A world once shaped by democracy, now fighting the takeover of autocracy. Hiding in plain sight. Slowly but surely coming out through policy changes, changes in law, control of media, restriction of human rights, civil liberties and changes to democratic institutions. A gradual transition from democratic leadership to authoritarian leadership. A country that once valued and trusted the voices of its people. Those same people…voiceless. Helpless. Scared. A nation that once reached tremendous progress due to their people making it a reality.
Now, said people are sitting back in fear and concern. Worried about the direction their nation is going. Fearing regression, decades of hard work being undone. A land where the government is feared. Although, it should not be. A sovereign state where transparency should be key, yet it is not. The citizens are having to bear the consequences of the decisions their leaders act upon. That should not be the case. Yet, somehow in this already twisted world, it is. A community where the power no longer rests with the people, but with the leaders alone.
Authoritarian leadership is rising at a steady pace, leaving democracy behind. Along with democracy, people’s opportunities to help their beloved nation, their optimism and positivity toward it slowly dissolve. This phenomenon where the process of declining integrity for democratic values or institutions in a political system is called democratic backsliding. The world as we know it, is falling deeper into the dark side. Wars, territorial conflicts etc have tainted the democratic world that we once knew. Now, as authoritarian leadership takes over – everything that humanity stood for has been shunned.
India, a country that was once democratic, has now transitioned to autocracy. Critics say that since Modi’s BJP government came into power in 2014, India has transitioned into autocracy. A research organisation based in Gothenburg, Sweden called the V-Dem Institute, has classified India as “Electoral Autocracy” in March of 2026. The rankings put the blame on the current government for democratic backsliding. Going as far as to say that under Modi’s government, there has been an increase in pressure of human rights groups, intimidation of journalists and activists and a deluge of attacks against the minority. As a result of such events taking place, the deterioration of political and civil liberties are a present issue in the country.
Yet the public has a different perception within the country, revealing a complex paradox. Data from Pew research reveals that approximately 79% of Indians hold a favourable view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many cite the economic expansion and national development as key reasons for their undeniable faith and trust. In fact, Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar have strongly rejected such labels believing that such reports are biased, distorted and inaccurate assessments by external entities that do not reflect the realities of the nation. Others argue that these types of indexes misread India’s competitive multi-party landscape and are casting India in a negative light.
India is not the only country facing this problem. Other nations like Turkey, Georgia and Hungary also face a similar situation. All four nations have been categorised as Electoral Autocracies by the V-Dem Institute. Nonetheless, as much as such organisations have a particular process for doing things such as this, critics argue that Western assessment methodologies can carry institutional or ideological bias.
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