The persistence of democracy in India to me is a marvel, and a puzzle. It was the first major nation to begin with Universal Adult Franchise. The poor and those in rural areas strongly assert their right to vote — even if they may not protest as strongly when they’re denied other rights.
It’s honestly kinda bizarre compatively. Wonder how much is plain good luck (the Nehru-Gandhi family not ending things, and Indira getting assassinated — and maybe even Rajiv’s assassination was good luck!)
Actually, Nehru was a very strong supporter of democracy. He did weaken constitutional constraints and held the mistaken belief that you could have democracy and central planning, but he was unwilling to give up on democracy. Indira Gandhi was authoritarian, but at the end of the 1975 emergency, when she lost elections, she peacefully transferred power to the next Prime Minister. Rajiv Gandhi was relatively good for the country. Politically he did not do any damage, but paved the way towards economic freedom in India.
The persistence of democracy in India to me is a marvel, and a puzzle. It was the first major nation to begin with Universal Adult Franchise. The poor and those in rural areas strongly assert their right to vote — even if they may not protest as strongly when they’re denied other rights.
It’s honestly kinda bizarre compatively. Wonder how much is plain good luck (the Nehru-Gandhi family not ending things, and Indira getting assassinated — and maybe even Rajiv’s assassination was good luck!)
Actually, Nehru was a very strong supporter of democracy. He did weaken constitutional constraints and held the mistaken belief that you could have democracy and central planning, but he was unwilling to give up on democracy. Indira Gandhi was authoritarian, but at the end of the 1975 emergency, when she lost elections, she peacefully transferred power to the next Prime Minister. Rajiv Gandhi was relatively good for the country. Politically he did not do any damage, but paved the way towards economic freedom in India.
Yeah, that’s what I meant by good luck — if Nehru was not committed to democracy, things would have been much worse.
Rajiv was harmless and I apologize to his spirit