Government not being friendly is one of the reason but there are other countries which are more hard on cryptos still their local community is keep on rising.
Lack of merit circulation is primary reason in my opinion for loss of interest from members. And it's official that HH made it clear that he is no longer a merit source.
I do not think merit is the problem here as there was a time when merits were distributed generously, sill activities were an issue. I remember you posting a few topics of your own and others on a merit thread run by hugeblack and he distributed a few merits. As per my understanding, we can easily get merits from the global source by either contacting them or by using their merit threads. The whole issue is the negative policy of the government that has stopped newbies from enrolling in the forum and another thing is that not everyone is aware of the forum's existence and that there is an Indian local board.