> The official praised India as a true democracy with a vibrant civil society, a free press, and an independent judiciary, stressing the importance of supportin

> The official praised India as a true democracy with a vibrant civil society, a free press, and an independent judiciary, stressing the importance of supporting these pillars of Indian democracy as a partner. A "free" press which is not really all that free according to the World Press Index (rank 161) [1]. Do note that Indian officials and the judiciary members do not consider this ranking to be legitimate [2]. [1] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-slips-in-world-press-freedom-index-ranks-161-out-of-180-countries/article66806608.ece https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-slips-in-world-... [2] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-says-india-is-ranked-161-in-press-freedom-govt-says-it-depends-on-who-does-the-ranking/article66830965.ece https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-says-india-is-rank...