The nomination of Madam Droupadi Murmu as the candidate for the election of the next President of India is historic as well as an act of unshackling historical injustice to the Indigenous People of India.
Indian democracy witnessed multiple challenges. Disruption of elections by the rebel groups in the three conflict theatres – Jammu & Kashmir, central India and the north-eastern states of India – is one of them. Unlike the 2004 and 2009 Parliamentary elections, some Islamist extremist groups have planned to disrupt the 2014 elections. Some have even been preparing for the last six months or more to disrupt the elections.
After 25 years, for the first time, the election was held for the demerged Northern Provincial Council (NPC) on September 21. Though the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) victory with a thumping two-thirds majority was predicted, some thought the development route to ethnic reconciliation, as relentlessly articulated and pursued by the Rajapakse government, would give it some electoral benefits. It managed to win only 7 seats (18.38 per cent of the votes) in the 38-member council.
The declaration by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the presidential polls will be held on October 06 is of critical concern. It is imperative to point out that the ECP has played a very crucial role in facilitating the re-election bid of President Musharraf by declaring that he would be eligible to contest elections, despite a constitutional ban on government officials from standing for elections unless they retired two years before the polls.
With so many ups and downs in the past, New Delhi has pinned high hopes on the military-backed Caretaker Government in neighbouring Bangladesh for better and more progressive ties. Though it seems strange for India to give an approving nod to a military-powered regime, it strongly believes that the current government may continue for longer and for the better. It seems the campaign for democracy in Southern Asia is not on India's priority list for now.