AFI 2026 ranks India in bottom 10-20pc bracket globally
Islamabad: Academic Freedom Index update 2026 released by V-Dem Institute (Sweden) ranked India in the bottom 10-20 percent bracket globally.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the 2026 update indicates a sustained and significant decline in academic freedom over the past decade with India’s score dropping from 0.38 in 2022 to 0.16 recently.
This information will break the ego of all Indians because they are not even one percent of how great they think they are or the Modi Government is propagating to get votes.
As per the Academic Freedom Index 2026, India is ranked 156 out of 179 countries assessed, putting it among the worst-performing nations in the world.
India is identified as one of 34 countries experiencing a “statistically significant and substantially meaningful decline” in academic freedom compared to 10 years ago.
The decline is driven by reduced freedom to research and teach, diminished institutional autonomy, weakened campus integrity and restrictions on academic and cultural expression.
Scholars are facing increased risks when challenging government narratives, leading to widespread self-censorship.
V-Dem Institute highlights the electoral success of “anti-pluralist parties” as a major driver for this decline, with the ruling BJP accused of attempting to exert control over higher education and promoting a specific agenda.
Indian declines are not limited to Academic Freedom but over all India is collapsing in the hand of BJP since 2014.
Global Soft Power Index 2026: India slipped to 32nd position (score 48.0, down from previous year), with declines in governance and international relations perceptions.
Post-2025 India-Pakistan standoff diplomatic setbacks: India’s global image faced criticism as a regional aggressor, with increased international scrutiny and narrative losses to Pakistan on peace and stability.
IMF Global GDP Rankings 2026: India slipped to 6th largest economy in nominal terms (from 4th/5th previously) with GDP at $4.15 trillion.
Global Hunger Index 2025: India ranked 102 out of 123 countries with a score of 25.8 (serious hunger category).
Most poorer countries reportedly feed children better than India.
India ranks among top 3 countries globally in food wastage.
Contradiction highlighted between hunger levels and food waste volumes.
Press Freedom Index 2026: India ranked 157 out of 180 countries (down from 151 in 2025), with a score of 31.96 (very serious situation).
Rising violence against journalists, concentrated media ownership, and declining political indicator (160th).
Human Rights Watch 2026: National Human Rights Commission registered 113 deaths in police custody and 1,535 in judicial custody in the first eight months of 2025 alone.
Persistent allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings (132 cases), and unlawful expulsions of minorities and refugees.
Freedom House 2026: India rated “Partly Free” with overall score declined to 62/100 (from 63/100 in 2025); Political Rights 31/40, Civil Liberties 31/60.
V-Dem 2026: India remains classified as “Electoral Autocracy,” slipped to 105th on Liberal Democracy Index (from ~100th previously).
Corruption Perceptions Index: India ranked around 91-93 globally.
Rule of Law Index (WJP): India ranked 86th out of 143 countries with concerns over judicial independence.
India is identified as having the world’s highest number of stunted children (millions affected).
Child malnutrition is described as the “most painful” national indicator.
Global Slavery Index: India has the highest absolute number of people in modern slavery (~11 million / 8.0 per 1,000 people).
Women, Peace and Security Index 2025/26: India ranked 131st out of 181 countries with a score of 0.607 (slipped from 128th previously).
Hate crimes and hate speech incidents rose sharply: Reports document increased religiously-motivated violence and targeting of minorities.
India among top 6 most polluted countries worldwide.
Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2026: India slipped significantly due to high coal dependence and emissions trajectory.
Environmental Performance Index: India ranks very low (near bottom) with poor scores in air quality, biodiversity, and ecosystem vitality.
Shrinking space for dissent and minority HRVs in India with a growing climate of fear and self-censorship, alongside increasing restrictions on students and faculty. Rising hunger, malnutrition, pollution, corruption and declining press freedom are projected as indicators of deepening governance and social crises despite claims of economic progress.
Collectively, these international indices and reports project a troubling picture of India’s governance, democratic health, human rights environment, media freedom, social protection standards, and environmental sustainability, raising serious global concerns over institutional decline, widening inequality, suppression of dissent, and the growing gap between state narratives of progress and the realities reflected in multiple independent global assessments.
