(Maria Mansab)
India, which was designated as an “electoral autocracy” in 2018, has experienced further deterioration across various indicators. India positioning itself as one of the most regressive autocratic nations globally, according to the Democracy Report 2024, published by Sweden-based V-Dem Institute.
The V-Dem Institute released a comprehensive report revealing that India did not get a favorable ranking across all dimensions of democracy and autocracy. As transitional stages between democracy and autocracy, this institute categorizes nations as follows: closed autocracy, electoral democracy, electoral autocracy, and liberal democracy.
According to the report, India emerged as one of the most regressive authoritarian regimes globally in recent times. With a population accounting for 18% of the global population, it exhibits the lowest rankings in terms of freedom of expression and the conduct of free and fair elections. India’s assertion of being a democratic nation has faced global rejection, as evidenced by its ranking of 104 out of 179 countries in the Liberal Democracy Index 2023.
Earlier this year, in its annual report on global political rights and liberties, US-based non-profit Freedom House downgraded India’s classification from a free democracy to a “partially free democracy.” The Modi government has employed sedition, defamation, and anti-terrorism legislation to suppress dissenting voices. In 2019, the BJP government made amendments to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, thereby compromising the Constitution’s dedication to secularism. The amendment enacted in 2019 granted the federal government the authority to classify persons as “terrorists” without trial.
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index ranked India as a “flawed democracy,” dropping two places to 53rd as the Indian government proceeded to stifle religious freedom by enforcing a ban on hijab and Islamic education by the Allahabad
High Court in Uttar Pradesh. Moreover, it spearheaded efforts to suppress dissent within academic institutions and intimidation of individuals who opposed political ideologies or opposed government policies.
The V-Dem Institute has observed in its 2023 ‘Academic Freedom Index’ that in India institutions and scholars currently see a notable decrease in freedom. In 2013, there was a significant decrease in all aspects of academic freedom, which was further intensified by Modi’s election as prime minister in 2014. The subsequent years witnessed a more pronounced decline in campus integrity, institutional autonomy, and the freedom of academic and cultural expression. The absence of legislation safeguarding academic freedom renders it more susceptible to infringement under Modi’s Hindu nationalist administration. India exemplifies the detrimental correlation between populist governments, autocratization, and limitations on academic freedom.
Over the years, the BJP government has substantially and gradually eroded freedom of expression in India, jeopardizing media freedom, cracking down on social media, and harassing and assaulting government-critical journalists. The Indian government’s intensified efforts to regulate the media is one of the worst violations in recent times. India slipped two places to 142 on Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. It’s an unflattering reflection on a country that frequently pride in its dynamic and competitive media.
Before the elections, the Modi government enacted a contentious citizenship law, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which is biased against Muslims and has already incited widespread protests across the country in 2019. Furthermore, rulings from Indian courts disclosed that Modi’s party received hundreds of millions of dollars in anonymous political donations from private corporations and was the primary beneficiary of a now-banned financial scheme.
During a campaign rally in northwest India, Modi made derogatory remarks against Muslims, labeling them as “infiltrators” and endorsing hate speech. While traveling internationally, he proudly promotes India’s diverse principles and asserts his ownership of Gandhi’s legacy. However, at home, he expresses a strong, anti-Muslim sentiment.
Modi’s ambition to make a Hindu state has been evident in his recent speech and the last decade of his tenure. In January, Modi demonstrated his commitment to promoting his Hindu nationalist party and values by inaugurating an incomplete grand Hindu temple at the location where an ancient mosque was demolished by a Hindu mob.
The Modi government poses a threat to civil society and opposition parties. Modi has intensified his efforts to suppress the opposition parties, resulting in 95% of political leaders being investigated by the CBI and ED. The nation, with a population of 1.4 billion individuals has nearly 970 million registered voters. The ongoing elections are the costliest globally, as political parties have allocated twice the amount of money compared to the $7 billion spent in the previous election in 2019.
On 19 April 2024, during the polling in Manipur, Arambai Tenggol a BJP’s private Militia cadres were spotted with guns. They are behind much of the recent violence there and now they tried to rig the election for BJP and in response angry voters destroyed the EVMs. There are significant uncertainties regarding the integrity and impartiality of these elections, therefore, the integrity of democracy will be challenged. If India is unable to conduct free and fair elections, then there’s a risk of India transitioning into a Hindu and autocratic state under the rule of Modi.
The essential inquiry emerging from these global reports prompts us to ponder: What democratic model does India aspire to embrace? Recent analyses suggest India’s political landscape leans towards either an ethnic autocracy or an electoral autocracy. The transition of India into a Hindu autocratic state is evident from both global reports and the ongoing developments within India.
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