According to The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), India's global ranking in the 2020 Democracy Index has slipped two places to reach 53rd position. It said that the "democratic backsliding" by authorities and "crackdowns" on civil liberties has led to further decline in the country's ranking.
India's overall score fell from 7.92 in 2014 to 6.9 in 2019. It further reduced to 6.61 in 2020.
"With mounting pressure on India's democratic norms, India's score fell from a peak of 7.92 in 2014 to 6.61 in 2020 and its global ranking slipped from 27th (in 2014) to 53rd as a result of democratic backsliding" under the current regime, the EIU said.
Norway topped the chart in the Index with Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada making up the top five.
The Index, that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for 167 countries, classifies 23 countries as full democracies, 52 as flawed democracies, 35 as hybrid regimes and 57 as authoritarian regimes. India has been classified as a 'flawed democracy' along with countries such as the US, France, Belgium and Brazil.
The EIU further stated that in India and Thailand, "democratic backsliding by the authorities and crackdowns on civil liberties led to a further decline in their global rankings".
It also alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government has "introduced a religious element to the conceptualisation of Indian citizenship, a step that many critics see as undermining the secular basis of the Indian state".
