If the curbing of the ongoing farmer’s protest whether through police force or by internet shutdowns weren’t enough proof of India’s dwindling democratic stance, India has slipped two places to the 53rd position on the 2020 Democracy Index’s global ranking. According to The Economist Intelligence Unit that brings out the Democracy Index’s global ranking, “India’s “democratic backsliding” by authorities and “crackdowns” on civil liberties has led to a further decline in the country’s ranking,” reported Business Standard.

“With mounting pressure on India’s democratic norms, India’s score fell from a peak of 7.92 in 2014 to 6.61 in 2020 and its global ranking slipped from 27th (in 2014) to 53rd as a result of democratic backsliding,” under the current regime, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said.

The report titled Democracy In Sickness And In Health? ranked Norway at the first position followed by Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada all of which constitute the top 5 nations with healthiest democracies.

“Out of 167 countries, the Democracy Index classifies 23 countries as full democracies, 52 as flawed democracies, 35 as hybrid regimes and 57 as authoritarian regimes. India has been classified as a ‘flawed democracy’ along with countries such as the US, France, Belgium and Brazil,” reported The Economic Times.

With India’s democracy in jeopardy and its safeguards like students, journalists and activists in jails for speaking against the current regime, who can tell how long the democratic status will last or are we already in a faux democracy?

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