Freedom index: India gets four-point downgrade, watchdog says civil liberties eroding since Narendra Modi became PM

India was downgraded to "partly free" for the first time since 1997 in an annual ranking of democracies by the U.S.-government funded research group Freedom House, which cited worsening civil rights under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The world's largest democracy slipped in rankings this year because of continuing discrimination against its Muslim citizens and increased harassment of government critics and journalists, according to the "Freedom in the World' report released by the Washington-based organization.

The report cited "a multi-year pattern in which the Hindu nationalist government and its allies have presided over rising violence and discriminatory policies." It listed several events in 2020 like religious riots in Delhi, use of sedition laws against critics and hardships endured by migrant workers after PM Modi announced a sudden lockdown to control the coronavirus pandemic.