JOIN USIndia's dented global image
India’s global standing on various fronts, as per reports of different organisations in recent times, project a dismal picture of our country. Though our Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokespersons refute these reports and add that it is our internal matter where no external forces need interfere, these matters call for serious attention by the powers that be.
In the recently released Democracy Index for 2020, India slipped to 53rd rank from the previous 51st position in 2019 among 167 countries. Though we boast of being the world’s largest democracy, recent events in the country present a dismal picture. From a score of 7.92 out of 10 in 2014, we have slid to 6.61 in 2020. While we continue to be a ‘flawed democracy’, our score on civil liberties and political culture has been the cause for our “democratic backsliding.”
At the 47th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in November last, an irksome reference was made to India about its policies on Jammu and Kashmir. It was immediately countered by the MEA spokesperson, regretting that the OIC allows itself to be used by a certain country (obviously Pakistan) “which has an abominable record on religious tolerance, radicalism and torture of minorities” to denigrate India. The OIC, a conglomerate of 57 nations, was advised to desist from making any such reference in the future.
Our ranking on the Freedom of Press Index is no matter to boast of. According to Reporters Sans Frontieres, a Paris-based NGO, our country ranked 142nd, out of 180, in 2020. It was just two notches above at 140 in 2019, and 138 in 2018, indicating that press freedom is on a continuous slide. This has been rejected by I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar, saying that the “media in India enjoys absolute freedom.” The fact remains that our image in the international arena has been dented, and that calls for some serious reflection.
Our score on the Academic Freedom Index (AFI) is shocking. With an AFI score of 0.352, we rank far below other countries. Malaysia with 0.582, Pakistan with 0.554, and Brazil with 0.446 fare better than us. When countries like Somalia (0.436) and Ukraine (0.422) enjoy a better AFI, it calls for some serious rethinking.
The AFI arrives at these scores on the basis of its evaluation of freedom of academic and cultural freedoms, institutional autonomy and constitutional protection among many other parameters.
Our Global Hunger Index ranking, too, is disappointing. India is ranked 97th among 118 nations. While 25% of our children suffer from malnutrition, over 190 million people retire to bed every night without meals. Over 3,000 children die every day for want of sufficient nutritious food.
To add to their woes, the pandemic brought more sorrow and deprivation. Loss of jobs and poor economic situation worsened their miseries. The situation is depressing.
According to the World Health Organisation, about 132 million people will remain undernourished. We need to wake up to the situation, which calls for some drastic action, before it is too late.
Releasing its annual report for 2020, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an advisory body of the US Congress, recommended that India be designated as “Country of Particular Concern” along with such countries as Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia for its “increasing assault” on religious minorities during 2019. It recommended imposition of “targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States” under human rights-related financial and visa sanctions.
According to the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, a conglomerate of over 65,000 churches, 327 incidents of persecution of Christians were reported during 2020, in which five lost their lives and six churches were razed to the ground. Uttar Pradesh tops the list, with 95 incidents, followed by Chhattisgarh with 55.
Rejecting the USCIRF report, the MEA spokesperson stated that it is “biased and tendentious.” The MEA’s rebuttal was obvious and as expected. Though refuted, the matter calls for attention as the report has cited mob lynching and unbridled attacks on minorities and their places of worship, apart from tolerance of hate speech and incitement to violence as the reasons for its recommendations.
In Asia, we have the highest record of bribery and corruption. According to the latest report of Transparency International, we have the highest bribery rate of 39% and the “highest rate of people using personal connections to access public service (46%).”
The Corruption Perception Index for the year 2020 placed India at 86th position among 180 nations, down from 80th position in 2019 and 78th in 2018. Evaluated on a scale of 0 (very clean) to 100 (highly corrupt), India’s score stands at 40. Quite contrary to claims by our political leaders that corruption has been rooted out, the CP Index shows a gradual rise in instances of corruption and this despite several government officials being sacked or punished for their acts of corruption. China fares better than us at 78th position, with a score of 42, while Pakistan ranks 124 with a score of 31 points.
Needless to say, our global image has direct repercussions on our international trade and relations with other countries. Tourists will eschew our land. Our nuclear capability is not enough to place us among the developed nations. Investors from across the shores will shy away from investing in our country when we project a dismal picture of the conditions prevailing. At the global level, we may deny the ground realities, but much needs to be done to pull us out of the quagmire we are in and to garner respect in the international arena.
(The writer is a former Inspector General of Police (retd), CRPF)