Context: An annual report prepared by Freedom House, a US-based independent watchdog, on the “health” of democracies across the world has downgraded India’s status from “free” in 2019 to “partly free” in 2020. 

• The report derives its methodology from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1948.

It covers 211 countries, awarding scores based on

• Political rights indicators such as the electoral process, political pluralism and participation and government functioning.
• Civil liberties indicators related to freedom of expression and belief, associational and organisational rights, the rule of law and personal autonomy and individual rights.

The organisation assesses nations on 25 different indicators. India’s score fell in relation to the following questions

1) “Are individuals free to express their personal views on political or other sensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution?”

• The report states this score declined because of “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”.

2) “Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations, particularly those that are engaged in human rights and governance-related work?”

• This score declined because of 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.

3) “Is there an independent judiciary?”

• This score declined because of 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”.

4) “Do individuals enjoy freedom of movement, including the ability to change their place of residence, employment, or education?”

• This score declined due to the migrant crisis and “violent and discriminatory enforcement by police and civilian vigilantes”.

Key Highlights of the Report

• India’s overall score dropped to 67 out of 100 in 2020, compared to 71 in 2019. In 2018, India had 75 points.
• 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.
• The change in India’s status from “Free” to “Partly Free” was the most significant for 2020, “meaning less than 20 per cent of the world’s people now live in a Free country — the smallest proportion since 1995″.

Reason behind this decline

• In its annual report, Freedom House said, “His (Modi’s) Hindu nationalist government has presided over increased pressure on human rights organizations, rising intimidation of academics and journalists, and a spate of bigoted attacks — including lynchings — aimed at Muslims. 
• The decline deepened following Modi’s reelection in 2019, and the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 featured further abuses of fundamental rights.”
• The organisation underscored a “pattern in which the Hindu nationalist government and its allies have presided over rising violence and discriminatory policies affecting the Muslim population and pursued a crackdown on expressions of dissent by the media, academics, civil society groups, and protesters”.
• 2020 events such as the Northeast Delhi riots in February and September’s acquittal of 32 accused in a 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.

70% of global internet shutdowns in 2020 were in India: Report

• India’s Internet Freedom Score has stayed at 51. However, the report stated that “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.
• “Disputed territories are sometimes assessed separately if they meet certain criteria, including boundaries that are sufficiently stable to allow year-on-year comparisons

Global Scenario

• 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.

Conclusion

• Changes in India form “part of a broader shift in the international balance between democracy and authoritarianism, with authoritarians generally enjoying impunity for their abuses and seizing new opportunities to consolidate power or crush dissent. In many cases, promising democratic movements faced major setbacks as a result.”