Democracy in India is at Stake: Image of the Last Decade

Indian democracy is going to step its 75 years of journey. Indian democracy is still singing even after happening many ups and downs in the country and in the world. Ours is a world largest democracy. We are really, proud of it. Democracy has a long tradition and rich history in India. That means the idea that democratic ethos and principles are not new to the Indian subcontinent. Our rich democratic heritage, sets a precedent a for promoting civic culture, political participation, and a well understanding of democratic principles among its citizens. In recent, India's G20 presidency reflects its commitment to democratic values and international cooperation. The country sets an example to promote global democratic principles. The Parliament 20 (P20) Summit in New Delhi put forwards India's rich democratic heritage and core values to the world. The inclusivity, equality, and harmony are central to Indian democracy. But the scholars and theorists of Indian democracy come to realize that, the picture of our democracy of the last one decade is not so satisfactory. Democracy-watching organizations categorize democracies differently. They all classify India today as a “hybrid regime”—that is, neither a full democracy nor a full autocracy. And this is new one. In 2021, in view of Freedom House, India’s freedom rating is Partly Free (the only remaining category is Not Free). That same year, the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project India as “electoral autocracy” on its scale of closed autocracy, electoral autocracy, electoral democracy, or liberal democracy. And the Economist Intelligence Unit stated India to be “flawed democracy” on its scale of full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, and authoritarian regime. Keeping all these things in mind, in this paper, I have tried to critically examine the Indian democracy of the last one decade on the basis of a small ground level study.