Is India a Democratic Country? | Prof. Zoya Hasan

The V-Dem Institute’s report on global democracies has documented the erosion of democratic values in India, demoting India to an ‘electoral autocracy’ in 2021.

Zoya Hasan is a political scientist and Professor Emeritus at Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has authored extensive work on the Indian government and politics, with a focus ranging from democracy, state and political parties to socio-political movements and questions of equality and social justice.

In this video opinion, Zoya unpacks the current state of the Indian democracy, drawing out three primary challenges that the Indian democratic order faces today:

1. Majoritarian Politics
2. Decline of Institutional Autonomy
3. Shrinking Space for Dissent