The USA’s Freedom House, which describes itself as an independent watchdog organization, has said that India’s status has declined from Free to Partly Free in its ‘Freedom in the World 2021’ report.
- The report has cited 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.
- The report says that authoritarian actors grew bolder during 2020 as major democracies turned inward, contributing to the 15th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
- Freedom in the World reports assess the level of political rights and civil liberties in a given geographical area, regardless of whether they are affected by the state, nonstate actors, or foreign powers.
