GOI's handling of relocation during the lockdowns was a negative indicator in the same way famines are indicators (https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/arts/does-

GOI's handling of relocation during the lockdowns was a negative indicator in the same way famines are indicators (https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/arts/does-democracy-avert-famine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/arts/does-democracy-avert...). It was directed top-down, imposed unreasonable and dangerous burdens on people with no recourse for restitution, and overall just betrayed a total callousness and lack of concern for the difficulties faced by migrant or itinerant laborers. It's not the ONLY cause of down-ranking India, but it is definitely another piece of evidence on the pile in addition to adoption of fairly authoritarian tactics for suppressing dissent. The corruption and patronage, sending out party goons to rough up detractors, and the corrupt and unprofessional standards in policing have always been black marks on Indian democracy. But once it expands to cutting off communication to regions, laws that are clearly intended to target religious minorities, applying those same goon-squad pressure tactics towards journalists and academics, etc. it all indicates a society that is at risk of crossing a threshold that will be difficult to come back from.