At 51st
rank, India slips 10 spots on the global democracy index
India dropped 10 places in the
Democracy Index’s global ranking to 51st place, with the survey describing the
erosion of civil liberties in the country as the primary cause of the
democratic regression. Overall, though, India remains, in the terms of the survey,
a ‘flawed democarcy”, a categorisation that also encompasses the US.
The Democracy Index – prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit,
the research and analysis division of The Economist Group – provides a snapshot
of the state of democracy worldwide in 165 independent states and two
territories.
It is based on electoral process and pluralism, functioning of
government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties.
India’s overall score, on a scale of 0-10, fell from 7.23 in 2018 to
6.90 in 2019, with the survey listing India among countries where there were
“regressions”. In the Asia and Australia region, India ranked eighth, behind
countries such as Timor-Leste, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Norway topped the index, with a
score of 9.87, while North Korea was at the bottom of the global rankings, with
a score of 1.08. China’s score fell to 2.26, and it is now ranked 153rd, close
to the bottom of the rankings.
The Democracy Index described 2019
as a “tumultuous year” for Asian democracies. The biggest change occurred in
Thailand, whose score improved by 1.69 points compared with 2018, to 6.32,
resulting in a rise of 38 places, while introduction of a “fake news” law in
Singapore led to a deterioration in the country’s score for civil liberties.
The index is largely an academic exercise, but it adds to growing
international criticism of India , especially over Kashmir and CAA.
Indian officials did not immediately react to the survey.
The Democracy Index referred to the changes in Jammu and Kashmir
and the controversial implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC)
in Assam while describing what it termed as said was a “democratic regression”
in India, the world’s largest democracy.
“The Indian government stripped the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
state of its special status by repealing two key constitutional provisions
granting it powers of autonomy,” it said, referring to Article 370 of the
Constitution and Article 35A, which prevented residents from other states from
purchasing land or property in Kashmir.
“Following the removal of these
provisions of the constitution and the passage of a new Jammu and Kashmir
Reorganisation Act of 2019, J&K no longer enjoys statehood and is now
divided into two union territories: one that retains the name Jammu and
Kashmir, and Ladakh,” it said.
“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,” it added.
To be sure, the changes were all
cleared by parliament and India has maintained that they are internal issues.
Some of them have been challenged in court.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, however, called the rankings
‘flawed’. Party spokesperson Nalin Kohli said, “They appear to have arrived at
this flawed conclusion based on some motivated inputs. Had they followed the
news in India or the raucous interaction of citizens of all political leanings
on the social media, they would only concluded that a vibrant democracy is in
full action.”
The Democracy Index noted that the “citizenship registration
exercise” in Assam had “excluded 1.9m from the final list of the National
Register of Citizens (NRC)”
It also commented on the Citizenship
Amendment Act and said “the new citizenship law has enraged the large Muslim
population, stoked communal tensions and generated large protests in major
cities.”
Three countries – Chile, France and Portugal – moved from the
“flawed democracy” category to the “full democracy” category, while Malta moved
in the opposite direction, falling out of “full democracy” to become a “flawed
democracy”.
Source: Hindustan Times Newspaper
No comments:
Post a Comment