India Slips Into Severely Restricted Academic Freedom List

Current Status

India is now ranked under the severely restricted category for academic freedom in the year 2026. This finding comes from a recent report published by Scholars at Risk. The country shares this low ranking with places like Ukraine, Pakistan, and the West Bank.

Main Reasons

Several key factors caused this drop in ranking. High government influence over universities played a major part. The report also highlights the firing of faculty members and strict crackdowns on student protests as main drivers behind the decline.