India’s status has been demoted from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ according to the 2021 Freedom in the World report. The report highlights that in the past 15 years, global democracy has been on a downward slope, with almost 75% of the world’s population residing in countries where their freedom has deteriorated over the past year. Countries positioning at the extreme ends of the spectrum include Finland, Norway, and Sweden as the most free with a perfect score of 100, while Tibet and Syria lag behind with a score of 1, making them the least free nations.
About the Report
The Freedom in the World report is an initiative by the USA-based human rights watchdog, Freedom House. Funded principally by USA government grants, Freedom House has been monitoring the trajectory of democracy around the globe since 1941. They evaluate each country’s status based on a set of political rights indicators including the electoral process, political pluralism, participation, and the functioning of the government. Additionally, they consider civil liberties indicators such as freedom of expression and belief, associational and organizational rights, rule of law, and personal autonomy and individual rights. Based on this evaluation, countries are labeled as “free”, “partly free” or “not free”.
India’s Declining Score
This year, India’s score fell to 67 from 71/100 last year, leading to its downgrade from the ‘free’ category.
Reasons for Downgrade
Below are some factors contributing to this decline:
Press Freedom
An alarming surge in attacks on press freedom, including the use of security, defamation, sedition, and contempt of court laws to suppress critical media voices, has resulted in increasingly less ambitious reporting.
Hindu Nationalism
The report suggests that India seems to have forsaken its potential to function as a global democratic leader by elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests, thereby compromising its foundational values of inclusion and equal rights for all.
Internet Freedom
India’s internet freedom score fell to 51 amid growing concerns of social media censorship, coupled with government-imposed internet shutdowns in areas like Kashmir and Delhi’s borders.
Covid-19 Response
India’s response to Covid-19 was marked by a harsh lockdown, leading to the dangerous and unplanned displacement of millions of internal migrant workers. The report additionally highlights incidents where Muslims were disproportionately blamed for spreading the virus, leading to mob attacks.
Crackdown on Dissent
The government intensified its crackdown on protesters opposing a controversial citizenship law and arrested several journalists who openly criticized the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Religious Conversion Law
Uttar Pradesh’s recent law prohibiting forced religious conversions through interfaith marriages was cited as another reason for concern.