India, ah yes! The supersized democracy, where size matters more than substance, now exudes some painful political developments right on the face of her upcoming general election a few days away.

As if the notable decline in India’s democratic indices in the international ratings were not enough, the systematic suppression of dissenting voices & stifling of all forms of oppositions appear to unravel at an alarming pace. Dissent is met with repression, not discourse. India is at a critical crossroads, where the daunting task is to preserve the democratic ethos, else to leave the so-called largest democracy in the hands of authoritarian tendencies.

Hence, the question is not of choosing an efficient or inefficient candidate. It is all about saving India from the gradual erosion of fundamental democratic principles, quite similarly to the rescue of Indian democracy from the dark ages of emergency back in 1975. An effort of that scale is called for, once more.

Ranking by International IDEA, Global State of Democracy Initiative

Ranking by JMU (Jullium Maximilians Universität Wurzburg)

India is rated as a Hybrid Regime (Same as Kenya, Guatemala, Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan & few more nations, comparison with whom is unfortunate considering India’s long term democratic ethos). India ranks at85/176. Bhutan ranks at 56. Kenya ranks at 82. Maldives ranks at 67. Nepal ranks at 73.

For Context, Hybrid regime means a mixed type of political regime that combines autocratic features with democratic ones.

Ranking by Freedom House

USA Based Non-Profit organization that promote freedom and human rights around the world, has ranked India at a 66/100 (Partly Free). This tag of Partly Free has changed in 2021 from earlier “Free”. The only remaining lower rank is “Not Free”.

Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Index

India is ranked by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU- London) as a “flawed democracy”.

The above decline in democratic indices during the ongoing tenure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi & his Party BJP is much reminiscent of similar setback to India’s democratic fabric during 1975 emergency declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. India is world’s most populous country and the downgrading of democratic parameters in India also downgrades the overall indices of population of whole world living in a free country or at least a fully democratic country.

That’s the terrible situation the whole world is moving into & watching nervously. The question of India’s democratic diligence is not only pivotal to India herself, but also immensely important for whole of Global South, and India’s relationship with developed & democratic nations like USA, Europe, Great Britain, France, to name a few.

The democratic parameters that act as pedestals to promotion of a free & equalist ideology and an impartial election of lawmakers stand substantially rundown today. Indian Government has pushed back strongly to above reports as western bias, misleading, incorrect. But the writing is on the wall.

Unsurprisingly, Indian Government, instead of focusing on the deliverables that need to be addressed to improve the ranking, as per sources, is working with an Indian thinktank ORF (Observer Research Foundation), to develop home-grown indices to publish a favorable democratic ranking to counter the decline in global ratings. ORF is an Indian thinktank that works closely with multiple Indian Government Initiatives.

2024- Arrest of Sitting Chief Minister of State of Jharkhand:

ED Arrested Mr. Hemant Soren, a sitting Chief Minister of Jharkhand, who had to resign before arrest as Jharkhand Chief Minister, w.r.t land scam case. He belongs to JMM Party, an ally of INC (Indian National Congress), the main opposition party in India.

Removal of CJI from Panel to Choose New Election Commissioner in March 2024:

• Government of India removed Chief Justice of India from the panel to choose new election commissioners just before announcement of schedule of election, shifting all the powers to the panel led by PM Modi.
• Supreme court refrained from staying the move by Indian Government to avoid last minute chaos & uncertainty when general election is imminent.
• It is still a mystery on cards, “Why Mr. Arn Goel (Election Commissioner of India) resigned before declaration of schedule of election?” As per sources, he was in disagreement with Chief Election Commissioner Mr. Rajiv Kumar, on poll preparation reviews & press briefings.
• Opposition Parties stated the move as an attempt to dilute constitution bench order and it will certainly influence the neutrality of election commission.

 

Congress general secretary (Organization) K.C. Venugopal called it a “blatant attempt at making the Election Commission a total puppet” in the hands of the Prime Minister.

The weaponization of institutions & laws has consistently contributed to weakening the opposition and impose repression of dissent by using law as a weapon. Media is mostly aligned to ruling party & a few voices having different opinions have been suppressed brutally.

The Disappearance of Electoral Bond News from Mainstream Media in India:

Supreme court of India struck down the controversial Electoral Bond scheme through which political parties had been receiving enormous amount of donations, that had no purview of Reserve bank of India or Election Commissioner of India earlier. The scheme has been labelled by intellectuals as one of those dark initiatives from which the biggest beneficiary is none other than the ruling party, the Modi led, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). Surprisingly the news just disappeared from mainstream media in a few days of revelation. That only shows how one more pillar of democracy i.e. Media & Journalism has been biased, due to obvious reasons, which need a different article to elaborate.

Parliament Committee based accountability:

Parliament Committee based accountability, which involves legislative oversight of executive actions, has significantly diminished during Prime Minister Modi’s tenure. In previous administrations, committees within India’s primary parliamentary bodies played a crucial role in scrutinizing and deliberating on bills, ensuring checks on the executive. However, this scrutiny has dwindled over the years. Before Modi’s ascension to power, parliamentary committees examined 71 percent of bills during the 2009–2014 term. Yet, during Modi’s first term from 2014 to 2019, this scrutiny decreased to merely 25 percent. Since 2019, the scrutiny has further plummeted to a mere 13 percent, exemplified by the absence of any legislative bill referred to a committee during the 2020 pandemic. Consequently, significant laws and policy decisions in India, such as the abrupt national lockdown, demonetization, and farm laws, were enacted without adequate parliamentary consultation, despite opposition protests. Moreover, the Modi government introduced several legal amendments aimed at undermining whistleblower protection, further exacerbating the erosion of parliamentary accountability.

Complete Ignorance by Indian Government to Hunger Strike in Newly Carved Union Territory “Ladakh”

Activist Sonam Wangchuk had to end his 21 days climate fast, which he did in Ladakh in protest to Indian Government pf forgetting their promise of statehood to Ladakh & protection of fragile Himalayan ecology.  Modi Government did not pay required attention at all to the protest & the media did not broadcast it to the required extent.

Wangchuk, however, underlined that it was the end of his hunger strike and not the movement.

“While India is the mother of democracy, we citizens have a very special power. We are the kingmakers, we can compel a government to change their ways or change the government if that doesn’t work. Let us remember to use our ballot power very carefully this time in the interest of the nation,” said Wangchuk.

Can the Indian Democracy, the way world has known, be Protected now?        

Of course, the democracy in India, as the world has known, can be protected & improved as well. Indian democracy is a strongly woven ethos that has shaped modern India as we see today. But it calls for a lot.

There is no military coup or emergency era mass arrests, or diminishing judicial system. They have not happened yet. Fortunately, these are not signs of a hybrid regime. But it is a visible future, if Indians do not wield their power of voting wisely, electing their member judiciously or do not vote at all.

The democratic decline that we see today is not permanent in nature.

Looking ahead, the path to democratic revitalization in India hinges on the emergence of a strong, stable, devoid of hate, opposition party endowed with robust organizational foundations. Historically, the Indian National Congress exemplified such a party; however, its grassroots connections dissipated in 1969 amid Indira Gandhi’s fracturing of the party and her pursuit of centralized authority.

Rahul Gandhi’s grassroots campaign, Bharat Jodo Yatra, Additionally, the Aam Aadmi Party presents a promising political entity that has expanded beyond its Delhi stronghold, are promising check on Modi led BJP. Yet, both parties confront the arduous task of transcending their charismatic leaders to achieve enduring development.