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India’s score decreased from 71 to 67, with 100 being the ranking for the most free country, and its rank fell from 83 to 88 out of 211 countries
Highlights
- Washington-based noted think tank Freedom House has demoted India’s freedom score from “free” to “partly free”, saying rights and civil liberties “have been eroding since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014”,
- The most free countries in the world, with a score of 100, are Finland, Norway and Sweden, while the least free with a score of 1 are Tibet and Syria.
- The organisation assesses nations on 25 different indicators.
Grounds for fall in India's ranking
- The use of sedition and other charges in recent years to deter free speech, including discussion of a discriminatory citizenship law and the Covid-19 pandemic”.
- Amendments to the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act and the freezing of Amnesty International’s assets, leading to the shutdown of the organisation’s India operations.
- Former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s appointment to the Rajya Sabha, “a pattern of more progovernment decisions by the Supreme Court”, and “the high-profile transfer of a judge after he ruled against the government’s political interests”.
- Migrant crisis and “violent and discriminatory enforcement by police and civilian vigilantes”.
- Disputed territories are sometimes assessed separately if they meet certain criteria, including boundaries that are sufficiently stable to allow year-on-year comparisons
- Internet freedom in India declined dramatically for a third straight year”, citing Internet shutdowns, blocked content, disinformation spread by political leaders, online harassment, amendments to the Foreign Direct Investment Policy, coordinated spyware campaigns, and digital monitoring.
Source: Indian Express
