Despite US concerns over the decline of Indian democracy and human rights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is getting a prestigious state dinner from the Biden administration. Sadanand Dhume and Irfan Nooruddin explain.

This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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