Photo source: Outlook India By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront India’s democratic ideals are no more as free by nature as they were before. The country has slipped towards  repression in various forms. The country now ranks 161st on the World Press Freedom Index. Freedom House and the Economist Intelligence Unit say it is no longer a fully free democracy. The country is the world’s biggest swing state in the struggle between democracies and autocracies. It is both the world’s largest democracy as well as a vital ally of the West in its rivalry with China. The BJP’s leadership is widely believed to be in firm control of India’s political narrative. Due to this, some officials empowered by the political movement, who lean towards right-wing politics might even be encouraged to try out their most extreme and partisan ideas. Others will simply be confident in believing that if they act in obviously partisan ways even to the extent of undermining the ideals of their offices, they wi...

Photo Source: The Guardian By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront As a slew of legal changes swept the Indian archipelago of Lakshadweep in May 2021, it led to a simmering disgruntlement among its locals. They believe that these regulations do not reflect its social, political and environmental realities.  The locals feel bitter about the new draft statute for the Lakshadweep Development Authority (LDA), which they think might have been issued at the behest of ‘real estate interests’, seeking to oust the small holdings of property owned by the islanders, a majority of them (94.8% as per the 2011 census) belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. Hundreds of islanders had written to the new administrator, demanding that the nominated ruling, which gives 'provision for the orderly and progressive development of land in both urban and rural areas and to preserve and improve the amenities thereof; for the grant of permission to develop land and for other powers of control over the use of land;...

Photo Source: Outlook India By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe UpFront Over four million people have been stripped off their citizenship in July 2018 by the Indian State of Assam by India’s National Register of Citizens. This exercise had been in the making for the last three years and was monitored by the Supreme Court of India.  Around 400,000 data entry operators and government officials have been involved in this exercise. Many bogus and fake submissions have been detected by India’s National Register of Citizens. Thousands of troops were deployed before the first draft was made public. The idea to update the register was to mainly identify illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. This has happened first time since 1951. From 1985 to February 2018, a total of 29,738 foreigners have been expelled. This exercise had been a psychological despair to thousands of people when they were suddenly declared as illegal immigrants.  Hundreds of thousands of people fro...