On 5 March 2021, the Press Information Bureau of the Indian government put out a statement headlined: ‘Rebuttal to Freedom House report on India’s declining status as a free country’.

It was in response to a finding by the US think tank, founded in 1941, that India was not really democratic and was only ‘partly free’. This was one of many similar findings by several respected global institutions. We are focusing on this one because it elicited a response from the government.

The government’s statement opened with a defence of the electoral process and said: 'Many states in India under its federal structure are ruled by parties other than the one at the national level, through an election process which is free and fair and which is conducted by an independent election body. This reflects the working of a vibrant democracy, which gives space to those who hold varying views.'

This was dishonest. The Freedom House report had two parts. The first, given 40 per cent weightage, was on political rights. Here, India got a score of 34/40 (falling to 33/40 in 2023), including full marks for free and fair elections, election commission impartiality, freedom to start political parties and opportunities for the Opposition to increase its power.

In this part, India did not get full marks on whether voting was unhampered by violence and unaffected by communal tension. This is hardly arguable. In fact, the government even got 3/4 on........

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