India’s elections have never been perfect. But until now, the overall fairness of the country’s elections has not been called into question. Today, however, many voices of doubt and scepticism about the process can be heard. Are their questions justified?
Peace worker and writer Harsh Mander discusses the question with leading public interest litigator Prashant Bhushan and Right to Information activist Anjali Bhardwaj.
They speak about the openly partisan the process of appointment of election commissioners, express concern about the integrity of electoral rolls and examine the speculation about electronic voting machines being tampered with.
Such scepticism about the electoral process, they emphasise, poses an enormous danger to the survival of Indian democracy.
This is part of a discussion series initiated by Karwan e Mohabbat on the state of the Indian republic. The series is called Yeh Daag Daag Ujala, in tribute to the iconic poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
