexible as a yoga guru on drugs.

The promised mass deportation spectacle adds another layer of irony to this political theatre. The same man whose enterprises have historically treated immigration status as a mere suggestion now positions himself as the grand enforcer of borders. This is from a leader whose family tree has more immigration papers than a customs office.

The judiciary, supposedly a stalwart defender of constitutional order, has been reduced to a supporting character in this ongoing drama. Criminal convictions, rather than ending political careers, now serve as proof of persecution and fuel for fundraising. It's as if Lady Justice removed her blindfold only to be cast in a drama. This is not very different from India, where our dear DY Chandrachud removing the blindfold directly translates to the judiciary wagging its tail and looking at its master for treats.

The Fourth Estate, meanwhile, finds itself in the unenviable position of trying to fact-check someone who treats reality like a choose-your-own-side at a restaurant. Journalists painstakingly document each factual transgression, only to discover that in the new political landscape, truth is whatever gets parroted the most. Nevertheless, it is still far better than the lapdog the media has become in India.

As America also pirouettes toward an uncertain future, one can't help but wonder if we're witnessing the twilight of democracy or merely its latest makeover. The real tragedy is that this isn't a show we can simply turn off. The consequences of this electoral choice will not only reverberate in the corridors of power worldwide but also initiate the normalisation of a reality where criminal records will become a desideratum to be eligible to enter the race for the throne. The USA is moving toward what India already is.

Welcome aboard!