India slips 10 places on Democracy Index

India dropped ten places in The Economist Intelligence Unit's 2019 Democracy Index mainly for "democratic regression" and retained its status as a "flawed democracy".

The index mentioned the changes in Jammu and Kashmir and the controversial implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam while describing what it said was the "democratic regression" in India, the world's largest democracy.

India's overall score fell from 7.23 (on a scale of 0-10) in 2018 to 6.90 in 2019. The country was ranked 42 in 2017 and 41 in 2018, reports Hindustan Times.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's 2019 Democracy Index, which provides an annual comparative analysis of political systems across 165 countries and two territories, said the past year was the bleakest for democracies since the research firm began compiling the list in 2006.

The report also noted the revocation of Article 370 in August last year, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir for its special status.

Ahead of the move, it said, the government "deployed a large number of troops in J&K, imposed various other security measures and placed local leaders under house arrest, including those with pro-India credentials".

The report also mentioned India's newly amended citizenship law which enraged the Muslim population, stoked communal tensions and generated large protests in major cities.

The annual Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture, According to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The index ranks countries based on their scores on 60 indicators and classified them as one of four types of regime: full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime and authoritarian regime.

The Index described 2019 as a "tumultuous year" for Asian democracies.

The biggest change occurred in Thailand, whose score improved by 1.69 points compared with 2018, to 6.32, resulting in a rise of 38 places, while the introduction of a "fake news" law in Singapore led to a deterioration in the score for civil liberties.

In the Asia and Australia region, India ranked eighth, behind countries such as Timor-Leste, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Besides, Singapore and Hong Kong also dropped in a new ranking of democracies around the world, with violent protests and threats to civil liberties challenging freedoms across Asia.