**What Democracy? **
Democracy in India is dependent upon religious antagonism. A small segment of the Indian society is using language of warfare and combativeness. They are fighting back or fighting against the enemies of what is right and true; they are fighting under a sacred mandate, fighting for the implementation of righteous beliefs and actions and fighting with instruments and weapons they consider appropriate to the task. One weapon is western style democracy.
From the beginning of the 19th century, nationalism in India has fed upon religious identifications. This is true not only for the two most important religious communities in India - Hindus and Muslims - but also for the groups like the Sikhs, and in Sri Lanka, the Buddhists. In all these cases nation building is directly dependent on religious antagonism between Hindus and Muslims, between Sikhs and Hindus, and in Sri Lanka between Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus.
**The destruction of Babri Masjid by a Hindu mob in Indian town of Ayodhya in 1992 marked a radical rejection of the secular tradition that has been based on a commitment to religious impartialty. The new Hindu militants think that one religion - Hinduism - is better than the others and should therefore be dominant in the public. BJP has come to power based on this principal. **
In the developed countries considerable amount of money is spend in elections.The bulk of money come from the corporations and institutions. It comes with a price tag attached that has to be paid when a successful candidate enter the office. Many other people who could stand in the elections and who might well can be much better cannot do so for the lack of huge kitty. **Here democracy is not about choosing the best man for the job but best rich man for the job. **
India has witnessed a four decade of one family rule - Democractic dictatorship. In the mid 1980s the BJP and the other regional political parties emerged thus turning India into a chaotic diemocracy.
Hindu extremists parties the** VHP, Shiv Sena and the RSS,** along with others launched attacks on christians and churches in which nuns were raped, churches were demolished and bibles were burnt. Among Hindu extremists supported by the BJP and the state governments there is a believe that forced conversion of Hindus living in the tribal areas have been taking place at the hands of christian missionaries.
Presently in India there is a compulsion for the rise of Hindu extremism. A commitment within an organized political section to Hinduised Indian nationalism born after the creation of Pakistan and of the Indian political battling have created a road map to Hinduised Indsian state. Sang a Parivar parties from the margins have moved to the center stage. There are parties that have found support across India and have the mandate to reassert the Hindu identity of India, thus an end to Indian secularism.
To further, Middle Eastern countries do not practice democracy. Why this does not cause comments???
Will democracy survive in the 21st century? Name has nothing to do with it.