Divya Delhi: Why do international assessments suddenly claim India's democracy is declining? Is it a coincidence that this voice has gotten louder as the civilization-nation develops in world stature and strives to implement challenging but independent military and external affairs policies? Under the numerical charts and rankings on freedom and progress, a pattern echoes 19th-century colonial playbook. Global indices may be weaponizing "orientalism" now. Edward Said canonized the term in postcolonial studies, which continues to inspire intellectuals. Historical analysis shows colonial powers attacked and told stories. The 1798 French military mission to Egypt had knowledge producers, according to Said. Artists and intellectuals created the vast, decades-long Description de l'Égypte, which could be widely shared. It depicted Egypt and the East as anarchic and backward, needing education.