New Delhi: A special exhibition highlighting India’s democratic traditions will greet the heads of state and other invitees who will be in attendance for the G20 summit to be held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on September 9-10.The ‘Mother of Democracy’ exhibition aims to present to the world that democracy has been rooted in Indian culture from ancient times. The phrase is borrowed from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier speeches made at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 and at the global Summit for Democracy held in March this year.While the Modi government wants to go to the town highlighting India’s democratic traditions, the reality, however, has been India’s consistently poor showing on global indices measuring democracy. In March this year, Sweden-based V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute described India as “one of the worst autocratisers in the last 10 years“, ranking it at the 97th place on the Liberal Democracy Index among the bottom 40-50% of countries. Even the Economist Intelligence Unit and the US think tank Freedom House have rated India poorly on democracy. All of them have pointed to the curtailment of rights and freedom of speech in the last nine years of the Modi government.In stark contrast to the existing reality on the ground, the ‘Mother of Democracy’ exhibition will project India as a shining example of liberal democracy. It will capture the journey of Indian democratic traditions from the Vedic times, and the references made in the Vedas to political power being exercised by broad-based consultative bodies. The exhibition also aims to touch upon several historical references to republic states in ancient India, where the rulers were not hereditary. Besides these, the exhibition will also showcase present-day India’s governance tools, which are said to be democratising service delivery, The Tribune reported.Meanwhile, the principal secretary to the prime minister, P.K. Mishra, held the ninth review meeting of the G20 Coordination Committee on Wednesday, August 30. He took stock of arrangements for the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Summit, including logistical, protocol, security, and media-related arrangements. The meeting was attended by senior officers from the G20 secretariat and ministries of external affairs, home, culture, information and broadcasting, and telecom, according to a release from Press Information Bureau.Items from installations to give a facelift to Delhi ahead of summit stolen The administration’s attempts to give a facelift to the national capital ahead of the summit are running into trouble with many items used in various installations in and around the city being stolen. High-end lights, copper wires, and even cheap minor fittings like nozzles have been stolen from these installations, Hindustan Times quoted officials from the public works department as saying.They said so far 50 complaints have been filed with the police, but to no avail, as fresh incidents of thefts are being reported.In the last five months, the administration has put up 30 fountains in various parts of the Capital, including at Delhi Gate, around India Gate, near Rajghat as well as on the Dhaula Kuan stretch. An expensive sensor unit for a fountain installed near Pragati Maidan, costing Rs 2.5 lakh, has gone missing, officials said, adding that thieves have even not spared minor fittings and nozzles which cost less than Rs 500.“Such incidents are not ending. In some cases, multiple thefts have occurred at the same site,” the newspaper quoted a PWD official as saying.In addition to their usual duties, PWD field workers and police personnel have now been instructed to keep a close tab on new installations over the next 10 days.