Our bulk commentors are suddenly very silent. A common concensus will be reached and commenting will start shortly.

Simple, Just travel and look around India and just feel it. Dont ask people about their opinion on leaders and you will find your answers and the difference.

I cannot speak for the whole of India, but may be I can try to give answers to the best of my knowledge as a common Indian: 1. Why our leaders are corrupt and inept? A. I am a PhD student, and I often sit with my Professor on tea sessions where we talk about stuff other than Computer Science (my field). One day, he made a statement that impacted me deeply. He said, "Democracy doesn't scale to a billion people". Even though democracy is "relatively better" than any other form of governance, it is still not a perfect system. People blame our leaders and bureaucrats for somethings they are not themselves immune to. A "common man" who doesn't like a Government Hospital or a Government School, is still mad about Government Job. It is simple, we envy those people because we are not them. Our leaders are bad because we ourselves are bad. It has nothing to do with Military or Civilian Governance. As a society the "eastern world" is still collectively "backward".

RSS is never running a terror program against another country or community. It is just trying to unify Hindus and Indians based on the shared values. Indian army never took the power in its hand, and is always at the receiving end by the Babus. The voter can easily change the government each time . Right now the quality of voter decides the government. As country progresses and more middle class emerges this will improve. these are short quick answers that comes to mind for your questions.

Dear Tahir ji ! Material is same in both the people but labels are different! Thanks for logical questioning,(It is arare comodity)!

Beautifully conveyed expression of an inquisitive mind, Tahir Mehdi.

Let us give credit to India and the way it is ticking along nicely despite a population of 1.2 billion plus. It is just amazing. I have lived and worked there for two years and found it interesting and the same questions arose in my mind too.

And finally and without a doubt, the minority (if you call them so) in India, live a more peaceful existence.

Great Article. A government that boasts itself to be a secular democracy while tandemly incapacitating people based on caste and creed should be held to account.

speechless!

an amazing article.like to see the replies coming from india

All human systems of Governance are just experiments, work in progress. As we move through history, we will progress and regress. Who defines common good? The politicians,the military and the police tend to attract power and mirrors our human condition and predisposition to accumulate power. Experiments goes on ! Public service, to me is loosing oneself and giving powers to others. One day, I hope we will be on our way to create a new paradigm of governance.

Two separate quotes by Churchil gives a good insight

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter”

“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

My Dear Brother ,

Understand the problems , You Know Indian democracy also in learning stage , after 70 years process of learning is going on . Problems of democracy is that peoples want misused rights given by democracy , corruption & hard liner are the product of misused of democracy . You r right , Indians not know Martel law but we learn from emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi . Peoples of India have a courage to punish such mentality through election systems. Regarding Indian Arm forces - every Indians proud for them , Army are working within limit and their space .

The article could easily have the name India replaced by any other country in this world and still be valid. Name one country where 100% people love their politicians, or are 100% religiously tolerant and yes no one likes police!

Dear Sir,

Thanks for bringing out this thought provoking article about India and Pakistan, the similarities as well as the dissimilarities between the two countries. Let me attempt to give brief point by point reply to each of your questions. 1) There isn't much wrong with Indian Democracy. True - There have been cases of corruption, of greed, of lust, of sheer abuse of powers but power of people has always trumped them all. System has won, eventually. Even one of the biggest names of Indian Political History -Mrs Indira Gandhi had to bite the dust in 1977. People defeated her and people elevated her again when they saw fit. The power of democracy is that People choose - sometimes they choose good and sometimes they just err.

Here are the answers -

a. Any democracy, including Indian, will have its share of flaws. Politicians in any country are far from role models. US elections proves that. However, it is also consistently proven that living in a democracy is a infinitely better choice than not. It is the power of democracy that leaders such as Modi can emerge, a phenomenon not possible in military ruled or military influenced Pakistan

b. Anyone who thinks that religious freedom in India and Pakistan are comparable, frankly needs some tender love and care with a huge dose of reality. India is traditionally home of all religions. Just because some idiots in India comment on some filmmakers - that does not make her a intolerant nation overnight.

c. In India, Army is loved. In Pakistan, it is feared. There is a world of difference in the two sentiments.

I am not suggesting that India is a perfect nation. Far from it. However, Pakistan is better off introspecting, rather than comparing and contrasting.

Oh, what bold and truthful self-analysis !

@Shakeel Ahmed Gud shakeel appreciate yorr views and agree with you, but we do not have minority or majority. Hindu or Muslim. we all are Indian

In democratic system everybody has the right to express thoughts and do the things . but in a non-democratic system only high profile peoples have got these rights. Yes, in a democratic system , sometimes peoples go beyond that "Lakshman Rekha" and use their freedom of rights in a wrong way and that should be checked. Even though I am a proud Indian because I am living in a democratic country which believes in democracy.

@Saurabh Srivastava very well said

@Saurabh Srivastava - My friend and a common man from India, what an answer I must say !!! :). In the last sentence you just nailed it all.

Regards, Another common man from Pakistan.

Well, Sir, Indian democracy is alive and kicking. The religious diversity notwithstanding, India remains the most peaceful country to live in, and this will surely be ratified by my Muslim friends also. Where else in the world can you imagine so many diverse religions, languages and cultures co existing in complete harmony. Kudos to our great country.

Its an organization committed to the service of the nation. It has been involved in activities like flood relief,land reforms, training for Dalits so on and so forth. It even has a muslim outfit named Muslim Rashtriya Manch. Please check the link for further details http://www.muslimrashtriyamanch.org/

@Saurabh Srivastava .very true.

No ones perfect! All I understand is 2 nations born 24 hours apart, today have almost nothing in common including economy, space programs, medical science and so on. The only common factors are probably poverty and corruption, that too the scales are tipping rapidly in India's favor. Since 1947, maybe one of us did something right or the other did something tragically wrong.

Indian. I'm not here to insult or something like that. I know there are problems with system on both sides of border and they need to be addressed. I do agree recent times have not been a smooth in terms of religious tolerance and we seriously need to reconsider the state policy on the matters of religious tolerance and equity for all religions on the basis of secular constitution. I do agree some politicians are corrupt and they have ruined our country. In military institutions we have some kind of corruption although that is not portrayed in the electronic media. We need to address that too. In short we are just like any other society that is developing slowly. And we will surely overcome our shortcomings.

Ans. 1 Repeated iterations of electoral process does not guarantee 100% corrupt free governance . It only reduces bit by bit . But accountability increases with more transparency Ans 2 There is no religious extremism as thought . Infact modernity is increasing and people are forgetting religious and cultural practises that are good. But in low literacy areas local goons do create problems. It is not an organized education for religious war . Ans 3 Military and army is also under scrutiny .

1. High illiteracy and Caste-based politics gave birth to a lot of corrupt politicians in India. But that's the story that is changing continuously towards good. As more and more people become educated, this will be eradicated. People will elect their leaders solely on developmental agendas, not caste-based politics. You have painted only one side of the story and to correct that I must say, we have very honest, smart and intelligent politicians as well who are doing amazing work.

2 These perceptions are being created by Indian media houses and opposition parties have benefitted by highlighting incidents of such nature, which portrays that Indians are becoming less tolerant. Indians are very tolerant by large and few incidents and some riots have happened in recent past, which I think, have happened on and off throughout Independent India's history, only difference is that it's being highlighted and debated much more vigorously these days.

Ans of Q1 : 1. There are corrupt politicians in all the countries of the world. India is also not an exception. Politicians are not running the country, they are elected to make policies and to take decisions which are accepted by all the members of Parliament and Assembly. The Bureaucrats and Administrative people are running the country and unlike Pakistan, the military is not controlling them. Politicians are not the only pillar of our democracy. There are several other pillars because of which India is a democratic country. Pakistan can never understand this because Pakistan Govt is the puppet of its military. Also you cannot understand this just by visiting the country for few days and asking people on the streets.

I am agreed with all the three points mentioned above.

Nothing Went Wrong with INDIA.Every nation take some time to develop itself,Nothing is perfect but society should be OPEN to accept challenges to improve itself.Authors has mentioned strong Institutions in India like Election commission,Judiciary and various panels that reflects that India as a nation is Improving day by day and that is important.The Matter of corruption and police gundaraj ,citizen rites are important topics and we are working on it gradually .Introduction of technology in daily working is substantial improvement .For Example at Micro level any citizen can Post the Snap of bad "Road" to prime minister mobile aap and immediate action is taken.At Macro level like Coal Auction/Spectrum Auction everything is done online without any manual interference.These techniques are saving billions from corruption.Recently we are debating on Equal rites for man and women.abolition of triple tallaq and many more topics.

Leadership difference, Modi or any other Indian leaders or public servant have no properties or businesses outside India made through corruption,

Let me try if I can answer for your: 1. Democracy is NO Gods's gift and it will be fruitful only when all parties work in sync. Politicians do fail and then its responsibility of the people to teach them a lesson. Hence you see regime changes that come with almost no bloodshed

1. RSS is neither a communal not political force. It has support of main stream people and FYI, RSS has Muslims Sakhas. Please Google and find out more.

2. Nobody cares what Bollywood teaches or portrays. Its just an entertainment Industry and a decent 50% of Indian population especially South Indians never care about Bollywood. As far as Army is concerned, they have a vital role of protecting the borders and their role ends there. If they want to participate in Democracy, then they have to come out of Army and contest in public Elections.

i think rss has a very important role in uniting india...india has a very complex demography..each one clashes with one another without thinking of the broader picture...but yes rss should not tread the road of violence.

Ans(1) Democracy though with its own flaws is crucial for country to not let power always with same set of people like in pak. Transition of power to different people with different ideology,mindset is much smoother in democracy without violence. india can never had been united with such differences among people had it been not democracy (not for long atleast). Strong party who was ruling for 70 years was almost diminshed and overwhelmingly been overtaken by another party without any violence or protests. A son of chaiwala can become PM of India that is the power of Indian democracy.

A beautifully crafted piece Mr. Mehdi, I don't think that anyone in both sides have ever considered these questions. However, like it or not we are a people cut from the same cloth with overlapping culture and even DNA and this situation had to happen no matter what type of governance is put in place. It's not about democracy or dictatorships but the 'ruler and the ruled mindset' that has been ingrained in our system for thousands of years and it would continue.

India is a diverse country.We have so many religions,sects,languages,geography etc etc. We do live in peace and are happy about the way we have shaped up as a country. Opinions on either side are totally based on ignorance of each other.I have many Pakistani friends and I employ many in my organisation .At no time have I felt that we are different,unless we have a cricket match and even that thrill has diminished. :)There are in India a few groups like the Bajrang Dal or VHP which are confined to the North .I find them more reactive and short on intellect.The majority of the Hindus align with the mainstream political parties or the regional ones. They are a mild community and have no history of any major violence .

It is merely a means to an end. The beauty of this particular methodology is that when implemented correctly it is self-correcting. No other form of government (dictatorship, theocracy or monarchy) currently provides this mechanism.

Well the answers are quite complex and simple at the same time. One, how does India have the similar kind of politicians as Pakistan ? Because till 1947, they were on the same side. But you got to acknowledge that despite its problems of corruption, India is now the 7th largest economy in the world and destined to become third biggest in the next 10 years. India has pulled more people out of poverty then any other country in the world, except China. Second, when did India move away from its core ideology - secularism. Well, it never did. If you compare the ratio of minorities as compared to Hindus over the decades in India and compare it with Pakistan, you will know the this argument by the author is totally flawed. India now has the second largest population of Muslims in the world. Surely they can't be living here and prospering if they were being persecuted ? Secondly, you just need to walk any street in India to see how many places of worship you come across, other than temples.

Third and probably most important in current context, about the praise of the armed forces. Due to them not mixing with the civilians on daily basis, due to their clean record for never trying to grab power, due to their willingness to lay down life for the motherland, it is natural that they command a respect superior to others. But trust me, this is pure respect, not fear, as I often see on the other side.

Answer is if you consider & highlight all ills of Indian society they may match the common ills of Pakistani society particularly of her ruling class . But if you consider the virtues of the vast majority of Indians then Pakistan is left far behind although conditions were different in the two countries which may have contributed to that end .

Result Describes your Actions... Compare The result..where India is and what is the position of pakistan in the world...What happened inside doesn't matter.

@Saurabh Srivastava, "A "common man" who doesn't like a Government Hospital or a Government School, is still mad about Government Job."

There are good reasons for this. In India, only 10% of jobs are in formal sector. Out of this 10%, 6% are in government. So, 2/3rds of what we call 'salaried jobs' are in the public sector. People are mad about government jobs, because they see them as the sole route to salaried, permanent employment. Not to mention, the actual wage differences. Clerks and drivers in government service in India make much more than their private counterparts. Consider this, "According to the study [from IIM] the total emoluments of a General Helper, who is the lowest ranked employee in the government is Rs 22,579, more than two times the emoluments of a General Helper in the private sector organizations surveyed at Rs 8,000-9,500."

Desperation for govt. jobs by the masses is matched by desperation for IT/MBA jobs by the urban elite. Two sides of the same coin really.

No society is perfect! All the three faults pointed out exist in all the nations, the degree varies. Indians try to grow where they are lacking,

The writer made valid observations, however I believe the difference lies in the degree to which all these problems prevail in India and Pakistan.

India has been able to successfully implement land and economic reforms. Until 1980s, the economic indicators of both countries were almost similar, however since the economic liberalization since 1991, India has been growing at a rapid pace which has moved a large population from lower income to middle income.

The main reason for most of the problems mentioned in the article are because we are still unable to implement electoral and judicial reforms. As a result of that, lot of criminals and corrupt people get elected in parliament and state assemblies. Justice delivery is too slow and unaffordable for the common man.

Shivsena, RSS and Indian Mujahideen don't make up India. Rest assured. We still act civilizedly when we meet a rare Pakistani. As regards corruption, remember we both come from the same stock. We aren't all that different. As regards democracy, we still have a government which is accountable to courts, CAG, opposition parties, and once in five years, to the public.

I don't see a major difference between Pakistan and India. Here is why.

Both are poor 3rd world countries. Both have corrupt politicians. Both score low on human development index. Both score low on hunger index. Both have very emotional people ... more so in India than Pakistan. Yes India has smooth transition of power in democratic process but how is it having a positive affect on common poor person in India that it does not in Pakistan?

Both countries have top 25-30% people who pretty much own all the wealth in the country and make all the decisions. They are the one's who can buy all the latest devices and phones and cars and can travel abroad. In India this adds up to whopping 300-325 million people. In Pakistan it's 30-40 million. Small potatoes compared to India. This is what the Western countries see. A huge market in India the size of EU. They don't care about the bottom 800-900 people. They don't need to.

RSS is an organization committed to the service of the nation. It has been involved in activities like flood relief,land reforms, training for Dalits so on and so forth. It even has a muslim outfit named Muslim Rashtriya Manch. Please check the link for further details http://www.muslimrashtriyamanch.org/

No form of Government can be 100% successful. Democracy is choosing the best out of the worst. However, this best can give you peaceful personal life with full freedom if you know your boundaries well. The worst part of this best is corruption and it is going to get eliminated with 100% literacy, social awareness and responsibility. This is being worked upon at least in Modi's regime. Bollywood has got nothing to do with daily routine and it is all media hype that is sheer nonsense. I have some friends in RSS and they just talk about service and helping others. They are in nationalist mode and just help others! Again, it is media which creates all negative energy and nonsense. You can ignore it. In India, we respect and trust Armed Forces without any fear. Of course, there are lots of changes brought in Police department as well (most of the things are online-reduces corruption) and you need not fear as long as you are good.

Pertinent points made by the author. 1. Do Indian's consider all their leaders corrupt - Not after Modi. He will neither tolerate corruption nor allow it to prosper. India has a self correcting mechanism in form of Democracy and Judiciary. AAP is another manifestation of the self correcting mechanism. 2.Comparing Jamaat with RSS is a long shot. RSS represents India's Right. In any society there will always be Left and Right. RSS neither breaks the law nor brandishes weapons openly, nor instigates communal hatred. Loose cannons have very low credibility. 3.The overall narrative in India is about the economy. Young people meet and discuss job opportunities , new technology, blogs etc.

Answer 3: There are multiple reasons for this observation. People get to interact with police more often due to its larger presence within the country and come to know about the flaws associated with humans, for example greed. Army on the other hand is mostly deployed at borders or in AFSPA areas. People get to know about their valour in warding off enemies mostly through everyday news which present a rosy picture. That's the reason Army is disliked mostly in AFSPA areas like J&K and the North-East. It is still appreciated that Indian Army doesn't poke its nose in internal affairs of the country unlike its counterpart in the western neighbour. If you ate today thank a farmer, but if you ate in peace thank the soldiers seems to be the mantra.

@Manu ... perfect answers, no need to explain a little bit more

@Abdul Awaal what do you mean sir? Can you elaborate?

In my opinion, Democracy is not suitable for the countries where 50% or more of population elects leaders on basis of their ethnicity, religion,caste etc.

Democracy is perfect for educated world who actually understand and differentiate among right and wrong.

Although India is a democratic country, but in state elections most of voting happens on cast/religion basis, hence the votes of rational voters are wasted.

@Ali .Also refer Mr.Shakeel Ahmed's comment (just before your's)

I agree with Manu. I have been to a few western countries and based on my one year stay in India I can state with confidence that even for Muslims this is the best country to live in. I still do not get the idea what was the need to create Pakistan. Indians talk of Pakistan negatively only when our patronised non state actors foment trouble. I do believe our government should spend more money on upliftment of education standards than on arms. It is a narrative of vested interests to make us believe that India is out there to destroy Pakistan. I see a larger conspiracy by China to keep India engaged through our country. After hering in our senate that China will be like East India Company my fears have risen manifold.

Interesting article but your research and content is more from media information then realistic ground reality , 1. Politician : We are the largest democracy in world and 70% people vote and most of them are young or first time voters, Reason are simple . we trust our democracy , Politician and system . They are numerous amazing politician and undoubtedly doing great job but media don't have any interest . we have given chance to AAP which are formed from group oc common people . i wont deny that corruption and other unavoidable factor are still exist but we are improving and at much faster then you can imagine . Now election run only with issue of development and positive change , we don't just feel pride but also lucky with country where every individual is important . Just a small suggestion to all , Please dont fight and waste our energy . Stand united against education , poorty , corruption and make this world better place

a good article

Democracy is no magic bullet. It by itself does not make the society progress. But what it does do is to allow the people to have a legitimate and effective outlet to vent their frustrations without taking the course of violence. Democracy ensures that people get the government they deserve. The dislike exhibited by the people towards their ruling class reflects more of the character and attitude of the common people themselves, rather than the politicians. 60 years of spoon feeding by Nehruvian socialist politics has created a generation who expect to be spoon fed. The people have come to believe that their responsibility ends with voting their representatives, after which these representatives are expected to serve the people 'selflessly'. It does not take rocket science to figure out that this idea is about as practical as the ideology of socialsm is.

Also unlike India, in every general election Pakistanis never elected any party based on religious or cast system.

As an indian , i would like to say the following

1) you have given few examples of corrupt state govts of india , no doubt they were there but on the other hand ex CM of haryana , ex CM of jharkhand and CM of tamilnadu , they were all in jail on conviction , haryana CM is still in jail

I agree most of politicians are corrupt but if anybody wants to fill his pocket , he has to perform to fulfill peoples demands only then he can fill his pocket , but now the level of govts performance has increased considerably , politicians have no other option but to perform

to be contd

@Vikram Actually that is just one aspect of the issue. There are "well paying" jobs in the Private Sector as well. People prefer Government Jobs more because of two reasons - 1. A Government Job opens up opportunities for "upar ki kamai" (bribes). While salary is fixed, there is no real limit on bribes. In fact, sometimes people leave their jobs as engineers in IT Companies, to become Class 2 or 3 employees in Government Offices for the same reason. I've worked as a Scientist in ISRO for two years. Every time someone realised I am a Class 1 Central Govt employee, they asked me - either directly or in disguise, about how much I earned "other than salary". Sadly for them, I said "nothing". 2. The other reason is "job security". Most of us want Government Jobs because you are not fired even if you are highly inept in your job. When I left my job at ISRO for pursuing an M.Tech at IIT Kanpur, my family was stuffed with advices saying "paagal hai kya ladka? Sarkaari naukari chhod di"? :P

The questions are apt and thought provoking. There is a statement in ethics "Freedom is not a means to achieve something, it itself is the end". Similarly, I would like to compare democracy, avg voter across both the countries are the same. When a voter in Pakistan gets annoyed he gets a military rule. When the same voter in India loses faith in the present day Govt. he chooses another. While the first didn't have a choice. The second had a choice and chose one. Though his choice was a erroneous one, he had the freedom to choose. He made his day.

When a child tries to walk, he falls a lot of times and gets hurt. All parents know about it too. If the same parent thinks the other way, the child will never be able to walk. Democracy is not a sudden change to produce results, 70 years since independence is hardly 2-3 generations old. But, the current generation is more vocal (the reason why I am commenting), there'll definitely be a change.

Tahir it is very simple. Democracy with all its ills is still the best form of government considering that the only alternative to it is dictatorship.

Thanks Tahirji . I appreciate you bringing up this questions. Frankly speaking I don't have an answer but you really made me think .

If given the choice between Pakistan and India ,i would choose Inida,atleast things are moving forwards thou slowly but getting there

I do agree on few points. 1- Yes indians might have same politicians as pakisanis have, democracy is supreme, u cannot change issue like corruption by removing a politicians with a military ruler, none is free from corruption, we pay money to avoid challans, pay money to get passports or license fast etc..democracy is only option to remove these evils as these evils are being what we got from past kings, rulers, as slaves for ages, our huge population, poverty and mindset that revolves around us only (which cannot change today) is the reason why west is so better than south asia. Democracy is only option which can ractify these evils + problem is we have 1 single law but law has 2 faces 1 for rich other for poor. poor are those who vote most but they are most foolish who cannot bring best candidates. democracy gives power to people, depends on people now, how to use that power

@sanjiv Spot on.

@Ali Perception my dear man:) I would love to sponsor you on a trip to India and see for yourself . The people are exactly the same as in your country,they are great hosts like you and we have Pakistani heroes too:) Religious intolerance as the media makes it out to be isnt what the reality is. You need to visit us :)

very pertinent questions and route cause of all these inmy opinion are lack of discipline & trust and also feudal mentality which prevents the attitude of asking questions. all these traits are existing in the nature of people in both countries as we are nearly from same stock.

Ans 1] Politicians are corrupt everywhere and democracy has nothing to do with it. As long as we can catch the corrupt and prosecute them, should be deterrence. Democracy merely gives a voter the choice to keep shuffling his cards, till he comes up with some good ones.

Ans 2] You cannot confuse cultural organizations with non state actors trained in weaponry by different arms of the state. RSS and any other organization of its ilk can try and shape public opinion through an agenda but they cannot threaten, coerce or cause violence. There is no question of such organizations providing any kind of military training to anybody for any reason whatsoever.

Ans 3] There is no militarism visible in India, the only guns any civilian has seen carried is by Police or Military. Not even 0.01% of the Indian population has guns or license for it. Respect for Military exists because they are professionals doing a job they are paid to do, not run business or advise us on how to run the country.

It was an interesting article. The author has raised some very valid questions. But as an Indian I feel it is more reactionary in India. Though we have a secular outlook but at times secular out look does take a beating more as a reaction to happenings, which are silly and outright medieval . In India, though we have had more than our share of communal riots , but, we still treat all religions with equal respect.

Ans 1: Spiderman Movie: With power comes responsibility. The power has made the politicians responsible enough to plunder whatever they can in their term. Even if they are voted out, they have the power to come back.

Ans2: Let us make it very clear that RSS is not a communal organization. The intolerance brigade is due to the vote bank politics minority appeasement or the pseudo secularism the so call intellects play. Comeon yaar, how many times the elder bro can forgive and forget ??

Ans3: Selection to INA is always based on merit. So we value our soldiers. Infact if we can get a term or two of military rule, we can pull our country to its progressive path quickly.

Because, Indians and Pakistanis are ethnically identical.

Tahir 3 simple answers to your questions :

90% and 10%. In India 90% follow democratic principle , secular principles and civilian control over military. In fact in the last case it might be 0.001%.

Tahir I like the way you have written the article with all your sincerity. But I would like to say that all of your questions are absolutely wrong. I am a Pakistani and here are my brief answers to your questions. I am writing it in two comments as dawn has placed a limit of characters in the comments. First Part 1) There is nothing wrong with indian democracy at all. This is how the democracy works everywhere in the world. 2) A minority of religious extremest is everywhere in the world. It is there in India too but it does not affect the way their Government works.

every one who are commenting or comparing minorities and right wing extremism in both countries. I request them check the growth in both population and percentages respectively in both countries since independence...

Answers to the questions as follows in the same order:- 1. Dynasty politics in India, in more simpler words 'The Congress Party of India' 2. BJP and Modi 3. Nothing to do with India or Pakistan context,. Strong Military and respect to these guardians have been the same throughout the History - England, France.

2 - True, religion extremism is something which we both nations face..sorry to add this but pakistan has it much deeper in society than in india. This religion extremism has given benefit to few parties in past but now u cannot fight and expect to win election only on that view or using that tool.. why do u think BJP is silent on Ram mandir now? People in india are getting better, please leave aside people who express themself a lot, they are very few and as now people r getting more concerned on other things in india. they r feared, not much as they were in 90's and now a lot many or majority in india consider them nothing.

@Manu I think you said it. Unfortunately, a nation of 1.2 billion can't be compared with a nation one sixth in size. Dynamics are different. Both India and Pakistan can be best served by not comparing themselves with each other

Just check the prosperity of citizens, goodwill of citizens abroad and growth, health, education.. All answer will be replied.. We started on same day.. India is leading far ahead in every forum of development, technology, health, social welfare.

Yes corruption is there in both nations.. but In India this corruption did'nt became a major problem when this comes.. We have corruption in Railways.. Still we are way ahead from Pak, we have corruption in Education-still India is far ahead.. Name any field.. You have the answer..

1. indians respect indian polity. there is corruption but the level is different in different states. india would prefer a corrupt democracy than an military rule. thats because after centuries of colonial oppression, ordinary indians would like to have power in their hands. even an ordinary indian can win a municipal elections and wield power. power is never concentrated among few people in india, it is wielded by a wide cross section of the society.2. if religious zealots had taken over the country india would have been a hindu republic, but it is still a secular republic.3. if militarism had taken over the country there would have been widespread law and order problems in india. but reality is vast majority of india is peaceful. only very few areas are restive. but indians has only become overly patriotic. thats because indians now sense a glorious future is coming up for them.

@Manu Not going to go into long doscussions but your comment of us being afraid of our own army has nothing to do with reality as we see and feel it. I do not where you got this from.

We love our armed forces, we respect our armed forces and having our sons and daughters serving in the armed forces is a great honor.

i will give credit to Nehru , Gandhi for their vision. Nehru and Gandhi had the vision to include everyone. AS a Indian Muslim I am thankful to them for giving me opportunity to live and thrive in india. study work and than Travel around the world.My family comes from small village in India.

@Manu - Excellent answer...

The author should have brought out another two observations. The economic powerhouse that India has become despite all the ugly similarities. And the fact that when it comes to education there is no compromising with religion. The two are kept apart. Yes there is tremendous mistrust in India among the growing middle class between Hindus and Muslims but the author must not forget that that does not translate into open discrimination in the work place or in educational institutions. It is unfortunate that the triple talaq issue has become so political when practically the entire middle east has decided to scrap this archaic law. But in India educated Muslims believe that this is a Muslim identity that Hindus are trying to deny them. After reading the article it felt like the author was only trying to prove that Indians are not superior in any way. I fully agree. Hope that satisfies him.

Poor participatory form of Politics, Religious extremism or Militarism. Apparent failure of the Left to put India into the development map gave winds to the right-wing. Arvind Kejriwal & team contributing heavily to remove the 1st. With Love, from India.

nice sir....with all the flaws youve portrayed, we are still moving ahead....period

Democracy is not the panacea for good governance. But it gives it's citizens a lot of freedom of expression which ranges from open criticism of a govt to a debate on governance itself.

Success of a democracy depends ultimately on the attitude of voters themselves. They nedd to exhibit the guts to 'make' their representatives to do what was promised. Democracy does not work until the voters internalize that it is a government voted in by them, and if it hadn't worked to their expectations, they themselves are to blame.

All Good questions and very well thought off, my only answer to all 3 would be, india being democratic hence its mostly transparent, everyone can see and talk about our weakness but majority of Indians live with a positivity as they know collective efforts are being continuously made for a better future, that's why india has overtaken many developed economies in a short time,also managing so many cultures and religions is a major challenge which only India faces in such a huge scale, the downside to it is corruption but we all know it and though slowly but are involved in removing it, we Indians look at a bigger picture and constantly imagine india 10-20 years in future, if sane Pakistanis can look at India as a case Study and not as an enemy state they will see how it has and continuous to give toward human evolution.

@Manu Lovely response.

I just love all the people of Pakistan. I just want them to prosper, lead a happy life.

Many in India do not think people of Pakistan is our enemy. On contrast, there is no difference between us and we are the same sons of soil 60+ years ago.

Today's attack in Quetta by Terrorists is very very sad. The people lost life also sons, fathers main bread winners of some families.

It is time we focus on development, happiness rather than holding on to hard core beliefs which is only causing misery, pain, death and destruction.

If you ask Americans or watch American movies, you will realize it is the same with them as well. It's human nature.

simple 1) who said democracy and corruption are mutually exclusive? 2) people did like BJP not for its Hindu credentials but due to the rampant corruption by secular parties like congress (for all his flaws Modi hasnt personally made a penny in his life); answer to question 2 is first question. Seculars have done such a bad job that I would argue that political power of minority politicians and parties has also been increasing (take the case of MIM) 3)Military is enjoying a very very temporary fervor in India no need to analyze it much it will be gone by the time

@Manu Bravo! very well said.

Great questions by the writer. I would also like to add one, how do Indians believe banning Pakistani cricketers and movie artists helps their political cause? To me, it makes no difference whatsoever such bans do not achieve any end.

@SALAH : You have spoken the truth brother.

Here's a simple answer: if a mature 250 year old democratic system such as the U.S. can throw up a person like Donald Trump, India cannot be too embarrassed about electing Modi.

Answer 1 : It is true that many a politician in India are corrupt, but not all are corrupt, there are ones which are absolutely non corrupt for e.g. the leaders of Indian left parties, even our current PM Mr. Modi is not corrupt. One major difference which between our countries which I would like to mention here is, we have a law called 'Right to information' (RTI), which allows every ordinary Indian to seek answers from the government or government departments about their spending in 28 days. The RTI has helped to put many corrupt politicians behind bar and bring transparency to the system.

Very good questions.

Democracy is just a set of agreements on how to politely, civilly, peacefully disagree.

@Saurabh Srivastava Well said my friend. I am proud on our democracy; although it is not perfect. We will make it better day by day.

@R Khan Salute from my heart!!, Man you nailed it

@Sameer Khalid it is just a question of national sentiments

First, there is no perfect thing in the world. Democratic system of governance is no exception but that does not mean Military dictatorship or one party system is the answer. Because these system leads to feudalism due to lack of checks and balances. History does give you lot of examples of great kings & how they govern but one bad character and the whole things crashes. Democracy is only sustainable. Hence we say that democracy may not be good but it is the only form of government available to us. We hit out at govt, abuse them,throw shoes at them but at the end of the day, we know it is us who voted them to power and it is only us who can take them down. Democracy cannot be attained in overnight. It takes to time to mature. e.g, Indian Democracy is young, American is leading to mature state & Swedish democracy has reached maturity. Maturity is when the people in power are empathetic about the people they govern & act selflessly. decide degree of maturity for Pakistani democracy.

The political system in a country is the reflection of us. We divide within ourselves and then expect them to be different. The whole India acknowledges, there is more to the beef scenario and the facts are some where/what totally different. However the populist found a way to play stories that got them mileage. Do not be fooled by a few, please. Mate military, of any country consists of men and women who fight a national cause without questioning, however different their own views are. The best chosen from among us, putting their intellect to rest and rising to see a state, and its future, putting all of their preferences up, comes, not easy. Can we question that? We celebrate, yes we do, because they are the best as a society we can offer. And they fight our cause. As Indians we are not perfect. But there are a few parts to us that actually work. This news paper is followed on both sides of the border, with a sense of gain. Please keep it this way.

@Saurabh Srivastava Saurabh I couldn't agree more, you nail it down 100%. The real problem of our country is neither democracy nor any lack of system, instead the real problem is the people itself. Hope Tahir Mehdi already knows it, and judging our intelligence:-)

Question 1 is solid, based on analysis and very important for Indians for introspection.

Excellent. This is how mature nations should debate. I am sure Dawn will also come up with 3 questions from India. By the way, RSS/BJP/PM has been seriously wrongly represented in Pakistan probably by previous goverments. The real problem I see is the divide the divide and rule stategies of politicians. And RSS actually talks about treating all equally.

Valid questions but comments are generalisations.
1. Democracy: The choice of a legislator may be democratic in India but his grip on power is autocratic to the core. Family dynasties in politics are common reflecting an imperfect democracy. The Right to Information Act was pathbreaking and will serve to break hegemonies that beset government. 2. Religion: The current narrative is a reflection of a populous nationalistic government which is in contrast from the previous one. The previous government was viewed as dynastic, neptotistic, weak, corrupt and ineffective. Secularism in India is firm irrespective of a few incidents (continued vigilance by the media secures it!)
3. The military is firmly under the civilian government's control. Period

Thank you

1. This is not related to democracy, which is related to people(human), you can't expect everyone as good, that’s not possible in this earth, we can't stop theft until thieves realised to change. we can see some of democratic countries don’t have much corruption example Finland. So this is not related to Democratic, this is related to human
2. Since people affected by point 1(corruption) and so much tolerance of attacks like Mumbai attack(you may knew who was behind this), people of India decided to give the country to Modi. Everyone knew RSS is behind modi, but Modi also can’t say i will follow as per RSS words, he knows it won’t work, people believe Modi, but people are not fool, we keep understand whats happening in new government, if anything wrong people will give another result.

Although, Sir, you've tried to touch on many aspects here on both India and Pakistan, I can only talk about India and that too from my own understanding. I believe that the complexities in the Indian case are too many and can't be just understood in a simple explanation. Questions posed by you while being inquisitive are good but also at the same time carry nuances that are way too detailed and specific that they can't be understood any other way but empirically. Before you understand anything else, please try and understand the Indian Psyche first, which is deeply influenced by what I'd call a collective Cultural Heritage, you might also know it as what we now call it as Hinduism (Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism).

Dear Tahir ji, let me try to ans your excellent qns. 1: The problem with india is that the majority of stakeholders in our democratic system (votors) are illiterate or pseudo literate (who don't apply the logic). So the concept of democracy has no problem at all. Literacy’d cure this issue. 2: You’re absolutely correct. How a secular India arrived in this extremist stage, I'd say that it wasn’t religion, rather it was blind religion (religion mixed with blind belief, illiteracy & indolence which resulted into extremism)

Democracy, however noisy and painful it may be, ensures smooth transition of power to what people want. There are no rights or wrongs in this world but all of Pakistan has to study literature on democracy and relate with their experiences. In a non democratic setup, one leader can take the country to heights but once he gets replaced, you never know what will you get. Poor, illiterate Indian populations may not have bright explanation to this but having faith in law, in constitution, in judiciary, in the national security is the basic tenet of life here. These define a country and the very fabric which you, a well educated researcher is trying to question. First question itself shows your doubts on basics. What can you expect from illiterate people. The rest of the two questions have answers in this. Good luck.

Thank you very much, my best wishes to the Author! I would say only one sentence to all this problematic: democratic system does not presents an all cureing medicine, but at the same time it is the only way which, if adopted, promises long term healing effect for our society. On the otherhand, democracy should never loose its main objective: welfare and development of its citizens!!!

@Manu - “In India, Army is loved. In Pakistan, it is feared."

“feared”!!! Without doubt the biggest misconception I ever heard. Just goes to show how misguided you really are!

India is the Largest democracy in world.Due to shear size of Indian Population tehere exist many loopholes but Indians have found solutions.For example by using AADHAR link,leakages to subsidy ins completely eliminated.We have a constitution whcich all resort tin case of any dispute

Answer to question (1) if not for democracy then what else is governable system ?

1) In India while we complain against our governments we will never support military rule. We are not perfect but we will never conclude democracy is bad. We are still evolving. Thanks to our democracy we have Dalits as CMs, Women as CMs, Minorities as CMs etc. 2) Every country has rightwing and leftwing politics. Independent of which way you lean the Constitution in India, guarantees equal opportunity and freedom. 3) Every nation is proud of their military we are no different.

@Saurabh Srivastava very well articulated

1 Democracy by itself doesn't guarantee perfect governance - People forget that Hitler was democratically elected. Also the famous quote comes to mind - paraphrasing a bit - "Democracy is a terrible form of government, unless you consider the alternatives". In a supply-constrained environment, there will always be a market of inefficiencies and for corrupt efficiencies as a shortcut around them. As you well know, we on sub-continent have a unique talent in this regard. But I expect that the buffers and feedback mechanisms of democracy will do their job albeit slowly and over time. I will give you the example of India's "RTI" act - look into how effective it has been in addressing corruption since it was passed.

Truly thought provoking. Brilliant piece, Mr. Mehdi.

@Manu ....and just to add, what is happening in IH Kashmir must be haunting you!

@R Khan PERFECT VIEW..........................

I agree with @SAURABH SRIVASTAVA that if voters are corrupt one cannot expect from leaders to be honest. Secondly democracy currently in India and Pakistan is suffering from inherent flaws for example in Pakistan current ruling party got only 19% of the registered votes whereas in India BJP got only 39% of total registered votes.

So you are not able to manage pakistan and you want to question others. Thats a nice strategy.

@R Khan "I can state with confidence that even for Muslims this is the best country to live in"

Maybe you should ask the Muslims of IOK or those lynched for eating beef. On surface everything looks great. Dig a little deeper and you see the real picture.

Tahir Ji good observations , I have some thing more to share go to a mature country like USA and ask public opinion there also people find politicians are corrupt and thieves , Men in uniform are respected etc. Think about it leadership of any country is reflection of general pool of people. When we have semi-educated , poor , prone to corruption general population the leadership which will emerge will carry worst of these traits. In a military dictatorship there are chances that you can get a benevolent progressive dictator such as Park Chung Hee of South Korea who can pull nation from underdeveloped to developed . However there are also chances that you may get a Kim IL Sung of North Korea .

There have been only a minuscule number of benevolent dictators such as Kamal Ataturk or Park Chung Hee. Democracy is a painfully slow trans-formative process which changes society with lesser risks but it brings positive changes for sure.

All I can say is that India still has a lot of problems that need addressing. But there is a silver lining and our economy is robust. Everything else will be washed away when the nation develops further. The youth are highly educated and poverty is slowly but surely being addressed. It takes time and we are in no hurry.

Excellent questions. I don't know if these trends are unique to India, though. Democracy seems to be under everywhere. You see greater polarization, rise of nationalism, religious extremism in so many places and they play off each other. The rise of 24 hr news cycle and social media magnifies the effect, although in some cases they work in favor of democracy also.

There isn't a honest politician anywhere in the world. India has a lot of corruption, but despite this, the country has made great strides. Indians are quick to call out corrupt politicians and that is happening more and more. The multi-party system in India also works and as we have seen political parties have been voted out of office. All in all, it is much better than military rule. Modi is perhaps India's least corrupt leader (as well as Manmohan Singh), and he has put India first on his agenda.

1- politicians are inherently corrupt, nothing to do with india 2-most of the hindus don't approve RSS ideology, also RSS is aggressively maligned by pseudo secular parties like congress 3-it's everyday fact that people face when they meet police who r corrupt, while army sacrifices it's life, hence the glorification

Its actually a reflection of every right thinking Indian. But the answer for your questions is ; our system is far more transparent and questionable than the military rule. In spite of all its flaws and limitations it has shown magnificent achievement in science , technology and health and GDP.

Very pertinent questions Mr. Mehdi. There is no much difference in all aspects of Life between India and Pakistan. The middle class as a Society is yearning for a better life.

The politicians here and there - not much difference. Corruption, Feudal mindset, dynasties - its all same.

Fanatics here in India are now the rulers who are guided by RSS, Bajrang Dal and various other Sena's. In Pakistan rulers create Fanatics like JuD & LeT. So, no difference - you have LeT & JuD we have RSS.

Indian society and mindset are regretfully unknown to you! It has a strong vibrant democracy with failures, a strong secular base, a open media and civilian structure

Even people in US crib about their politicians and police-to some extend and are proud of army.Corruption is a problem not specific in one country and it's global problem.You can't use it to compare two countries.

Sir, I will give you the answer India is a secular democratic this is true but our democracy has not matured yet but enriching every day on the matter of military worshipping reason is deep rooted patriotism and respect to army's capability. If both countries will stop fighting each other they will be free from military worship and will also develop

For India, democracy is its core strength with people knowing the power of vote and also using it every time. Though, corruption still exists but the development & growth has helped combat & reduce it. Religious and cultural tensions do exists in bits and pieces as it is a 1.2Bn+ nation. However, the young generation of India is looking and working positively to fight these and other issues. We plan to do it by focusing on learning, advancement in science, technology, human rights etc.

I absolutely love this article in which user has asked the questions so brilliantly and has tried not to hurt the sentimental values of the people of India. India has progressed because of the unity of the people of India. Government have changed hands some times multiple times in few years but no one has ever questioned the authority. Corruption is deeply in the system and people either have found a way around it or just accepted it as way of life. With so many religions and so many languages people have found a common ground humanity. We do not blame our internal issues on other governments and cry foul instead of taking care of our own house first.

@hari I do not agree that RSS doesn't run a terror program. Ask a Gujarati muslim or the Christians from Orissa and you will know what exactly RSS is into. When thousands of people are butchered just because they do not form the part of your faith and still you call them cultural organisation. Ask muslims from UP and how they are hounded day in & day out. Ask people about how Graham Staines & his innocent children were burnt alive. Ask Akhlaks family and they will tell how what lynching means.

There is absolutely no difference between RSS & LeT/JuD. They are cousins, mirror images -

Sir in the very last elections that you saw may 2014 India voted in large numbers 70 percent was the turnout somewhere 500 million plus voters voted now democracy has its own flaws and so is our system but the fact of the matter is that now we are holding our politicians accountable the politicians are no different that a common man they come out of the same population they are not Gods.so i dont expect system to be perfect but i guess whatever little strides that we have made in the world its because of the same politicians . there is slight cultural difference in the way people in your and our country see our government we celebrate democracy with its flaws with an objective of accountability and sustained development

A real writer writes what is deep in people's mind but they never say it, but instantly agree when they read it. That is what Mr. Tahir Mehdi has done. e wrote a great article with greater questions. Thank you, Tahir.

Seriously - One of best article I have read in a while.

As far as army role is concerned yes there have been cases against them of corruption and of abuses of power but its the very same army which punishes them with utmost strictness but certainly no amount money or fame can ever replace the fact that soldiers in yours and ours will die because of people like you and me, today you and i survive and respond to each other because our soldiers are putting their lives on fire and no amount money or fame can buy that ,

Answer to question 1: Look at the Aadhar Program

Answer to question 2: Study what happened to Indira Gandhi when she imposed Emergency. In India, you can take things only that far, and not beyond.

@Basit Ali U r r8

@Mandar The only difference I find is India can still think of a better future to position itself as a Nation to be respected all over the globe. There are quite a few Indians at higher levels in US & other countries. The middle class is moving upwards.

Dear Taher, Let me try and answer. No being an apologist of where India is in its evolution. Ans1 - Democracy is not a perfect form of government. But there is no other form of government better than Democarcy. Progress here on governance is work in action. It is getting ( Governance) better and will get better day by day. We will see more accountable governments and governance in the times to come. to be continued...

cannot agree with all points raised by the author

Dear Tahirji, We both ( INdia and Pakistan ) are twin brothers ( got freedom the same time from British Raj ),share the same cultural heritage, have almost the same resources ,speak the same languages,enjoy the prosperity and living side by side. The democracy in India has withstood so many ups and downs in the history ( Indira Gandhi,s time 1975-1977, Emergency ),but still alive, this is our strenth . In India when a Sikh Prime Minister takes oath under a Muslim President, we feel proud of being Indian or a christian Defence Minister takes oath under Sikh President, these examples are possible only in Indian Democracy. During celebration of RAM LILA ( Playing the life of God RAMA before DUSHERA FESTIVAL ),in UP states, when a Muslim brother play the role of RAMA, we are very proud of being an Indian......these are our traditions, this is our culture, here all religions are living and respecting others, no need of Military dictatorship.......

@Sahil_Hind I believe participation of muslims in RSS is similar to African Americans in Trump rallies

This is NOT a true picture !

I have lived half my life in India and other half in US. I have lived shortly in Switzerland, Sweden and traveled to several parts of the world and have some simple observations. Do not want to oversimplify as the questions you ask are complex issues. The root cause of issues are common within India, Pakistan: 1) Finiancial and Corruption related crimes go unpunished and on the contrary create a brand name 2) Accepetance or tollerance for crime and usually goes unpunished, not taking responsibility as citizens to - reporting crimes, Bribe etc. 3) There is no respect for free speach and most have no sense of humor and cannot take critism. 4) Both religion and culture elements of shame, makes it worse. 5) Both countries appear in the list of worst/most dangerous countries for women to live. If we cannot make our countries safe for almost 50% of our population, what responsibility or respect do we have for our issues with society 6) Unequal society where people are treated like slaves.

His article is very interesting & appealing too.

(2/3) 2.Politicians/Governance- Have been historically corrupt and dynastic-a consequence of power being transferred to a largely feudal society at independence. But the times are changing, Modi is not from a dynasty , Corruption is now a major poll Plank (AAP) and there are significant measures taken by Modi Govt. to curb corruption (like Subsidy payment through Direct Benefit transfers). Accountability is being enhanced through E-governance and the Right to Information (RTI)act. Success is still a long way to go but we are moving in the right direction.

3.Media/Films - Business is the keyword. Channels want to boost their TRP/revenue. Film maker Kjo doesn't want to loose money. They use nationalistic sentiment as means to their end. Thackrey et. al.

My answer to q1) The average voter complaining votes on the lines of cast, creed, colour and religion. Our democracy only reflect the filth in our society. But it is robust, and will not accept bullying as Indira Gandhi found out in 1976. As we get better, the politicians get better.

q2) RSS is not violent organization. It has a right wing ideology, it aims to achieve its objectives through social activism WITHIN India. I am not saying there are no loonies, but RSS is not one of them.

q3) We love the Army, because it is not beyond criticism.

@Chetan: You mean "educated" like USA, where someone like Trump is still polling 45% in opinion polls, based on a message of hate and misogyny? Democracy is about about two things: justice (rule of law) and people's participation in choosing there leaders and governance. "Education" has very little role in becoming "democratic". You have a highly educated, but very undemocratic China, besides us. In past we had one of the most educated countries, Germany, turn into Nazi dictatorship within a decade.

@Manu WELL SAID SIR.

One person was killed in North India for having beef. Does it label entire Indians (1.25 Bn) radicals ? If you ask American about their Democracy, What do you think they will answer ?

Well Democracy is not perfect but we need it in culturally diverse South-Asia.

India is very complex and interesting place ,

1.All those corruption stories came to light because of the strength of democracy . So rather than weakness it should be viewed otherwise.Also 70 years is not very old for a country. In the world’s oldest democracy, women got voting rights in 1920 only!That’s a century or so after they became independent! Also have to say that many of us are still in the King-Subject system hangover So you will find the dynasties calling shots in Indian politics. These are being questioned more regularly these days and hence should hope that it will be eradicated one day.2.The current feeling of secularism under attack is because of the pseudo secular vote bank politics followed since independence. With right education reaching the masses, religion will take a back seat and it will be a purely personal affair. So secularism will flourish better

Q3. While Pakistan has to deal only with India, India has to deal with both Pakistan and China. Had wars with both the countries in its 70 years of existence. So its natural to expect that without our military keeping a strict vigil of the borders there is a potent threat to the country’s integrity. So it’s the respect Indian military earned.

(3/3) 4.Minority/Dalits - At the time of independence they were miles behind the rest. However, reservations have benefited the dalits and definitely empowered them. With time hopefully we can implement a more progressive reservation system which would include all disadvantaged groups including minorities. Social clashes happen - but that's part of the transition (weak vs. strong) which would lead to a robust and egalitarian society. Again a work in progress.

5.Secularism- is the life and breath of Indian society at large. No RSS backed party coming to power changes that. In fact, RSS themselves have had to modify their agenda (Ram mandir took a back seat for development). There will be political polarization and some unfortunate and condemnable incidents (Lynching for beef eating) - but it won't change societal values. Me and my Muslim neighbors would be much honored to have you over for dinner - in case you are still not convinced.

@Saurabh Srivastava You seem too proud about yourself by showing of your mini biodata of PhD, ISRO scientist, Class 1 Officer and what not. Despite your impressive qualifications, your view is too myopic, regressive and far from truth

India is way better than any DEVELOPING NATIONS!!!! Indian politics is evolving as it grows - In a big country Implementation is not easy!

@Mouli Agree,

Here's my take on three questions: 1) Yes, there are many transitions but the leaders comes from the masses. Leaders won't change, unless people starts making better voting decisions. People in the U.S., which is the oldest democracy, cringe about their leaders too. Democracy is better but is not prefect. People of India can change government in 5 years whereas the same cannot be said about Pakistan. 2) RSS may be trying to create a situation but India has superior judiciary, and going back to first question, a superior election system which creates a balancing act. Govt. still need to work within constitution and cannot pass/enforce laws that are anti-minorities or against one religion. 3)civilian government controls the final say in making policy decisions in India.

Answers from an Indian: Part 1 Ans 1. Democracy is only as successful as the people participating. Brief emergency in India during the 70's, is the only time when things worked as things should work, government offices were super efficient, buses and trains ran on time, government machinery functioned. Giving power to people without empowering them to handle their own lives is a disastrous model. In short a strong scientific and a very liberally and inclusively educated people is a must for a functioning democracy.

@Manu Excellent analysis Manu

The DNA is same.Perhaps historically, we are more tolerant and peace loving.

Good article. No governing system is perfect.But democracy is the best form of government.The biggest plus point of India is unity in cultural and religion diversity.

@Manu Your response is perfect. Couldn't have said it better myself. What is also important that the basic fabric of Indian society is democratic, which makes all the difference despite the aberrations.

Good questions sir. I will an 1 .. Corruption started in Indian politicsduring 70s and Modi is trying to change that.Hope he set very high standards others .

good questions.

and I will endeavour to answer them.

1. Many of our politicians are corrupt. And we gripe about them all the time. Because we have the freedom and the right to say anything. Corruption is rampant in many democracies. But however, every study in the world shows that it is far higher in autocratic and military ruled states. The only difference - in those countries, people are scared to talk about them.

2. The recent spate of violence against beef eaters and similar incidents have shamed every Indian. However, we realise this and are constantly raising our voice against this. People who do these things will not go unpunished for long.

3. The Cops are the bad guys in our movies. Also in movies made in Hollywood, UK, Russia... it makes great plots. Not to say that our police system is great. However, it is getting better.

Very relevant questions. I feel we need to accept that democracy was never meant for societies of the Third World where the nation comprises a coalition of social groups rather than a nation comprising individuals. Indian democracy has resulted in widespread debasement of the society as politicians compete with each other to give in to patently populist and utterly unjustified demands.

@Harmony-1© " “feared”!!! Without doubt the biggest misconception I ever heard. Just goes to show how misguided you really are!"

Truth hurts. It was a perfect comment

The institutions inherited from the British rule were the same in both the countries. Civil services, modern educational infrastructure, land management practices and patterns of human settlements had many factors in common. Pakistan lost its track by switching to civil - military nexus, where soon the military out-foxed the civilian partners. And the loss of East Pakistan was not just a loss of a province or fellow peoples - it was a loss of a great balancing factor in the genesis of this country.

@Manu well said Manu. Great response.

@Saurabh Srivastava What an observation? My friend you nailed it

Yet in our country a humble, hard working chai wala became the PM, I reckon this is not possible in Pakistan

@TahirMehdiZ I give you answer with my point of view its not behalf of all indians . question no.1 answer is politicians is corrupt but not all only few .many leader is good otherwise never open any scam yes hare is not strong law against corrupt politicians and people of india also change own view and choose other party in next election so its prove people still in power Q.2 answer india is very strong in religious view hare 98% people live with harmony 2% in news always so people predict anyways everyone know all religion live in india and its true they respect each other otherwise its not possible they live in same place few incident is politicize Q.3 its is good army in government because govt. elected by people

nice article.

I have my own way to live the life and RSS has no role in it. RSS has not copy right above Hindutatev .

Dear Tahirji Salaam,You r right in many ways .

secularism has done wonders in this land of 1.25 bullion. It makes difference though problems remain

Q1 A bitter tree only produces a bitter fruits. Corrupt populace does not bring forth honest politician. The people of India / Pak (south asia, China, Italy, etc - old culture, cooked people), they like to jump the queue, they like to bribe and get away. Since the people are like that; politicians are just one of those people so they are also corrupt. People don't have any standing to blame the politician. Mature democracies like US acknowledge greed of people of power, so to make things clear they legalize accepting donation, they legalize lobbying thus taking care of greed of politicians legally! Thus you can't see visible corruption [eg police accepting bribe for traffic violation].

“All politicians are corrupt. They are thieves and criminals.”

We tell this because we have right to criticise them in democracy.

@Vivek Your response is logical, liked it.

Democracy is not expected to be perfect but just better than other alternatives.

1. The perception that democracy is unfounded. No one in India questions the form of government. What we question is "Rule of Law". The constitution is our northern star whose vision we strive to achieve. We are yet to find the perfect road to our northern star. India have seen 122 amendments in the constitution which is way greater than even USAs. This amendments changes the system towards the right path but at a steady pace. Dont lose faith in the power of people (i.e. democracy). Have faith and it will bore fruit.

There is lot of differences in Terrorist organisations and RSS. RSS never killed innocent people. RSS people will reach any places where there are natural calamities and any other emergencies for voluntary help.

Yet another fantastic article by Dawn.

Good questions:

Mr.Tahir Mehdi,

I am an Indian and very happy to see very thoghtful article. Only intellectuals like you from both country can save our people from going in to dark. My salute to you Mr. Tahir

An excellent article.

@jaatboy A chaiwala does become a model in Pakistan. :)

@TBH - To be honest how can you claim to know our feelings - whether it 'love' or 'fear'? Are you making any sense?

Wow! I am becoming a fan of Dawn. You guys are much better than our TOI :). And to answer your questions, you could pose the same 3 questions to any democratic country in the world, including the USA.

1. Politicians are corrupt! We all love to say it. This is true in all large democracies across the world because the fruits of democracy take time to reach you. It is the least worst system. Democracy is designed to be a slow and laborious system. While they make the process slow, they also help to prevent the damage that any one person can do in 5 years.

2. The religious extremism is just being noticed more now. It is bad but was always there. With social media, we at least get to hear the views and the news correctly. And it is good that it is out in open so that some action can be taken.

3. Army is shown in positive light in all countries around the world. Look at hollywood. May be because they commit their lives to the cause. Would you have it any other way?

Democracy is team work. Dictatorship is one man show.

@Manu Salute to you, well phrased

Simply brilliant.

Good questions

Though I am no expert of the political science, I try to answer some of your questions to the best of my understandings. 1. Why we think our politicians are corrupt? Democracy is something that can never be perfect unless each and everyone becomes perfect in a society. But, in a society of "perfect men", no need of an institution called "Government" will be there..Basically, what I mean to say is though our political structure is far from being perfect, it is still better than other options (read Military Rule)..

Brilliant!!! It is obvious that India is lagging behind on all fronts. We should continue to follow what is best for Pak. No need to follow India.

The answer to your Q1 is simple: it is all RELATIVE. We Indians complain about our political system but that is because there is always room for improvement. Heck, even citizens from the most democratic of the countries like US and Switzerland routinely complain about democracy - that is the beauty of democracy - you are free to criticize. India enjoys a lot of freedom of speech and press. As for corruption, for every scandal, there are umpteen developments brought out by the govt. which is driven by elected politicians. Examples include India's education system, research labs, space programs, green revolution, etc. These programs would not have been possible without elected leaders/politicians. Just my 2 c.

@Harmony-1© what does military dictatorship means and how many times it has happened in Pakistan

@R Khan Thanks for your comments because of your staying in india and had personal experience how Hindu and Muslim living together.

Good Article Sir,

Sir,

Good questions, I admit !

But we are growing and getting our people out of poverty. We have brought millions into the middle class.

@R Khan - Yes sir, you have understood it very strongly. I agree with you and Manu. In USA, I have so many Pakistani friends and we go along so well that it sometimes gives me clueless that why then we separated as two different countries. However, now that it is already done without my wish (I was not born then), next question is why can't we go along well like two neighbors taking care of each other? No body answers this for me, except blood bath at the border. The future will decide how we have matured.

@TBH - The point was about 'love' or 'fear'; not dictatorship or democracy!!!

Indian democracy is not perfect by any means - neither is American democracy, for that reason. Democracy is only as perfect as the voters who support it. But having said that, people are empowered to correct their mistakes only under a democratic system. Indian military, just like the American military is completely under the direction and control of the civilian government, elected by the people. So indirectly the military is under the control of the people. I would suggest to the writer that if Pakistan has the same system as India, an average Pakistani will be a lot happier over a long period of time. What you don't know, you don't miss. If someone is blind by birth, the person does not know what they are missing, sight wise. By the same token, the writer needs to live in India to understand the important differences that people experience in both countries.

@Saurabh Srivastava You sound young, but I got to hand it to you, you are on the right track young man, our cultures are similar, we both tend to blame the others, all the while we are the ones who should hold ourselves responsible.

Excellent article, too good questions. As far as comparison between India and Pakistan is concerned. We both have same culture and traditions and circumstances, no doubt in it but difference is QUANTITATIVE.

Pretty ignorant to compare a Indian experience with democracy vs Pakistani experience. Democracy is inherently better than dictatorship. Yes we all hate politicians in all democracy because we can do it in a democracy only. You cannot even criticize a dictotor without threat of jail or life. There are bad politicians and there are some really really good politician that can inspire whole generations. Modi is seen by many as clean in terms of corruption. Here have been many clean politicians that play role in making democracy a success. Most importantly, people have their say in which direction they want the government go in terms of policy making. For example, economy and infrastructure were main issue that middle class looked into. It's only in democracy that you can uphold fundamental universal rights because politician fear if these rights are threatened in democracy because there are huge majority of people who would turn up against such government.

The author deserves accolades for his deep-seated thinking and reflection on the issues facing common men around the world.

In Soviet Russia a US visitor was asked what was so great about Democracy. He replied it allowed you to stand in Times Square and say "Kennedy is a crook.", and nobody will do anything to you." The Russian said,"What is so great about that? You can stand in the Red Square and say Kennedy is a crook, and no one will do anything to you here either." So either you understand, or you choose not to, that is up to you.

It is better to compare two countries to find out the differences. However, such comparison can be beneficial when it is done to identify the reasons for the differences. If you try to equate differences with biased mind then you cannot find answers to your questions. Let me try to correct few facts which are wrong and misrepresentated here. We do not think all politicians are corrupt. However, we do not close our eyes during the period of 5 years of governance. RSS is not an extremist organisation. It is a cultural organisation which has views on different issues but does not have extremist views on anything. In India nobody can win elections on the basis of extremist views. However, we have democracy and you did not have it for 40 years. You will learn that in democracy hard positions are allowed if they are presented in the democratical manner.

After partition: Pakistan joined military alliances, India built institutions of higher learning & heavy industry . Indian politicians learned fast that violence & murder in elections does't pay so why not tarnish the opponents in the next election after waiting for 4 years. The culture of religious tolerance among people was setting in after violent partition saga. Bhakta philosophy of Kabir, Rahim, Ravidass, Ramayan were part of primary to high school curriculum . So while we were busy in this new game, your leaders were positioning themselves to be leader of the entire muslim world( A tall order), still not achieved. Indian entrepreneurs & small mama papa businesses mushroomed & kept chasing their visions in spite of low dividends . Those small businesses are collaborating now with multinationals & are backbone of Indian economy. This is a gist of my perspective as I have lived through it.

Democracy is a government formed by the will of the people, India has a literacy rate of 74%, and these are people who can only read and write and only 4% of the population has a graduate degree or more. What do you expect from a democracy formed by this population. Education is the key to have a functional and vibrant democracy. Japan was destroyed to pieces after ww2, but it stood up again, just because its society had a culture of education, which we lack.

False equivalency. Yes there may be extremists in India. But comparing it with Pakistan is like comparing a mountain with a mound. But spot on with regards to democracy. Democracy is a cancer which encourages corruption and in efficiency. Its a moving target which cannot be shot or killed. Even the most hyped and hoped AAP party has succumbed to vote bank Politics and winning motives...

Answer 1. "People get what they deserve in democracy" - Churchill. Indian sub-continent is in general a corrupt culture where civic sense and duties take the last seat in people's minds. There is no doubt that politics all over the world is full of corruption either in democracy, autocracy or theocracy. Democracy is not the reason for corruption, lack of vision or planning - it in fact is a the only saving grace against incompetent leaders. As long as there is "functional" corruption, countries will develop under any leadership. Answer 2. Right wing sentiment India (and in the West today) and Islamic republic are two very different things. Secular laws keep unparalleled freedoms for minorities that people in religious republics can only dream of. So please don't event compare two countries on that. Answer 3 I don't even understand what you are trying to say here

@Shakeel Ahmed I totally agree to you..no one is considered as minority in my country. Come to India to see its beauty. Your media and govt potray us badly. No muslim hindu sikh christian parsi.........(maybe 100 more) feel insecure here.

Answer#1. Politicians are believed to be corrupt in almost every democracy, be it the biggest democracy in the world or oldest democracy (ask any US citizen how they feel about their next president!) Answer#2. I would reluctantly agree with the narrator on this one, things have started to go south lately when it comes to religious tolerance. Ban on beef is absurd but at the same time lot have people have voiced their opinion against it and I believe we are going thru a rough patch and thing will improve soon. Answer#3. Military does not play a strong role in Indian politics as compared to Pakistan so I don't see any comparison over there. Yes any army person, Indian or Pakistani makes a ultimate sacrifices for his country and deserves respect, and we Indian are very proud of our army personnel.

@Harmony-1© may be I got it wrong. I thought dictators are not loved

I beg to differ not only because I am from India but the mere facts. Pakistan shares the same culture as India as the country was created from India and the country has a Punjab, Sindh and Hyderabad : -). Saying that let us go to your questions : - 1. Why our leaders are corrupt and inept? I guess the answer applies to both the countries. It's simple because of the people and the awareness and transparency. The Brits when ruling were never accountable for their acts and hence all the bureaucrats they recruited. When the politicians took over from Brits nothing changed but the skin color of the people ruling us. Again how India is different because India is embracing changes and politicians are getting scared. As you rightly mentioned a lot of politicians now being sent to jail and that was not the case 30 years before. Modernization and awareness and this has been achieved via infrastructure development. It takes time, See US, All changed in last 35 years!

Sir, i will show you or help you find answers to all three of your questions if you are willing to visit and stay in this country for few days!. Just writing a cooked up story taking bits and pieces from a vast country like India is totally unjustified!. Punjab and Karnataka are just around 6-8 percent of India and girls being told to wear what and not is again a 0.001% phenomenon in entire India!!!. I can show you near naked girls walking the streets and still no one cares is what India is composed off!!!. Simply put, even though I am a Christian, I am living my life to the fullest the way I want and the stories you have written in the from of questions are the same I read in newspapers here!!!. Yet to experience the same in person!!!. We, including females walk the streets for few kilometers in deserted streets at mid night after our beef and pork dinner is testimony to our 'live and let live' attitude and also answer to your 3 questions!!!!

Answer for all the questions are very simple - Stop comparing, but just pick and adapt whatever is good and improve your country. You can extend your comparison to all the democracies in the world.

there is only one answer to all of your questions-India is more diverse than you can think.

For 2nd question.... In south india back in 2013 a minority MLA threatened whole India to smash in 20 minutes if police kept aside ... and he is still MLA and roaming freely . Imagine the same ting in Pakistan... a state governor was shot dead by guard for some comments on some law....

for all questions... its because of culture and nature of people. We enjoy high level of freedom in India... sometimes we feel that its way too much in some aspects....

You ask the questions but refuse to see the simple basic fact. Indians deep down truly believe in Democracy. Thanks to the legacy of Pandit Nehru and Mahtma Gandhi. All the frustrations and the anger the Indians heap on their corrupt politicians, and most of them are corrupt; they fully well realize that Democractic ways are the ONLY SOLUTION to get rid of these corrupt politicians. Indian Politicians are becoming less corrupt not because they have changed their spots but becuse in a functioning democracy these corrupt politicians are being exposed more and more. The media is NOT afraid and the Politicians are. India has a LONG WAY before it becomes a shining beacon to the world but it is improving day by day. The people are more interested in day to day lives and improving it rather than vitriolic ideologies. And, that's in where lies the stregth of India. That's the basic difference if you ask me.

Answer-1- r regarding corrupted politician... Yes most are corrupted. But we indians has faith in our system and values. We beleive in consistent improvement and change. Most corrupt politicians elected due to lack of awarness and illiteracy. So we hope as people more educated, the corruption decreases. Look... As people are became aware so they throw out congress and select BJP. At last Indians has faith in our system coz we are too tolerant and most tolerant in the world. Why, the real tolerance is found when a person tolerance even if he is bullied consistently.

Ans-2- Regarding RSS, you are absolutely wrong dear. You can never compare terrorist with RSS. Y yes RSS is very nationalist, yes they live Hinduism and proud of own religion, yes they don't like Pakistan too, Yes, someone they fight to defend own religion on defensive, but above all they are never against humanity. And this is the major difference between RSS and terrorists. RSS advocates humanity yes some times raise weapon for defence and terrorists against humanity. RSS is not against Muslims, if it was against Muslims then it's the past, they too changed with time. If they are against Muslims, then how "Muslim Rashtriya Manch" is gradually getting popularity. Its the same corrupt politicians presented RSS negatively to the world and the time has gone for the false propaganda.

@Shakeel Ahmed

Thanks.

@bathurst See mine.

if we want to understand the difference between two countries please find out percent of minorities in 1947 and in 2016 in both countries .this simple statistical data will answer all your questions.

Answers: 1. Indian politicians are just as or more corrupt than Pakistan's. BJP is less corrupt and so is in power. All parties do their best to please their constiuents, if not they will lose the elections. So people do benefit from these benovelent, albeit corrupt, politicians. 2. Indians are basically secular but there are some fringe elements. Minorities are thriving in India. The downtrodden castes are being lifted up. 3. Our military does not meddle in politics. There can be corruptions in some cases, but generally they are clean. We respect them. We also pity them because people can pelt stones at them, but they cannot retaliate.

Indians seldom live in fear except in rare occasions when there have been communal and cultural clashes.

You should begin by understanding the difference between religious fundamentalism, militarism, political cynicism prevalent in India and Pakistan, otherwise you will never find the answers to those questions. Begin by learning how often Supreme court and Constitution, legislators have dismantled age old Hindu practices and laws as against Muslims or other minority laws? Begin by learning how often politicians have to resort to populists measures like free food, free rations, Guaranteed Employment schemes job reservations, freebies like computers, cycles etc to get elected? Begin by learning how often Indians ask MIlitary to intervene and how weary Indian army is of intervening anywhere to maintain even law and order, much less ruling the country? Learn how often Indian Army brasses are humiliated, restrained and even fired by courts and politicians?

Sir, For any democracy to succeed it only needs 3 things. Stomach full population. Easy and adequate availabilityvof Medical treatment and basic education to population at large. These 3 basic requirements when fulfilled enables people to question their rulers and demand accountability which in turn ensures fair system. India too suffered from electorol malprectices but firm resolve of one man @ T.N.sheshan the then election commissioner to issue voter identity cards and thereafter firm resolve to use electronic voting mechines has ensured control over electorol malpractices . This sole factor has changed the course of polity and indeed the total governance system in india. India also has a robust judicial system which has given good decisions of far reaching effects which again gives us some reasons for sound sleep. Nevertheless, till there is poverty neither of us.i.e Kndia and Pakistan can expect any serious change in the thinking of people. Hoping for the best. Vivek.

Tahir Mehdi Saab,

Excellent article, but based on flawed principles.

I am not a writer like you, but still wish to explain with example.

Two persons, living side by side, one is a alcoholic, chain smoker , but still dies @ 80 the other one, very religions, family person, no drinks and no smoking, ultimately dies @ 76.

In this example, the first person asking question to second person, that why did the first person could live two more years.

I think I have said whatever I wished to convey.

PS : Keep writing, I liked your writing. Thanks to Dawn for publishing.

The simple answer to all 3 questions of the writer - we are not perfect and neither is any other democracy and we probably have a long way to cover ground..no doubt. But, the writer missed some key facts. consider this - we have 1.2 billion people, 2 nd largest muslim population in the world, largest Hindu population, has all religious followers from anywhere in the world, has highest poverty, has largest hunger index, has 20+ languages and 100+ dialects, has physical and cultural attributes of all peoples of the world. In other words, it is THE most diverse state and is more diverse than combined Europe and South America, yet is a democracy. I dont think I need to explain more to answer any of the 3 or other questions...Not only India but Asia and the world must feel proud of a state and nation experiment being so successful.

Democracy: Both indian and Pakistan has parlamentry form of governments to my observation it is the cause of problem. Nawaz Sharif or Modi maybe very honest or sincere but in this kind of democracy there is always give and take. To Indian viewers you may not know about Pakistani dictatorship periods Pakistan's economy grew faster pace then Indian economy (you may contest that but overall) the only reason was there was one man show. But when same dictators went back to elections to legitimize themselves problems started to rose again. To my observation I like the american kind of Presidential system where voters know who will rule them, they will scrutinize them from a to z like nowadays Trump and Hillary are being scrutinized by media and their voters.

Corruption: coalition governments tend to blackmail and had to close eyes on corrupt coalition partners when coalition partners do corruption then others follow.

The discourse in both nations ought to be poverty alleviation. If you want to see the plight of average citizen in our nations, just visit any major government hospital. Your soul will be shaken to the core.

A rickshaw puller who used to drive me to school in 1978 is still pulling a rickshaw in his 60s. Need I say more ?

Dear Tahir ji,

Apt narration of the situation. Somewhere, I feel that the Pakistan has been hijacked by couple of powerful and selfish people.

In India, the situation is not so bad. There are several police officers and Netas honest to their souls and hence the country is growing day by day.

I think there is some bond between people of India and Pakistan, that can't be broken by any government or jehadis.

This is first time I am commenting on a Pakistani newspaper. I am from India and here are my two cents on the questions.

1. We are not a perfect democracy yet but we are on the right path. More than 20% people being below poverty line, people divided by cast, religion etc. makes our democracy vulnerable to appeasement and exploitation. With RTI, stronger election commission and better transparency, better polity is in the offing. With bills like Jan lokpal and eAdhhar implementation corruption in bound to come down in coming years.
2. Our constitution is secular and so is our goverment's continuous effort to keep it like that. There are definitely some elements in society who tries to destroy the religious harmony but the number is small and insignificant. Strong judicial system also ensures such miscreants are given proper punishment.
3. I don't see anything wrong in taking pride in one's Army. Is this a question at all?

Here are the answers.

1. Democracy might falter, democracy might breed corruption but it is all evolving state. Democracy also gives freedom for openess and slowly as the democracy matures, it will weed out the shortcomings. It needs time to grow like a tree. Unlike dictatorship or military rule which always stiffles.

2. India is secular does not mean it is atheist. So there will be people following different religion, there will be different view points including rigid ones but the charm of democracy is to carry forward everyone and a matured society will sort things out.

3. Military is the pride of the nation. In democratic country, its the guardian of the border. What's wrong in citizen being proud of their military.

Impressive ! would love to know the answers, from a writer of same caliber, from Indian side.

To the first question, the answer is India does not have hundred percent literacy rate as in the west. Indian democracy will still take years to reach where the west is, but some day it will. Poverty among the masses also takes its toll s the poor is the least powerful to exercise his opinion.

The second answer is related to the first. as the voters mature in their judgement, the quality of politicians would also improve as the idiots will not get their votes.

India glorifies its military because it knows very well the military is under the civilian rule. India wants to show its pride along with its supremacy over the army as happens in many democratic countries. Even Mrs. Thatcher was no exception when it won the war against Argentina.

Democracy is not perfect, but better than many know system in the world. However , the quality of the leaders are largely based on the intellectual development of the concerned voter Slowly , but surely things would be better in India as the next generation are more questioning then the previous generation and as caste and religion takes a backseat.You can actually see this in action going the fact that the Congress who survived, merely in the Gandhi name, are now finding in difficult to survive even in their own constituencies as people are becoming more demanding and questioning and less inclined to blindly follow as their forefathers did.

Democracy can make a chaiwala the PM of a country. It is also democracy which can make Aam Admi party which is at loggerheads with the centre. Bad for BJP but good for democracy.

Basic tenets of democracy is based on citizen knowing his right and exercising these. India has RTI, we criticise government, we go for PILs, we tolerate so many view points and ....we have a leader like Modi. Are these not sign of matured democracy. Englishmen brought this concept of governed & governing class and it takes a while to change the psyche. Modi coining pradhan sevak for PM -there is a right turn.We have citizen portal for grievance redressal at national level & it works.

Our best President was a Muslim son of a fisherman -is this not the strength.

I am not saying that we are best but having worked/lived in China for 4 years, I know what democracy means. No doubt that some institutions are mired by the political interference but we shall sort that out over a period of time..

Democracy is messy. India is one lucky country. Its leaders (politicians) have delivered continuous progress (especially heavily subsidized quality education and healthcare) with peace and dignity to its citizens, with excellent image for its citizens around the world. Do not go by common comments. They are same everywhere-Just listen to trump!

@Saurabh Srivastava : Yet we find the same levels of corruption in Britain, USA, Canada,Aust. and NZ.The difference is that a it is more sophisticated and covered up. Notice theMP's padding accounts, and peddling influence, the CEO's being fired and corporations paying mind boggling fines. White collar and BIG money. Politicians lie and cops bungle. Asian corruption is peanuts and at street level and behind government desks and easily tracked. There's black money in both worlds.

All I can say ,the worst democracy is better than the best autocracy. Democracy is rule by the ordinary people not by the best( meritocracy) Democracy is still evolving in India and the younger leaders in all parties are better than the old ones. The future looks much better

@Sher Disagree. Modi is honest, but that cannot be said for others.

India is a democracy mainly because we hold elections every five years. We just have the shell of democracy nothing more. People are getting more intolerant, artistic freedom is being questioned and held ranson by goons. One of our greatest artists M.F.Hussian had to die in exile. No protection from the government. Emboldened Hindutva fanatics can murder and get away for killing beaf eaters! Unless patriotism must be worn on your sleeve. The liberal open society we were so proud of is giving way every day.

You ask tough questions :-)

You have really put Indian readers on defensive. Refusal to introspect is astonishing.

I will try to answer the questions without biases and rationally and neutrality Ans1 Leaders are corrupt because, brahmins have generally been selfish and self centred. Since brahmins are the leader of the pack, society tend to emalute them. But the new generation that is coming up, is less corrupt, because they have not seen the poverty around, that their parents have seen. Also Indians have always been compassionate, hence we can't be self centred always.
Ans 2 RSS existence is based on Muslim aggression. If Muslim aggression were to disappear tomorrow, RSS will disappear as well. Also Indians will never let RSS set the morality for society, there will be war on them by young Indians. Right is rising everywhere in the world, in West too. Muslims should introspect why it is happening. RSS is not anti chrisTian anti Buddhist, anti si kh. It is anti Muslims only.

Ans 3 it's got to do with economic prosperity,which made us more confident.

Answer 1. India has been learning from methods its been using so far in forming the govt. people used to Vote based upon personality Cult. this is basically due to ignorance and people being uneducated about their Choice and how to make right choice. People in India has largely finally moving away from dynasty politics. but remote areas where education and reading materials are just secondary to earning read and butter still have opinion based decision making.

Democracy ensures Shia Muslim sitting in the same cabinet as a sunni Muslim. It allows a Sikhs to be the PM and presidents, and many Muslims were ministers and chief justice, election commissioner and chief ministers.

Mr Tahir. Thanks for your article. it is good that you asked questions but then I can see that things are highly exaggerated. There are problems in India and no doubt in that. Infact problems will be there and it is everywhere but it depends how do you tackle it and how you respond to it. But to me it totally seems that you put your words for the heck of putting it, perhaps to get some kudos from your fellow countrymen.

I will not go in detail .. But then you said "Film-makers are made to eat their words and people suspected of eating beef are killed mercilessly." -- can you tell me how many incident you have seen where people suspected of eating beef has been killed mercilessly. As I said we are not in a ideal country so some or other odd activity may happen but then you can not generalize it. I totally condemn someone getting killed for eating beef but how many incidents you have seen. is it happening every now and then and every corner of India.. definitely not.

The truth is “narratives” and perceptions are far from reality.

PM Modi in the past condemned most of the Congress polices, and now after elections has championed them all whole heartedly. And all those wild charges of corruption and black money stored in Swiss banks—and now after two and a half years no evidence to show against any of the congress leaders.

Most Indian leaders live simple lives, just track their daily life for 6 months and print it on front pages of newspapers - no mansions, no expensive cars, no luxury living – spend day in day out in countryside with no amenities and with heat and dust to boot.

Simple answers that you all already know, Ans 1. No country in world for poor or average people, Ans 2. Only those that shout the loudest makes news, Ans.3. Militarism is common to all countries, look to Hollywood for e.g.

Some of your questions has been answered in this dawn editorial. http://www.dawn.com/news/1291640/the-age-of-xenophobia

Winston Churchill said: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

I'm a Christian (born but don't really follow) from Goa, India......There is no other place on earth I'd ever be .....India is too complex for the author of this article to comprehend. In its complexity and diversity rises a kind of democracy that works.....

Thanks for this nice write up. I am not trying to defend anything here.

Indian democracy is messy, imperfect and sometimes downright ugly.

But democratic maturity is a long journey and you have to be faithful to hope that there is always some good in all people. People don't come in black and white, they come in grey and politicians have not come from Mars but are product of our society. As society changes for better or worse they will change in same direction.

Democracy is not a prefect system but it is best of all possible systems. The best thing about democracy is that onus to make it work is on people. You can not blame anyone other than yourself if you think things are wrong. You own the state and it is your duty to make things better. India has failed in a lot of ways in getting where it should have been but it has also been successful in some ways.

It is a long journey and there will be ups and downs but as long as we are able to protect our democratic institutions and basic principles we can hope that we'll achieve a better state, a better nation and a better society bit by bit struggle after struggle.

I hope these question do not in any seriousness diminish your zeal for democracy in Pakistan as there is no better way to make people's lot better than giving them ownership of their communities, their villages, their state.

@Rashid the Pakistani population consists of 95% Muslims , where is the basis of chosing a party because of its religious affiliation ???

answers -: India is not perfect. How can anything be perfect? Voting based on caste & religion is changing now all religion & caste based parties are losing there vote slowly & steadying People now want development. Modi won election because he promised development & handling terrorism strongly. we trust him for that who he is delivering. Now people say he is pro Hindu now to all those I ask tell me one thing he has done after becoming pm any type of law which gives any kind of advantage to Hindus over any other religion now abt him being anti Muslim I ask same question tell me one thing he has done after becoming PM which is against Muslims in Any way I can bet you can't give me one thing in both these cases. Surely India is not perfect but we are trying to improve everyday.

Dear Mr. Mehdi, I got the gist of all your 3 question. Let me ask you a counter question, the answer to which will answer all 3 questions -

In India, a Dalit studying under lamp posts goes on to write the Constitution of India, a simple Chaiwala becomes a PM, a Muslim newspaper seller in Kerala becomes a Missile man and then the President, a Sikh becomes PM, a Parsi becomes a field marshal, Muslims get Param vir and Ashok Chakra, Sikh regiment is one of the most feared regiments by our neighbors, and I can go on and on. The point is anyone with talent and willpower makes it big here - irrespective of his/her social status or religion. Why isn't it happening in Pakistan? Could you name one Hindu who got Nishan e Haider? Could you name one non-muslim PM?

I am sure most of the readers miss the sarcasm in this article. India has 3 questions to answer, but the writer has asked million questions to Pakistan in this article.

As an Indian, yes, we are not perfect. But, we are now very different from when you separated from us in 1947. This is not religion, this is a culture -- as a whole. We do see fluctuations and keep having self-doubts which often raise more than three questions which you have asked. But we hope we will come out as a more inclusive nation some day. We are not off the path, just the road is too bumpy to ride.

For Pakistan, I also hope that it improves to a level where everyone can have a reasonable level of living standard, happiness and the sense of security to enjoy the time on earth.

With due respect you want these questions because may be you have not seen India to it's fullest. I would say you should feel India and it's essence. No where in the world You will find a country which is so diverse, be its terrain, language, culture, dress, food, religion and so on. But It still has that unity. It is a country in which 80% are Hindus but you will not find a single hater to a Muslim leader called APJ Abdul Kalam. The most celebrated superstars in Bollywood are Muslims. We have so grave cast system but a dalit has written our constitution. That's the essence of India. There is bound to be some aberrations when the system is so vast. Some politicians are corrupt but most of them are honest and because of them India is where it is in the world community. Communism is there but there are people who fight against it. The military is there but they are out of any conspiracy which make them heroes.

Here is the thing , the democracy wont be very effective unless elections are state funded as long as money is required to fight and win election corruption will continue . However we have good juducial system which is slow but effective and independent .but there is a lot that needs to be done .good luck to pakistan as well .

Very valid questions, Tahir sahib. Salaam from India.

Question 3: The armed forces and the judiciary are the only two public institutions in India that are purely meritocratic in nature. In addition, the selflessness of the ordinary soldier in his willingness to sacrifice inspires admiration

As for corruption, the main reason in India for that, ironically, is to fund elections. Democracies are strong in India, but institutions are not. The primary reason for this, I believe, is that we have had decades of dynastic rule.

Dynasties are not as tyrannical as a military dictatorship can be, but they are equally corrosive to the flourishing of other institutions. To their credit, no political dispensation has politicised the armed forces, but not so the local police. That affects how justice is dispensed.

Furthermore, our complicated tax laws ensure that the judiciary is buried in tax litigation. 70% of all case load relates to citizens suing government over taxes. Urgent reform is needed on these issues.

What Saurabh has said in his comment , I wholly agree to it. Once we come and call the Politicians as corrupt, we also should look on our selves considering our activities as corrupt or not ?

@Saurabh Srivastava Your professor is confusing politics with democracy. In India, we do have democracy at all levels. Most of us can name our MPs, but would be hard pressed to name our municipal councillors. We have zero expectations from the latter, as we tend to gravitate towards those with real power, the MLAs and the MPs. The councillor, though, has a greater immediate impact on our immediate surroundings.

You should see how strong the local democracy is in the US - almost to the point tha they ignore their federal and state governments.

first of all an applause for these logical questions but its completely illogical to compare india with pakistan as some people are doing in comment section. you people are saying that india is far ahead in every field than pakistan. is there any logic to compare world's second largest population with pakistan? if u want to compare then do it with china. both countries are progressing in their own way and that comparison is totally out of mind. and if we talk about extremism then i think that so called media and some politician that always try to get mileage out of masses' emotions. in the last my sympathies go to the martyrs of quetta attack as well as new delhi chandni chowk attack. #peace

The answer is that all those things are present but in lesser amount. 1) a Struggling democracy is 1000 times better than military rule. 2) India may have right leaning parties, but we also have a lot of center and left leaning parites, so it kind of balances out. There is voice for all. 3) And though India may seem to be militarism, the central ethos is to be peaceful. India's military threats are reactive not proactive.

Hope the questions have been answered.

I'll try to answer your question. Thoughts expressed are entirely my own experience from living in two democracies - India and USA. Democracy is not perfect but it gives people a choice. It gives them hope and power to elect. Your assumption that democracy produces clean and efficient polity itself is misplaced. Democracy doesn't guarantee that. Corruption in India isn't because of democracy it is mostly because of poverty, lack of resources and to some context due to culture in South Asia. I now live in US - another democracy. Difference between India and USA is that in India corruption is rampant from top to bottom where as in US, it is mostly on top. Why ? Because overall country is less poor, has lots of resources, which has resulted in more honest culture overall among people. So in short - Corruption has nothing to do with democracy. Democracy makes sure power is not concentrated in one place. In India, Supreme court has struck down laws that govt passed and people didn't like.

But what went wrong with India? Answer- Nothing went wrong with India. Each Indian believes in constitution. There is harmony, equality between religions and whatever you talked about corruption, India have far better Indexes compared to any South Asian countries in corruption. All Indian Respect all constitutional institutes like courts, police etc. As a democracy and right to expression, there are several issues arises, indicating a healthy democracy.

How did India get where it is? Answer- India is largest democracy in world. There are all kind of people living here. It is not Hindu or Muslim Republic; it is Republic of India where various cultures have been sharing thousands years of history. People have right to expression, so if ‘Religious extremists in India are just a handful’ then no Muslim could have been selected as President, MPs, leaders, Actors and Sportsman. But situations are totally opposite. We are thought that all religions are equal and respectful from nursery. We were the country which did not attack another nation for thousands years. This is the place of Hindu Saints, origin of Buddha, knowledge of Muslim Sufi saints, Jains, holy Sikhs Gurus. It is sure that it will remain as it as. Cultural diversity is Indian strength. We were known as golden bird, which attracted Alexander the great, Muslim invaders, British. This time we have learned to defend A golden bird.

But how did militarism become the main pillar of nationalistic faith in democratic-secular India? Answer- Police wala is corrupt :P Nationalistic faith - Indian army is the third largest army and each of them believe in constitution. Every Indian knows vast history of India, its cultural heritage including ancient great mathematicians, arts, scientists and writers. Indian know freedom fighter’s stories and all battles fought on Indian subcontinent. So our respect to this great motherland is endless. democratic-secular -We know army is for specific purpose and civil government is for other, development of life of people. These are two separate things. We want to be developed and for these peace is mandatory. For maintaining peace, we have to believe in constitution and democracy. Army know that.

Thanks for your question cum queries... Requesting you go through Constitution Of India.. Where you will find all answers of your questions...

BTW, India is most argumenttaive country in world and even harder questions are asked every day. Indian and India is used to do. The impressions that you have a very 0.00001 % of problems that india has.

1 - Corruption - Very much low. COnstinuouls questions took and revolutionary movement and tolerance for corruption is indian society is now highly low. Benchmark is very high now a days.

2- Please note the RSS - BJP combine is voted by Indian to power for Econmic development and make India superpower ahead of China and USA in next 20 years. Hindus and Same RSS - BJP voters will throw them out if they do any t hing to harm our any other indian community. It is basically a confidence of India in secualrism and institutional powers that has enabled BJP to come to power. Indians know by al large that nothing changes in India in INC and BJP rule for minorities and majortiies. Both are as good and bad as they will be in INC. It is purely an progressive agenda of BJP that lured votres. Regressive part of BJP is being corrected so that they know the mandate that they have got. You need not worry on that front.

3- Military is not in power in India. You look only from 1 state view ( J n K and only valley POV). Rest all nothing changes.

4- The most interesting part is that it is only RSS - BJP's inclusivism that is more than INC is that they still dream that in next 50 - 100 years, Pak ( who they think as original hindus ) people will re-unite to become a greater India. ( Almost as Jinnah wanted till 1947 -a Federation combined so that power of Pakistani people is much more inside a powerful state of India or 10000 old hindustan. INC chose to give mutilated pakistan to Jinnah with Jinnah choice. RSS BJP wanted pakistan to continue as Indian state.

@Basit Ali -I was thinking the exact same - you put my thoughts intelligently into elegant words!

I request the author to visit and Stay in India for one month, travel North -South, East - West and find the answer.

@jimmy not true we in India have education and progress and our laws are NOT based on any religion hence the progress

Brilliant article. No doubt. A short answer can be given. And also a long one. Probably, long one will not be accepted, because the length of that long answer might be as long, if not more, as the article itself. The short answer is simple. The answer is hidden in the questions themselves. Scientifically and historically, India and Pakistan are twins, separated at birth. Hence, they share the similarities. And the differences, due to the differences in their ideological goals selected at birth.

The crux of entire narration, the day to day feelings of a common human being all over the world is to acquire sky high satisfaction on any and every front- personal (domestic/official) national (home/foreign relations). Expectations are soaring, that too in GP, not year after year;month after month; week after week; day after day but even minute after minute. Every body on this earth has a right to try hard for acquiring what they desire but in a rightful way.Greed cum lust makes the person to resort to illegal ways and practices and that is seen anywhere and everywhere the human dwelling exists. Theft,bribery,loot cum arson, rape, murder and terrorism thus emanates.It is for this very reason that law enforcement agencies exist in every country, but their ability and way of functioning varies between what are known- developed, developing and under developed countries.

we always had constructive discussion on all topics. On RSS, it doesn't teach extermism, it teaches patriotism and want india to devlop with keeping our values and tradition alive. which every county should do.

Answer 3: yes military is one of pillar of nationalistic faith. we respect army and feel proud about our army. Our army work within constitutional framework, thats why never military rule is imposed in india. I come from military background, and watched them closely. Armed forces give us sense of pride and discipline.

Thanks, common man from india

This is one truth which makes me very sad. What was the purpose of securing independence in August 1947. Telling/showing our erstwhile RULERS, we can do better than your Jalianwala Bagh. ALAS. Can we not bury the hatchet and do something for the bewildered masses and give them something by way of two square meals every day, some basic health service, and let us not forget, and EDUCATION, I mean quality education to meet all the needs of the Society. Can't the member countries agree to turn SAARC into something worthwhile. I am not dreaming. I am thinking all this and more with open and bewildered eyes; hoping that better sense will prevail.

I'm a common Indian and as a common man I’ll answer all you Qs. So, 1) “All politicians are corrupt. They are thieves and criminals.” here all doesn't apply to all politician, there a few but they never succeed to get away from these and result was the common men destroyed her/his political career. Now talking about your example, K'taka Mining Scam did happened but ended up G.J.reddy ended up paying penalty as well as immediate removal from their ministerial positions and cancellation of all his mining lease. Sitting CM in TN also did scam and get bailed out I agreed but bailed time is given to her to show if it is legal as she claimed. She eventually ended up paying 100 crores as fine 40 crores more than scam asset. If you put her this scam aside she did really great job in TN. Her winning margin reduced to 1/4th winning vote compared to when she was as"Amma"(mother). I would like to hear some examples from your side of such conviction in replay.

lame article !! , india is big country with small problems but pakistan is a small country with big problems..

Beautiful article!!!

@Manu: Nailed it man! Awesome

Very interesting observations, and comparison too!

Please dont compare. Find answers for your own system from within your own system.

Using this logic, you can even compare USA and Pakistan.

The purpose of democracy is not to make each of the 1.3 billion people happy & contended.If such is the expectation, then no Democracy can be a success.Democracy in India gives the people of India an administration that to a large extent works.If the people themselves do not change then the politicians and the politics that they will get will also not change.

Lack of Home work in questions.

Tahir bhai, excellent analysis! If you place Pakistanis and Indians side by side no foreigners can differentiate. This is a matter of common knowledge. What actually differentiates between them is a very suttle difference. Most Indians love the democracy. This is because, despite all the negatives, everyone can comment and express his likes or dislikes during election. Generally, Indians live in peace with all different religion - Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Budhists, Christians, Jains and so on. I agree, Democracy isn't a perfect system, but it has certain strengths. It represents the people. Therefore, if the people are good, you will have a good government. And the vice versa. The good part of democracy is that it will keep improving with the passage of time. If you adopted a dictatorship, you don't know how good that dictator would remain with the passage of time. As it is often seen, they become corrupt. There are umpteen examples. Hinduism is a very tolerant religion.

@Monsieur S

It is sad Pakistani people think India Pakistan Relationship is Hindu Muslim. It is not It is India and Pakistan.

just read the excuses from indians....

Awesome article!

Yes both started with same line 1947. And now where is Pakistan and India. World know better ..

@Manu

Excellent reply, Manu.

As good a reply as Tahir Mehdi would want.

Pakistan and Pakistanis compare themselves with India. We compare ourselves to the Chinese. One always compares with someone apparently better.

Sir two points

Democracy is not perfect but the least defective system known to man kind. Second although India is also grappling with the same/similar problems as Pakistan as both the societies were cut from the same cloth, India is doing relatively, just relatively better than Pakistan and the credit should go to democracy

Answers to your last question: Indian Military fights for people of India, therefore nationalism. They protect the country from outside threats therefore there is nationalism. Indian Military has never become the main pillar, still Indian parliament is the main pillar of India. Where as in your country Military/Army fights against corrupt politicians and you see them the only savers to Pakistan. Democracy and secularism will find it way to prosperity eventually, it may take time and has already started showing results.

@PPNewYork A very objective view

Yes..true..but India not spread terror and hate..110 cr ppls hardly any major dispute from last 70 years.Celebrate each festival Diwali holi or Eid.Dil hei Hindusthani.

@aslam shaikh1 They will be silent , As the truth is We have no answers . Or to be honest no one cared to ask themselves these questions Yet.

Let me answer your first question? Democracy in india means many things. Fair elections- yes, corruption -no.

Very well said sir

Excellent article and reasonably balanced, Not easy to do ..

@Manu Good Reply!!!

Good and Sensible Reply!!

Interesting. I am glad that the Indian citizens under this government are learning what social contract truly is. Pride and love for the country unity with diversity.

Valid questions, but that is the price of democracy and huge population. Fortunately in the past 20 years the middle class has grown up to almost 400MM people. But there are still 600MM people living in poverty. But the only way to uplift the poor is thru education and jobs. And Indian policies are trying exactly that. All religions have amazing freedom to practice there religion as they want. Freedom is absolute and complete. Even better than US where I live now. Something to be proud of as an Indian. And as far as Pakistan goes, the only way to have a true democracy is if it becomes truly secular. I have not seen a theocratic democracy. It just does not work. May be that is why Pakistan has had so many military rulers.

What naive questions...!!!???

The voices you hear from common man is the success of democracy- freedom of speech and views exist. Dissent is part of democratic process, which by itself goes by majority view. If you happen to stumble upon that personality who remain in the minority view, dissent voice can be well heard.

Appreciate your article.....well written

why this article is not available in dawn newspaper???

I have fair knowledge of How things work in India. Being democratic a leader is literally elected by the people. But many times it is general illiterate public who decide the result. But this doesn't happen in everywhere. We do have a great leaders who do not have any background but get elected reach the top. On the other side there are few politicians who came from a rich and powerful family who can influence voters by their caste, charisma or power.

Nice article .

@Rashid So you are implying that all Pakistani leaders have been elected because of their proven competence and abilities?

@Australian Agnostic Besides, in case of India, it is very difficult for anbody to go against the will of the people who are an overwhelming 1.3 billion.

Please stop comparing pakistan with india as pakistan is way ahead then of india in all walks of life.

India is a vast country. It has many nationalities and sub nationalities many languages and sub nationalities. Our democracy is the glue that is holding us together. Politician is abused for wrong doings and he is removed in next election. The people have yearning for betterment and development. It was 40 years ago in emergency days. I was a small boy and in the evening get together a at a 'hulks' an educated farmers used to have only one question ie when will elections be held? Those questions forced Indira Gandhi to declare election. If democracy takes true roots in Pakistan then many problems will be sorted out. But how many newspapers are there except 'dawn' who can keep that lamp burning.

Oversimplification at its worst. I, an Indian, am proud of what we have today despite of seemingly unsurmountable odds. Sure we are imperfect, that's our strength.

Wel I am not a writer, but will try to answer it in simple. I am an engineering student and from ever growing middle class of India. Now like people know that America does so many bad things around the world and try to show that they are the saviours, though all our indians know and agree that politics is bad and politicians are criminals, we always get fooled by their talks and free bees. Dynasty politics killed us for 60 years. But I and many will agree that with ever increasing role of media, people now keep track of the wrong doings, poll promises, good deeds of the politicians and hence its becoming difficult for them to fool people. religious groups like RSS existed long ago but before criticizing them you should join them and try to understand what they are saying. Anyway they are not Non state actors and ofcourse with growing media news any wrong doings of such institutes is becoming more open to the public.

very nice article. I in general like your Articles.

@aslam shaikh1: Spot on dude. Very well said.

@Shakeel Ahmed Thanks for your honest opinion.

Thank you Tahir Mehdi sahib for another well written and thought provoking piece.

dear Mehdi Saheb, like many indians i support our current PM but i must say that you raise some very basic questions, something that we indians shall find difficult to answer. Probably every society today is afflicted with almost the same set of problems that you highlight, in varying degrees. We all live complicated lives today and things are going to get even worse - everywhere. Good luck to us.

Sir, Great questions indeed, salutes to your observation..

I appreciate you frank article, you have presented a good point of view for India and frankly accepted position on Pakistan.

@hari very nice reply. Mr. Tahir there is big difference between us.

Excellent, well expressed, I am grateful for the questions raised. I will revert back soon and i hope you will agree.

@Rashid Brother, no one is voting base on the religious ground. in fact, now we have started to vote without any religious connection. gone are the days where some old political parties used to divide the population based on religion, the new generation like us are more keen towards development and equality for everyone in india. all paid media calling current govt has hijak the system is misleading as you should also understand that this govt is elected because its vision and commitments are reflection of general mood of the indian people. if this govt failed to align with general opinion of population it will be replaced by other political party next time. what i respect and be proud of is the democratic system we have. if nothing else , we atleast can select the person who has a similar vision with common people.

You don't understand evolution of countries and are asking questions that basically don't make sense. Study some American and European history for starters and then come back. Look at Singapore as well.

@Manu ... and @ SAURABH SRIVASTAVA ...... and @ HARI ..... hats off sirs

No country is perfect it has to be made perfect!

How did militarism become the main pillar of nationalistic faith in democratic-secular India?

but In India, our culture, our army, our diversity, our democracy everything shares equal importance.

@R Khan Very well said. I cannot agree more with you on this.

Here is my answer with supporting facts: https://www.quora.com/Question-from-Pakistan-to-India-even-after-70-years-of-stable-democracy-why-is-Indian-political-system-so-corrupted-and-governance-inefficient/answer/Saurabh-223

Answer to first question is very simple Leaders like Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and HE Dr A P J Abdul Kalam manifested highest level of ethics in personal as well as public life . Also there are many parliamentarians / MLA's who are good and who want to work for people . And at times there are a scheme by government which force MP's to do the task like our current PM launched a that every MP has to adopt a village in their constituency ( this village should not have any relative or roots of the concerned MP ) and work with District Administration and their funds for development of that village . Repeat this every year . An amazing reaction happened to this scheme , seeing that erosion in voter base can happen , even opposition parties participate vigorously in it . I am not saying that everything has become perfect but things move in a certain direction which yield result .

I have only 1 question to you in return not three. You consider few families from your neighborhood. some are poor and some are not and if you analyze can you always say that the good man is always wealthy and the bad guy is poor?

Or for example consider your school mates ,who was the number one in your class? if you were the brilliant boy then are you the wealthiest of them all? or vice versa the least brilliant student the poorest person now?

@BAYADAB We are following you

i dont think the humble author needs answers, and i dont think these are questions which he has left unadressed, at least to himself :). the great falacy of democracy is that nations mature towards it. whilst a nation can be brilliant technically at the aparatus of democracy, meeting the expectations of all the population is impossible.

this is the reason people, particularly those feeling disenfrachised (military men in uniforms are in the minority here but always seem to jump to the head of the complaints queue) want to escape the gravitational pull of the democratic political system with the innocent notion that their system of democracy, perhaps a smaller democracy is better. sadly democracy will dissapointed all of her stakeholders most of the time.

Sir for your third question is also simple and it lies in the function The job of army is to defend the nation in case of aggression and not play a role in developmental activity or politics . Politics as an institution is diametrically opposite to what army as an institution is . The process of nation building is with the people of that sovereign land and that's why rarely we see a nation which has been overshadowed by defence institution has grown . E.g. Miltarisation in Japan led to its destruction in Second World War Junta government in Myanmar took the country at least 50 years back I am not saying that military does not have best interest at heart ,may be it does but it is not the only thing required for nation building .

The essence of democracy is self-government. Democracy distributes administrative power to lower levels up to the very grass root level of villages. In democracy you might have failure of one person or group does not mean whole structure fail. While in autocracy one bad apple at top will ruin country same for dictatorship.

1.The reason for corruption is simple. The systems had slowed down because everything had to be done manually. So implementation had been slower than needed. Technology is changing the scene.

2.The religious polarisation in the world affects India too. We carry very diverse religious groups and each tries to establish itself. The grouping is too complex and NONE can dominate. If it "looks" like group is strong then it is basically because the people are looking for people who can deliver better administration.

1. Policewala is part of the civil system & this has its minor short comings.

Technology is changing the processing speed and Democracy is getting vibrant.

Militarism is getting stronger because we have a neighbour who cannot be made to understand things. They have a broken EGO which is collectively unable to heal. We are pushed to a place where there is no more methods to negotiate other than use the military as part of the solution. It is up to the instigators to decide!!!

Dear writer,You have raised some very interesting facts of both country.

Democracy with all its flaws & misgivings is still the best available system. Its people who choose their fate & destiny, right or wrong

DictatorC's impose themselves on people.

The extreme differences in have and have nots is cured by our fate one hs ti wait for their turn to come. So you have to wait if not in this world then surely in the next world. The sub continent people believe in this and the life goes on.

Very good questions and soul searchers!

The answer to your Q1 & 2 is India's Legal System.

India's legal system is based on Indian Penal Code, which was drafted in 1860. Since Independence, not much has been done to overhaul the system. Many layers have been added to reflect the changing needs of society, which has increased complexity and loopholes.

Growing societies need more courts and judges. That has not happened. Which means, the cases which should take fewer hearings now take years, delaying the justice.

As we know, delayed justice is denied justice.

'Justice someday' has given rise to a sense of invincibility, especially to some politicians, industrialists, and even bureaucrats. And that has led to cases of corruption and intolerance (your Q1 and 2).

An efficient judicial system can eradicate many deeper problems that law enforcement can't. Timely sentencing can act as a stronger deterrent to would-be criminals.

So, India's inability to scale its judiciary is at the root of many of its social problems.

Very pertinent questions these and let me take a stab at answering them:

1. As opposed to dictatorship, feudalism etc, democracy fundamentally empowers people to choose their leaders. Fortunately or unfortunately this also means that the elected leaders are a reflection of their electorate. For every corrupt leader, there is a swathe of naive or corrupt people who have elected him. The majority of India is uneducated and underprivileged and the leaders they choose reflect that. For a democracy to work, the voters must be capable of making the right choices. The Indian Congress smartly realised this and consistently worked on keeping the masses uneducated and oppressed

2. The response above must be able to qualify this to an extent. Eventually, the strength of a religious badge a person wears is dictated by a combination of diverse factors like circumstance, belief, poverty and greed. Exploit these and you have your answer

1. The above manifests into patriotism. A nation's army defends the nation against the one thing everyone agrees as a common enemy. Consequently the army is motivated and so are the citizens. A nation's police however protects the nation from their own people. If the nation is fundamentally corrupt, it will reflect in all aspects of life including the police force. No surprises there

Very Good. We can observe from history and contemporary world that quality of democracy depends on the relationship between mass(public) and opportunists of the society. unfortunately in India , people are still fighting with hunger, lack of education and other fundamental needs essential for survival. It is unrealistic to expect that citizen of India should judge the leaders and other stake holders on their performance, corruption , character etc. British rules here on the simple policy of divide and rule and it is still prevailing and followed.

Very Good. We can observe from history and contemporary world that quality of democracy depends on the relationship between mass(public) and opportunists of the society. unfortunately in India , people are still fighting with hunger, lack of education and other fundamental needs essential for survival. It is unrealistic to expect that citizen of India should judge the leaders and other stake holders on their performance, corruption , character etc. British rules here on the simple policy of divide and rule and it is still prevailing and followed.

Democracy is not perfect but is a self learning system unlike dictatorship.....there will be some misses some hits...but as time goes by, there would be more hits than misses... no country is perfect, in fact not even US.

But we are on a right track......

Societies, Polities, Cultures, Economies , Ecologies are all organic systems. Like any living organism they are born , grow, live, decay & eventually die. The basic human material of which they are made , determines the fate & destiny of the larger human systems. See the separation of a large mass of muslims from the main indian body , as an experiment. We have the empirical data of the last 70 yrs. As one of the commentors said, the basic human material in both India & Pakistan is nearly same (even after 70 yrs or 2/3 generations). As chaos theory seems to suggest , a compact set of some few critical parameters decide the trajectory of the entire mass. Maybe we have to wait for the right moment.

In case of china , the death of Mao in mid seventies & collective misery / experience of the cultural revolution that killed millions turned out to be the proverbial tipping point and the nation changed its course forever.

@Abdul Awaal I echo your words dude, it is real and you can find answers on the Indian streets across.

@Abdul Awaal In India majority people will never go with any religious extremists we have so many religions and stay together appreciating each other and spend time with different beliefs (we celebrate festivals of different religions - Unity in diversity). I can see a lot of change these days, down trodden is getting all the benefits courtesy the technology ( Adhaar / Bank accounts- Jandhan)

Dear Tahir,

Thanks for showing mirror to us through your questions. Many people in India are struggling for real freedm from exploitation and against communal politics . There are many silver linings in the dark cloud. I am sure you are aware about the student struggle at JNU Delhi. Student leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar and Shehla Rashid are awakening youth throughout India and fighting against Modi's politics of hatred and safforanization of education. The fight must continue both in India and Pakistan against these dark forces.

Best regards,

Shashi

Tahir Sir, I am from India. I am regular follower of Dawn!! People in India and Pakistan are same!! We all want to have Peacefull existence with mutual respect and love. Our politicians be it Indian or Pakistani want to instigate violence or hatred or make all of us united in the name of war in order to hide their failures in developing respective countries.It is unfortunate that many Indians and many Pakistanis blindly believe politicians when it comes to Country Pride/War. It is time average Indians and average Pakistanis get United for Developement and Upliftment of everyone rather than waste our precious time/energy on war/hating each other. What did both our countries achieve in last 70 years hating each other??Nothing but more Hatred!!I am Indian.I do not hate Pakistanis or Pakistan!!i want to visit Pakistan!!see most beautiful places in your country!!

Question 1 - as you stated election are untainted at least after voting m/c were used. For me democracy is; every one gets justice as per constitution. answer is yes and no. Some extent does not happen. it is not because politicians are corrupt , it is because people are corrupt. they commit violations like building violations, road violations etc. and go to politicians or bureaucrats to fix it, so he will fix but at some cost. it happens with every project and every govt work. if you are correct , work will happen but with some delay. now this has become money plant for political structure

@Saurabh Srivastava Nicely said, seems unbiased.

@Pradeep Bhatia Good for you, but if you remain in denial with the differences that are now under the surface, soon you will face the wrath of these injustices as we are facing in Pakistan. My brotherly advice is that sooner you come out of denial and address it, better for you and region in general ( after all you are the biggest democracy in the region and world)

@Shashi Before Modi comes, there existed politics of hatred - in the name of votes. Pls do not blame Modi or BJP. Everybody in India knows what JNU is good for.

Answer (1): Ummid pe duniya kayam hai. In democracy you can make mistakes by electing corrupt and/or incapable politicians, and regret your choice. BUT you know that the setup is not indefinite. At the end of 5 year term they will again be begging you for your votes & you can teach them a lesson.

@Shakeel Ahmed your comment seems to be very honest. May your tribe grow.

Answer (2): RSS is a great organization. You should learn about it without any bias or prejudice. Indian film industry, although it gets more than it's fair share in media is really 0.0000001 % of India.

@Basit Ali Try fitting in names like U.S, U.K, France or any other western country. The questions will only just fit partially in case of those countries.

@Abdul Awaal I would suggest you do the same in Pakistan and not watch Indian channels and you would see the difference!!

@Pradeep Bhatia Most peaceful country??? One of the Highest Rape Ratios in the world Lynching of muslims all the time for beef consumption.. The list can go on an on.. You better get off your high horse!!

@Saurabh Srivastava : indeed

Nice Article and very intriguing questions indeed

Answer to Question 2: ‘Secularism’ was added to Indian Preamble in 70’s during the ‘Emergency’ imposed by Indira Gandhi at behest of fringe Leftist extremists. At this time there was no ‘democracy’ but India was under ‘Emergency’. Again another example of brute State force of irrelevant/alien and contradictory ideal/concept on Indian society. Anyone who questions (especially a Hindu) who questions Leftist Extremism is branded a ‘Fundamentalist’ and anyone who encourages ‘Madrasa culture’ is branded Secularism. In India it is not a religious extremism but it is the ‘Leftist Extremism’ that is the problem. The largest armed insurgency groups are the Leftist Extremists in India not religious and not even Jihadists.

But how did militarism become the main pillar of nationalistic faith in democratic-secular India?

First Indian Army is not same as Pakistani Army. Indian Army unhindered power and share of economy as your Army does. Second standing behind Army is not common to India and Pakistan. Army is important pillar of a strong nation but its not the only pillar and also not the most important one.

There is only one answer . ECONOMOC PROGRESS . OF ALL CITIZENS OF BOTH COUNTRIES .

I have only one question to Pakistan. Why every time there is terror attack in pakistan, Pakistanis start blaming India even before any investigation starts and then condemn it strongly and then going back to sleep as usual

The raison d’etre of Muslim League was to protect the minorities. It ended up serving the majority (creating Pakistan) and left the minority to fend for itself (in India). The raison d’etre of Congress was to defend secular principles but ended up handing over power to right wing Hindu party. It is this failure on both sides that has lead to what we see around us today.

1. India had been under foreign rule since the 12 the century; e.g., a very large number of Muslim structures in India bear and still display Hindu religious symbols. Hindus had the unique misfortune of having to pay the Jizyah Tax in their own land!!! Anyway... India's democracy is still evolving: It is RELATIVELY the most stable democracy in SE Asia. 2. Most Indians take pride in the SECULAR nature of India's constitution. Yes, India does have the RSS, various Muslim outfits, Separatist Groups, etc. I believe that they are tamer than the religious organizations in the Muslim world such as the IS. 3. The respect for Indian army stems from: a) It is and has remained answerable to the civilian govt b) It is a volunteer army without any form of a compulsory draft. India is located in an unstable and largely hostile neighborhood; has suffered numerous conflicts--there has been no opportunity to examine the goings-on within the armed forces. In time, realism would dawn.

Point 1: Agreed about dissatisfaction with politicians in India. But then dissatisfaction can be relative. People in richest of the countries can also be dissatisfied with their government for one or the other reason. What you need to think about is whether Indians are as dissatisfied with their government as Pakistanis are with theirs, in all aspects of governance.

Point2: Disagree, the "intolerance stories" are blown out of proportion because large part of the country practices all religions peacefully for the kind of diversity that exists. Good things are seldom highlighted and stories on intolerance are made as headlines. The specific beef eating case you are referring to was a case of vendetta made to look like case of intolerance

Point3: Completely pointless, why shouldn't a democratic country be proud of its army? Army does not interfere in internal matters but protect the country from external threat from their neighbours which is very important for the country.

A.Important point is people of India have faith in democracy and practice and participate.It is practiced in schools, colleges, clubs, village cooperative societies and at all levels possible.

Where democracy as a principle has a solid base, it can not define character of individual leaders which is a job of election commission.Since it is still evolving and taking into account population and multiplicity in population, i would consider practicing itself as a grand success.

C.Army has no interference in framing ideology of people or defining boundary.They are regarded very high as because they do the job hundred percent they are supposed to do and leave others to government or people of India.

Hi - Indian here. Condition of a country is determined by its people. Democracy vs Dictatorship doesn't matter to the degree people think. Since South Asians are basically one people - outcomes have been similar. People are deeply religious, superstitious. Society is backward, patriarchal with entrenched caste system. Now look at Germany. It became powerful under Hitler as well as the present Democratic regime. It was brought to zero twice in last century but it rose again to top nonetheless.

Years of military rule in Pakistan has a bearing on Pakistani media which is evident from the fact that India centric news gets too much importance and discussed by most Newspapers/ News Channels. The day Pakistan transitions to a mature democracy, I am sure media would shift its focus to other more relevant news.

@R Khan congrats to your open and bold minded opinions...

@Manu A well reasoned response.

@Manu don't be judgmental, we Pakistanis not only love our Army but admire them for professional work ethics.

The comparison made is perhaps the best scene in Pakistan and worst scene in India. Have a look at this "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijvVHdF7Ekc&feature=youtu.be"

Your own words "The two countries’ democratic trajectory moved in diametrically opposite directions." clearly says the two countries cannot be compared. Yes India do have its own problems and we are sure we will tackle each one of them.

And probably if we have a peaceful neighbour we can prosper in a much faster rate than what we are currently doing.

I beg to disagree with the author. These are the questions, every Indian ask himself!

I myself is an Indian.

@Manu

Well commented. Those who live in democratic country knows and would not ask such questions.

I am glad that the author can find answers to all the questions raised by him in a logical manner by Indians. Go through all of them carefully sir and you will realize what the basic difference in both our nations is :)

Very nicely written article.

Answer 1) Every good things in this world takes it's time and due course. I agree there have been a lot of wrong people in Indian political arena and there are still many. But numbers have been falling. The last lok sabha (general) elections, the Delhi and the Bihar (state assembly) elections are a testament to the fact that people are less fearful and vote for the candidate who's right for them. Why I say so? If you look at the UPA-II government regime, they were tainted with corruption charges and although everyone expected them to lose the next elections but none predicted the manner. A national party associated with india's freedom movement won less than 8% seats. And the party which won the elections in a landslide fashion was shown the door twice in state elections which many attribute to mistakes committed by their top leaders. So, just give it 10-15 years and you shall see India's democracy would be a shining example. People have woken up and the politicians know it too.

You have to believe in democracy. Transitions are slow and painful but it does yield result in longer run. People demand answers from their elected representatives and they have to respond. It took 70 years, but family rule of Indian Congress is rejected. And politics will become extremely competitive in longer run. Beauty of democracy is transition. But that does not happen overnight. You have to look at Indian economy, caste biases, gender bias and many other social issues. You can just look at elected govt from one perspective. Nationalism, corruptions are issues, but so are many others. Politicians have the hardest job on hand. They have to convince their bosses every 5 year that he will turn things around. And he has to show results. Public is patient but you have to give results. If not they will throw you out like Lalu and many other non performing leaders. Modi transformed from Hindutva hardliner to development man and got largest majority in 30 years in India.

In simple words; democracy gives choice to people and other systems don’t. The “corruption” is infinite and its definition is so wide, its beyond reach of common man’s understanding and it was there and will be there, as long as human beings rule this planet. Governments can only try its best to control so that it don’t affect like an epidemic to whole society.

Question 1 on corruption:

Democracy allows us to throw out corrupt leaders in election. The one CM who you mentioned about going to Jail, learnt her lessons and delivered clean adminsitration over a 10 year period. Good enough for voters to return her to power for a 2nd consecutive term.

Question 2:

As one of my muslim friend in India remarked, if you dont watch TV, read newspaper and cut out FB. The life for an Indian muslim has not changed between previous regime and this one.

It is still a diverse country whose non hindu population has been growing faster than Hindu population. Muslims , christians have been able to convert Hindus freely. This not going to change. We are as secular as ever. May be more.

Who is most corrupt India or pakistan. india is rank 75 and pakistan is at 120 see transparency inter-nation report

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CorruptionPerceptionsIndex

Tahir saheb,

Nil desperandum. Sometimes answers are never found out. Let us prod on.

"India must find an answer and share it with us."

Why?

I have no answers but your questions are astute. The only difference I see is the almighty armed forces in Pakistan

A facile and superficial comparison, at best! India's democracy is an experiment in providing a voice to every constituency - and allow full expression to all its diverse people.
In the process it is noisy and at times dysfunctional. But one thing can be clearly sated that despite the failures, the minorities in India have State and Civil protections, and lead their lives based on their faith and belief systems. Muslims in India (both Shia and Sunni, and also the Ahmadiyas and Borahs, etc.) live as proud Indian citizens.
Pakistan should introspect about its development after Independence and partition - finding comfort in superficial rhetoric will not provide salvation!!

Absolutely brilliant, hit the nail on both heads - India's and Pakistan's. The rising tide of nationalism and more correctly nationalistic sectarian jingoism, not just in India but all over the world (think of Trump) is but a safe strategy to hide failures of the state as a whole and of politicians especially of their corrupt self-seeking behaviour. Democracy in its current form which is nothing more than a tool of capturing power is not working in any country, let alone in Pakistan and it certainly not helping to remedy corruption nor thuggery in any country, let alone in India. Here is an article that I wrote on the sad state of present day 'democracy' a year ago:http://www.thedailystar.net/is-democracy-a-plaything-of-the-m3-44749

Excellent thoughtful article which brings to the surface questions intelligent people ask across both borders.

(1) How democracy in my country is bringing masses close to government - Just check out mygov.in or specific example - look at how central railway minister is interacting with passengers over social media. At state level, however, there is a lot to be done. Chandrababu Naidu, Modi and Nitish did set some examples, still there is a long way to go. (2) "Religious extremists in India are just a handful" - this statement is true but they have not "hijacked the government and brought society to its knees". Since our constitution is all prevailing, as soon as these jokers cross their line, the constitution steps in and spanks them. But yes, you can witness some bizarre & childish display of religious sentiments (mostly in North India) - example both Mosque and Temple loud speakers competing full blast at the same time :P (3) Sir, we are not an expansionist State. But we wish to secure our territorial integrity. Hence, Army plays an important role, especially after Kargil and Mumbai.

@Manu well said.

To add to my comments, made earlier, let me quote here Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada: " In Canada, diverse perspectives and different opinions are celebrated, not silenced. Canadians know that we are stronger not in spite of our differences, but because of them." I hope that saner counsels will prevail in India and Pakistan as well.

RAM, ROBERT, RAHIM can live together and pray according to their own ways and be friends too. Yes its possibel because we do this everyday here in USA Muslims, Jews living side by side happily and friends with each other jai Hind

@Gaurav Kapoor well said my Indian Friend, Jai Hind from pakistan and currently USA

@Abdul Awaal

good Abdul..... Quality of Voters decide leadership.... we have to be more qualified

@bathurst .... India's international credibility is the best answer .....

Although you've gone into a bit of a hyperbole in order to draw a direct parallel, this is still a very very interesting observation. Whether India has just begun heading the Pakistan way or not, let me assure you that in the end democracy will have its way. We have a great opposition and great people to identify it early and overthrow any such regressive ideas. Democracy will take care of it, sooner than later, I am pretty sure.

Mr Tahir, Excellent article!

@Shakeel Ahmed Wonderful comment with Millions of Rupees.

Answer to question No 1- Corruption exists in the USA also, and in China, the style of government is no guarantee to remove corruption, however standard of living from perspective of health, age etc are better for nations with democracy as a rule as the voters can get rid of politicians who are only corrupt and do no work, all indexes related to health, literacy age were highest for west Pakistan till the 7o's since then even Bangladesh is better, so despite corruption there is development. Can it be faster- sure, but the development is better than Pakistan.

Nice article and good responses from my friends. My views Ques 1. In a democracy you get the government you deserve. The electorate needs to improve even though it is a painfully slow process. With successive elections, clean polity has become a major issue in elections all across (AAP victory is one example) and with a bachelor leader at the helm I have hope that things can only improve. Democracy has significantly empowered people especially Backward classes and women. (every one has one vote) Ques2 Many Politicians will try to leverage religion to gain power (to a lesser or greater extent) and at times artistic freedom may seem constrained. People's responsibility for their fellow men remains the same irrespective of the constitution. However a secular constitution guarantees that the fine line is not crossed and democracy is not subverted. Ques3. Army remains apolitical as always. People have started valuing the life of their fellow men esp soldiers more than ever before

@R Khan very true Mr Khan fully support your view

@Basit Ali That's absolutely true!

The Reason is the Education that starts during upbringing and nurturing. It is duty of the parents to be vigilant and refrain their kids from hatred ,dishonesty and blind faiths. Then only future will become bright

@Shakeel Ahmed A voice of reason and reality.

Beautifully Commented ,Last and Least ,Its Democracy which Prevails,nor any Dictator or Puppet can Rule,unless Public or Masses wants. So to keep democracy Alive,every Human being/Society should be aware what it is,so educating regarding to Democracy should be stressed in Society,Thru education System.

@Saurabh Srivastava very well put my eastern neighbouring brother. A great response to good questions. Kudos from a retired Pilot & a common citizen of Pakistan.

Agree with the author in some sense that there are a lot of corrupt politicians in India and people do complaint a lot about politics. But isn't that the case with every country? I mean, Obama's approval rating stands at 53% at the end of his term. I think that is the thing with democracy that people can critisize the government in their own terms and the irony is, we all love to criticize the government for every thing wrong in our lives

Democratic system of governance works well when there is a certain level of literacy and economic development. People must understand the power of their vote and also able to think that what is good and bad for the society/country. I wish my country become more democratic with economics development and better quality of education and I see that the Modi government is on the right track.

My Indian friends can say whether that they have heard Adhan or call for prayer in loudspeakers at various times times of the day. Just wondering if in Pakistan a hindu call for prayer will be tolerated in loudspeakers ?

I wonder if the author really understands Democracy. The very meaning is participation and more the participation. The lament 'what went wrong with India" and why it is not perfect is laughable. Perfect like what ... a totalitarian and sterile system? And for all the talk of the base of the BJP and the RSS offices in every city are the same as having Mosques or temples or tennis clubs all over India. They do not in any way circumvent or prevent the outcome of the due processes of law. There have been like a max of 3 cases related to Beef in a backward area in the north which is conflated for almost a billion Hindus.

Nice article.

nice article...

A dear friend of mine from Pakistan once said to me and I quote " India & Pakistan are two brothers who are fighting for something that does not belong to them" So true. That is the crux of all problems. You write beautifully. Thanks

Most Indians would agree with Shashi

I will keep my comments short and simple. In democracy, the government is chosen from the people and represents the people in general - whether corruption, nationalism or religious fanaticism. Not only in India, one can find these traits in most democracies of the world.

A TRUE picture Truthfully narrated about situation of both the countries

Secular constitution which allows anyone to become PM - start a party ie do thing in a election process way - no army intervention . Rule of law is not religious as guaranteed by constitution while pak is Islamic something alien or against historical culture which is causing people to seek power for money only . Efficient judiciary which dismiss even the PM EMERGENCY AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Tahir Mehdi 90 % of Indians are asking the same Questions and elected Modi to answer but we are still waiting for an answer.

TahirJi, With all due respect let me try to answer these questions and again its my view and not of a community or nation 1. People always blame the government. Common man has the right to choose the leader but we vote our caste rather than casting a vote. And then what you get is a government that is lacking moral and fundamental obligations towards the very people that elected them However, its changing. We are seeing good governance in states like Sikkim, Goa and over all the central government is trying to change things. However, this is a big ship and will take time to turn around 2. Religious extremists are evrywhere and it has nothing to do with country itself. RSS is handful and if you look India as country, the religious diversity is far more and religious incidents are far less and mostly politically motivated. Tell me a single country (Pakistan included) where you could safely practice your religion although you dont belong to majority?

To understand the issues in pakistan, and to understand why transfer of per generally isn't smooth in particular, please read 'Clash of civilizations'. It's a great book.

@R Khan Proud of You Mr. Khan.

Well said Saurabh