Democracy in India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
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State of Democracy
Various surveys, 1947-2021; 2012-22
From: Nov 22, 2022: The Times of India
From: Nov 22, 2022: The Times of India
From: Nov 22, 2022: The Times of India
See graphics:
India's rank on EIU-Democracy Index, 2012- 21
India's scores on Freedom in the World Report, 2012-22
Scores of various V-DEM indices for India since independence, 1947- 2021
EIU's Democracy Index, 2020
January 22, 2020: The Times of India
The state of democracy in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
From:[ The Times of India]
See graphic:
The state of democracy in India, presumably from 2006 to 2019;
The state of democracy in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI: India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index's global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which cited "erosion of civil liberties" in the country as the primary cause for the downtrend.
India's overall score fell from 7.23 in 2018 to 6.90 in the Index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories.
"On India the report said, the country dropped ten places in the Democracy Index's global ranking to 51st. The primary cause of the democratic regression was an erosion of civil liberties in the country," the report said.
The index is based on five categories- electoral process and pluralism; the functioning of government; political participation; political culture; and civil liberties.
Based on their total score, the countries are classified as one of four types of regime: "full democracy" (scores greater than 8); flawed democracy — scores greater than 6 and less than or equal to 8; hybrid regime — scores greater than 4 and less than or equal to 6; authoritarian regime — scores less than or equal to 4". India was included in the "flawed democracy" category.
Meanwhile, China's score fell to 2.26 in the 2019 index, and the country is now ranked 153rd, close to the bottom of the global rankings.
"Over the past year discrimination against minorities, especially in the north-western region of Xinjiang, has intensified. Digital surveillance of the population continued apace in 2019, representing a further constraint on individual freedoms," the report said.
Among other emerging economies, Brazil was ranked 52nd with a score of 6.86, Russia stood at 134th with a score of 3.11. Meanwhile, Pakistan was ranked 108th on the overall list with a score of 4.25, while Sri Lanka was at 69th place with a score of 6.27, Bangladesh (at 80th with 5.88 score).
The overall list was topped by Norway, followed by Iceland and Sweden. Other countries in the top 10 include New Zealand at the fourth place, Finland (5th), Ireland (6th), Denmark (7th), Canada (8th), Australia (9th) and Switzerland (10th).
North Korea was at the bottom of the global ranking at 167th place.
Details
January 23, 2020: The Times of India
NEW DELHI: India has slipped 10 places to 51st position among 167 countries on the Democracy Index, a global ranking of the “most and least” democratic countries prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit, primarily due to an “erosion of civil liberties in the country”.
The report said India’s score fell from 7.23 (out of 10) in 2018 to 6.90 in 2019, and attributed India’s “democratic regression” to the abrogation of J&K’s special status, suspension of internet in the newly formed UT and protests over the CAA and the National Register of Citizens.
The score of 6.9 is India’s lowest since the inception of the index in 2006. India’s decline coincides with what the report says has been a poor year for democracy globally. India remains well above the 2019 global average of 5.44. India’s highest score was 7.91 in 2014 and since then it has declined.
“The Indian government stripped the Jammu & Kashmir state of its special status by repealing two key constitutional provisions granting it powers of autonomy... Furthermore, Article 35A prevented Indian residents from other states from purchasing land or property in J&K... Ahead of the move, the government deployed a large number of troops in J&K, imposed various other security measures and placed local leaders under house arrest, including those with pro-India credentials. The government also restricted internet access in the state,” the report said.
On the controversial NRC, the index said, “A separate citizenship registration exercise in Assam... has excluded 1.9 million from the final list of NRC. The vast majority of people excluded from NRC are Muslims. The ruling nationalist BJP says that most of the people excluded from the list are immigrants from Bangladesh, whose government denies this... The new citizenship law has enraged the large Muslim population, stoked communal tensions and generated large protests in major cities.”
The report, which has evaluated countries on their civil liberties, political culture, political participation, functioning of government and their electoral processes and pluralism in countries, however, recorded a “steady and significant upward trajectory” in people’s political participation globally, indicating that an increasing number of people are getting involved in the political processes and protesting in comparison to the years before.
Health of democracies ranking
2019
Anam Ajmal, March 5, 2020: The Times of India
A report on the “health” of democracies across the world has criticised India for “discriminatory actions” against minorities in the world’s largest democracy. India’s overall score dropped to 71 in 2020, compared to 75 in 2019. It, however, does not include Kashmir, which is rated separately, and carries a score of only 28 out of 100. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have scores of 38, 39 and 58 respectively. China is ranked 10.
Titled “A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy,” the report was prepared by Freedom House, a government funded NGO in the US. It mentions several key points, including the abrogation of Article 370 and internet shutdown in Kashmir, suppression of protests, controversial citizen register in Assam, threat to freedom of expression and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, as reasons behind “alarming setbacks to Indian democracy.” The country’s most notable drop has been in terms of civil liberties, which is the largest decline among the 25 most populous democracies.
The report states Kashmir’s “status declined from ‘Partly Free to Not Free’ due to the government’s abrupt revocation of the region’s autonomy, postponement or elimination of legislative polls, and a security crackdown.”
