Since Independence, India has managed to stay on democratic path in a way unprecedented among states freed from colonialism during the last century.
Recently however, the dominance of the Hindu nationalists under Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and the manner in which they have ruled has given rise to claims that democracy and minorities are in grave danger.
In some respects, the current Modi government has not undermined democracy or the standing of minorities any more severely than certain Congress government in earlier years did.
The Swedish V-Dem Institutes recent democracy report, which laments the decline in democracy globally warns that India "is on the verge of losing its status as a democracy due to the severe shrinking of space for media, civil society, and opposition."
Yet the report also suggests that India’s Democracy is in decline, not collapse.
