International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development

This research analyzes the issues associated with massive digitalization in the last two decades in India, which is one of the largest democracies in the entire world. This case study of India shows how a boon in the form of digitalization, when not regulated properly, can turn into digital authoritarianism. Certain leverages or political influences can lead to the transformation of the digital welfare system into a surveillance model, defying the norms of a democratic regime and drifting apart from its original motive of inclusion to exclusion and overreach, leading to democratic backsliding. This harms the state-citizen relationship as it hinders their privacy without their consent, leading to a violation of fundamental rights and civil liberties. When the legal, political, and ethical framework is negatively manipulated by a digital governance model, it leads to a shift of the democratic regime to soft authoritarianism. It is very important to regulate the growing technology to ensure proper digital governance backed by strong data protection rights. This dissertation focuses on evaluating various policies taken out by the government, like the Aadhaar Act of 2016, data protection laws, etc., to examine Political narratives, the Intersection of state and technology, debunking the realities and actual motives and strategies to mitigate or counter them to prevent digital authoritarianism and democratic backsliding. An indepth case study of India is done by examining the data from primary and secondary sources, hinting towards the urgent need for a strong constitutional and legal framework with robust data protection to restrict authoritarian use of digital power and ensure transparency.

Kartikeya Srivastava,"Digital Authoritarianism and Democratic Backsliding in India" International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development, V9(3): Page(312-339) May-June 2026. ISSN: 2581-7175. www.ijsred.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.