Jammu, March 4 -- Washington-based noted think tank Freedom House has downgraded India's freedom score from "free" to "partly free," claiming that rights and civil liberties "have been eroding since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014," citing attacks on Muslims, the use of the sedition law, and the government's coronavirus response, which included the lockdown.

India's score decreased from 71 to 67, with 100 being the ranking for the most free country, and its rank fell from 83 to 88 out of 211 countries. In its annual report, Freedom House said, "His (Modi's) Hindu nationalist government has presided over increased pressure on human rights organizations, rising intimidation of academics and journalists, and a spate of bigoted a...