Article
Reality of Democracy in India: Contesting False Western Narrative

By : A. Surya Prakash

Page No: 400-426

Abstract
India’s constitutional values and democratic traditions have come under severe and concerted attack from various Western institutions, including research organisations, think-tanks, NGOs, and government established commissions, especially since early 2020. Among them are Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Freedom House, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). After an in-depth analysis of these reports, the question that arises is on what basis have they arrived at such assessments? Are the authors of these reports apprised of the Indian Constitution, and have they done adequate research on its working? Also pertinent are queries such as: have they looked at the elements which are non-negotiable for a country to be categorised as a ‘democracy’, and have these researchers compared the Indian Constitution and its working with the constitutions of other nation-states which they place above India? This article seeks to answer these questions.

Author :
A. Surya Prakash is former Chairman, Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcaster. He specialises in Constitutional and parliamentary studies. He is the author of What Ails Indian Parliament, published by Harper Collins, 1995, and The Emergency -Indian Democracy’s Darkest Hour, 2017.