Key Points:
- The ‘Freedom in the World 2021 – Democracy under Siege’ report that mentions the Democracy status of the country reported that India’s status as a democracy and free society has been downgraded to “partly free”.
- It said India’s fall “from the upper ranks of free nations could have a particularly damaging impact on global democratic standards”.
- Replying to the report. the Indian government, on Friday, REJECTED the Freedom House report.
- The report was rejected stating it as “misleading, incorrect and misplaced”, and said it treats all the citizens of its country, equally without discrimination and declared that discussion, debate and disagreement are part of Indian democracy.
The ‘Freedom in the World 2021 – Democracy under Siege’ report that mentions the Democracy status of the country reported that India’s status as a democracy and free society has been downgraded to “partly free”. The latest annual report on global political rights and liberties by Freedom House, a US government-funded NGO that studies political freedom around the world said that, “India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader.”
It said India’s fall “from the upper ranks of free nations could have a particularly damaging impact on global democratic standards”.
The degradation began in 2019, and the central government and its state-level allies “continued to crack down on critics” during 2020, while the response to the Covid-19 pandemic “included a ham-fisted lockdown that resulted in the dangerous and unplanned displacement of millions of internal migrant workers”, mentioned the report.
Replying to the report. the Indian government, on Friday, REJECTED the Freedom House report. The report was rejected stating it as “misleading, incorrect and misplaced”, and said it treats all the citizens of its country, equally without discrimination and declared that discussion, debate and disagreement are part of Indian democracy.
“The Freedom House report, titled ‘Democracy Under Siege’, in which it has been claimed that India’s status as a free country has declined to ‘partly free’ is misleading, incorrect and misplaced,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement. The ministry said, “Government of India treats all its citizens with equality as enshrined under the Constitution of the country and all laws are applied without discrimination. Due process of law is followed in matters relating to law and order, irrespective of the identity of the alleged instigator.
The government also rebutted the allegation in the report that the COVID-19-induced lockdown “left millions of migrant workers in cities without work or basic resources” and “resulted in the dangerous and unplanned displacement of millions of internal migrant workers”.
Check the Official Press Release .
