New Delhi: India has been ranked a “partly free” country for the third year in a row in the annual report of Freedom House, a US government-funded non-profit. The report also states that democracy in India is “losing ground”.
“More and more countries are remaining partly free instead of continuing their march to free status,” notes the think tank in its annual report titled ‘Freedom of the World 2023’, which was released last week.
A total of 210 countries and territories have been assessed in the report, which Freedom House has published annually since 1973. It uses surveys and analyses to tabulate indices around freedom and human rights.
“Worryingly, some free countries are losing ground, including India, which was downgraded to partly free two years ago,” the report says. India was rated a “free” country in 2018, 2019 and 2020, after which its scores dipped.
In this year’s global freedom rankings, India received a score of 66 out of 100 — the same as last year. It also retained an ‘internet freedom’ score of 51.
Some of India’s neighbours, like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have seen slight changes in their freedom rankings this year.
For example, Sri Lanka — which is facing a major economic crisis that prompted nationwide protests last year — saw its score drop from 55 last year to 54 this year. This is because the country’s “freedom of assembly” score declined in view of the government crackdown on protests.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s score climbed one notch from 39 last year to 40. This is because the country’s score with regard to the protection of civilians from illegitimate government action improved due to “fewer incidents” in which security forces used violence against civilians.
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Analysis of score
A breakdown of India’s score on Freedom House’s rankings indicates that the country was seen to have improved partially with regard to freedom of movement, and declined partially with regard to property rights.
In 2022, India scored 2 out of 4 with regard to freedom of movement, including the ability to change one’s place of residence, employment, or education. This increased to 3 out of 4 in the latest ranking in view of the central government’s easing of Covid-19-related restrictions.
In 2022, India also scored 3 out of 4 with regard to an individual’s ability to exercise the right to own property and establish private businesses without undue interference from state or non-state actors.
This has dipped to 2 out of 4 in the latest report “because (Indian) officials in several areas demolished property owned by Muslims” — a reference to the demolition drives in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri and other areas.
‘Democratic rights in India remain under pressure’
Freedom House notes that the democratic rights of minority groups in India, including Muslims, continue to be under pressure.
“Residents of several countries, including India and Australia, enjoyed greater freedom of movement following the rollback of Covid-19 restrictions. However, democratic rights in India remain under pressure, particularly for marginalised groups,” states its report.
The think tank’s 2023 report also warns that once a country slips into the “partly free” category, as India did two years ago, it’s difficult for it to recover.
“Freedom House research has shown that once a country tips into the partly free or not free categories, it often struggles to recover,” the report says.
“This makes the provision of diplomatic, technical, and financial support especially important for countries that have seen promising democratic development or are at risk of democratic deterioration,” it adds.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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