India Ranked 24th Out of 33 Countries in Free Speech Index

A United States-based independent think tank named The Future of Free Speech ran a global survey that positioned India at position 24 out of 33 countries based on its free speech support. Results from 'Who in the World Supports Free Speech?' show the worldwide conditions of free expression together with modifications in responses about safeguarding controversial speech.

Key Findings of the Report

Research from October 2024 demonstrated decreasing free speech support throughout different democratic nations consisting of the United States and Japan alongside Israel.

• The 2 Scandinavian nations obtained the highest scores in the index according to the research: Norway achieved 87.9 while Denmark achieved 87.0 points.

• The records show Indonesia produced the largest free speech support advancement to 56.8 while Malaysia and Pakistan reached 55.4 and 57.0 respectively although their rankings stayed low.

• The score of 62.6 that India received placed it between Lebanon with 61.8 and South Africa with 66.9.

• The free speech score from Hungary (85.5) and Venezuela (81.8) exceeded democratic nations which suggests these governments regulate public free speech differently than citizens actually perceive.

India’s Unique Position

• The Free Speech Index ranking of India highlights a contradictory situation for the country. Most Indians endorse free speech as crucial yet their backing for governmental policy criticism exists lower than international standards. 

• The survey found that:

  • The percentage of Indian survey participants endorsing government authority to silence public criticism of policies reached 37% which stood as the survey high among all countries.

  • The survey demonstrated that governmental restriction on criticism received the backing of just 5% of British respondents and 3% of Danish participants.

  • India positions itself among Hungary and Venezuela as countries where people demonstrate higher support for free speech than actual legal safeguards thereby indicating democratic regression.

Perception vs. Reality

• The majority of the Indian population believes that their rights to freely express political opinions are getting stronger even though independent evaluations show India's freedom of speech conditions deteriorating. The report stated:

  • People from South Africa together with Indians demonstrated the strongest belief regarding better free speech conditions throughout the previous year.

  • The wider evaluation of India shows that government speech restrictions have risen even though a large number of citizens believe they can freely express themselves.

Conclusion

The position India holds in the Free Speech Index creates essential doubts regarding what lies ahead for democratic liberties in the country. Survey results indicate that the legal rules protecting free speech stay intact yet cultural elements alongside governmental control influence the development of hostile conditions against dissent. Free expression requires legal backing but also social approval to create an entirely democratic society.