The world is talking about India. And this time it’s not cricket, Pakistan, Bollywood or snake charmers garnering all the attention. Instead, it is India’s just completed general election for its lower house (Lok Sabha)– the largest democratic exercise in the world.
The numbers are staggering: 714 million eligible voters and 828,804 polling stations (including one poll for a single voter in a remote lion sanctuary) to elect around 5,000 candidates in 543 constituencies. The election used 1.36 million electronic voting machines in a controlled four-week process involving five phases divided according to the geographical and the security situations in each area. The whole thing was managed by the Election Commission of India, which employed over six million election and security officers.
India is home to over a dozen religions, 100 languages, thousands of ethnic groups and more than one billion people — some of the poorest and the wealthiest in the world living right next to each other. Westerners have always been amazed not just at the success of India’s democratic system, but at India’s very existence as a country that is constantly balancing the principles of democracy with an immensely diverse, and sometimes unwieldy, population.
It is the success of this balancing act that has made India an emerging global power. Its vibrant democratic system is what unites the pluralistic society. And India has shown the world that democracy and development can go hand in hand, something many of her neighbours are struggling with. Today, India inspires with the fourth largest economy in terms of GDP by purchasing power parity.
India has been a democracy since gaining its independence from the British in 1947. India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, believed that the power of the nation should lie in the responsible hands of its citizens. Each of the 14 subsequent Indian elections have lived up to this principle.
India has fought three wars with Pakistan and one with China, dealt with insurgency and separatist movements in some provinces, endured the growing menace of Maoist rebels in the central east and seen riots against minority Sikhs and Muslims. These trials have only strengthened the democratic process and increased turnout at the polls despite calls from armed rebels to boycott the vote.
India has been governed by coalition governments since 1994 through partnership between national and regional parties. The most recent election results are considered historic in many ways: Over 62% of eligible voters cast a ballot and, with a high percentage of young voters coming out for the first time, Indians overwhelmingly endorsed the Congress Party in order to maintain economic stability and national security.
Voters rejected the Hindu nationalist BJP party, left-wing parties who were opposed to the Indo-U. S. nuclear deal, pro LTTE parties in the southern province of Tamil Nadu, separatists in the north and east and caste-based regional parties with national aspirations. The results also have an underlying message for Canadian politicians: Pandering to extremists in ethnic communities is a formula for short-term gain and long-term disaster.
In spite of shared Commonwealth roots, Canada has done little to substantively engage India on the democratic, economic and political fronts. It’s true that India’s bureaucracy and stringent labour laws are frustrating at times, but in the long run, India’s social and democratic values will make engagement worthwhile.
Canada needs to step up its efforts in this regard. One way to do so would be for Canada to partner with India to create a joint centre for democratic excellence in India and Canada. The centre would focus on promoting democracy in Asia and Africa, where both countries have strong relationships and are well-respected. This would include work in Afghanistan, where both countries have a moral commitment in developing a stable democratic system. India is the single largest non-military donor to the mission in Afghanistan and has the largest diplomatic presence in the region. The centre would promote exchange programs for students and scholars between our countries to learn, share and strengthen the democratic process.
In the midst of the global economic recession, Canada has asserted itself as a dynamic steward of its economy. Like India, Canada has much to teach the world. It is time for the two countries to work together to help other nations achieve similar successes.
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