Indian democracy cannot be made to look bad intentionally, said Australia-based academic Salvatore Babones in an exclusive interview with CNN-News18.
The associate professor at the University of Sydney has come into focus with his article – ‘Indian Democracy at 75: Who are the Barbarians at the Gate?’ – in which he has said negative appraisals of Indian democracy published by three major rating organisations seem wildly disproportionate to the actual evidence marshalled to support them.
Speaking to CNN-News18, Babones said one major misinterpretation of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is that more journalists are killed in India as compared to any other country in the world.
Actually, going by the population, he said, on average 3.5 journalists are killed per year in the country, and in the rest of the world, except China, about 6.5 is the average.
The reports reflect the politics of those contributing to these reports, he said.
“Inevitably, we rely on opinions of those who have Harvards, Stanfords, NY Times after their names. They do not get challenged," said Babones.
He argued that India is by far the poorest well-institutionalised democracy in the world.
India has not fallen into the same trap as other postcolonialism countries have, Babones said.
“Britain did not leave India a democracy," he said. “Pakistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka were also carved out of British institutions, but India’s is a homegrown democracy."
Babones’ academic speciality includes international rankings, and his current academic research focuses on the political sociology of authoritarianism.
Talking about his article, he said, “Barbarians at the Gate was just a title – they are not the current government of India, not the people of India but the Western analysts who are seeking to tear down one of the world’s most successful democracies in the interest of a petty partisan political game."
India can change the narrative by making it clear to analysts by sharing data so that there is no place for opinions, said Babones.
He also maintained that the publishers should apologise for the errors in their reports about India.
UN data says that ordinary Indians are living a better life in the last decade or two, added Babones.
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