The message couldn’t be plainer: In Cold War II with China, the United States wants India on its side. Since Mr. Modi took power in 2014, India’s once-proud claim to being a free democratic society has collapsed on many fronts. Of the 180 nations surveyed in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, India sits at 161, a scant three places above Russia. The Freedom in the World index has tracked a steady erosion of Indian citizens’ political rights and civil liberties. On the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index, India has tumbled squarely into the ranks of “flawed democracies.”

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Persons: Narendra Modi, ’, Bill Gates, Gina Raimondo, I’m, Modi, India’s Organizations: Modi —, Economist Intelligence Locations: India, United States, China, Modi’s India, Russia