US Embassy in Australia publishes map showing India as 'Partly Free'

The United States Embassy in Australia posted a map on the social media platform X on Tuesday, in which India has been depicted as a 'Partly Free' country.

According to a report by Scroll, this map is based on the annual report of 'Freedom House', a US-based non-profit organisation funded by the US government. In the 'Freedom in the World' report released by Freedom House, India has been classified as a 'Partly Free' country for the sixth consecutive time.

The report states that despite being a multiparty democracy, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party have adopted discriminatory policies, leading to an increase in atrocities against Muslims.

Furthermore, according to the report, there has been a significant increase in the harassment of journalists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and other critics of the government under the Modi government. Freedom House claims that the BJP has increased the use of government institutions to target political opponents. Additionally, Muslims, Scheduled Castes (Dalits), and Scheduled Tribes (Adivasis) remain economically and socially marginalised.

In this report for the year 2026, the political rights and civil liberties of a total of 195 countries and 13 territories were evaluated on a 100-point scale. In this criterion, India received 62 points out of 100, showing a decrease of one point from the 63 points in the previous report.

Historically, India was classified as a 'Free' country until the year 2020, but thereafter in 2021, its classification was downgraded to 'Partly Free'.