On V-Dem institute report on Democracy in India

Source-This post on On V-Dem institute report on Democracy in India  has been created based on the article “Democracy, autocracy, or both” published in “Business Standards” on 3 April 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-2– Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure.

Context-The Gothenburg-based V-Dem institute has categorized India as “one of the worst autocratisers” in the world. As per the author of the article, there will always be tension between freedom and authority because all states, whether they are democratic or authoritarian or somewhere in between, would require the power to do whatever they want to do.

What is an autocratic form of government?

An autocracy is a form of government in which one ruler has absolute control and decision-making power in all matters of state and over all the country’s people.

What conditions determine the government’s nature in countries?

As per the author, the starting and current conditions of every country are different. It depends on many points such as a country’s core culture, its degree of diversity, economic conditions, demographic trends, and internal and external threat perceptions.

For ex-Citizens give greater power to the governments whenever there are threats (real or perceived) from violent non-state actors. The US enacted Patriot Act after 9/11 attack, that gave security agencies enormous powers of surveillance to prevent terrorism on US soil. However, these powers have been used to legitimize or justify assassinations on foreign lands.

How Monopolisation of power to some extent is a part of democracy?

Democracy can only be sustained by some monopolizations of power vested in some important institutions. For ex-

1) Judiciary-Many Constitutions have given extraordinary powers to the judiciary. Judiciary in most countries is not just protected from libel and contempt but is also accountable to none.

2) Bureaucracy-No country can run without an administrative service. However, this group can become an unaccountable power unto itself. Thus, it does not imply that the country itself has become autocratic.

Read more- issues associated with the methods used by V-Dem democracy to rank India on democracy

What are the arguments against India being labelled as “one of the worst autocratisers” in the world by V-Dem institute?

1) Denmark-This is a country which once projected itself as the bastion of free speech, has now legislated a law that bans inappropriate treatment of religious books. Is it not against freedom of speech & expression?

2) Other European Countries-Countries like Ireland and Scotland are planning to enact “hate speech” law. Similarly, Britain has widened the definition of “extremism” in the backdrop of public calls for the annihilation of Jews.
However, the widened definition of extremism could have a chilling effect on free speech because it could be used to stifle voices which criticizes Israel’s actions or some policies of the government that support Israel.

3) USA- Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and even email services like Gmail have huge power to censor and regulate free speech. For ex- they collectively deplatformed a sitting US President Donald Trump in 2021.
However, today the same democracy supported by liberal media is using undemocratic means to prevent Donald Trump from contesting the November presidential elections.

Conclusion–
There is no perfect democracy anywhere. All democracies should be humble enough to accept that they are works in progress. The only good democracy is one which has the ability to constantly reinvent itself.