In a scathing report released on Thursday, the Sweden-based Varieties of Democracy Institute has categorized India as one of the "worst autocratisers" in the world, highlighting a concerning trend of democratic decline over recent years.
The report, titled "Democracy Winning and Losing at the Ballot," identifies India as an "electoral autocracy," a designation it has held since 2018, with the autocratization process still ongoing.
The Varieties of Democracy Institute classifies countries into four phases between democratization and autocratization: liberal democracy, electoral democracy, electoral autocracy, and closed autocracy.
India falls into the electoral autocracy category, defined as a nation with multiparty elections for the executive but lacking fundamental requisites such as freedom of expression, association, and free and fair elections.
The report points out that the autocratization process is actively underway in 42 countries, including India, encompassing 35% of the global population. India alone represents about half of the population living in autocratising countries, with 18% of the world's population.
According to the report, eight out of ten countries experiencing autocratization were democracies before the process began. India, along with The Comoros, Hungary, Mauritius, Nicaragua, and Serbia, saw democracy break down, leaving only Greece and Poland as democracies in 2023. The report suggests that 80% of democracies that start autocratizing eventually break down.
The document highlights India's gradual deterioration of freedom of expression, compromise of media independence, crackdowns on social media, harassment of critical journalists, attacks on civil society, and intimidation of the opposition.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Modi, is accused of using laws on sedition, defamation, and counterterrorism to stifle critics and undermine the constitution's commitment to secularism.
The V-Dem report also underscores the BJP government's suppression of freedom of religion rights, intimidation of political opponents, and silencing of dissent in academia. The 2019 amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, allowing the government to proscribe individuals as "terrorists," is cited as a concerning development, along with increased powers for officers of the National Investigation Agency to conduct investigations.