With unrest in the middle-east and the disappearance of Malaysian fight 370 during April and May, the western media seemed to have glossed over many other events that, while not as exciting, were certainly influential. One such event, taking place in India, will undoubtedly shape our global village in the future.
India, home to nearly 1/6 of the world’s population and a birthplace of democracy, held their general election from April to May 2014. This election was not only monumental in its magnitude of civil participation, setting the record for the largest election in history with a turnout of 814 million eligible voters (aljazeera); but also in its candidates, in which depending on the outcome, will heavily impact India’s economic and social standings with the world. Since India has heavy foreign trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates (one of our oil sources), the U.S., and China, we will inevitably feel the aftershocks of this election.
First, let us meet the two leading parties and their candidates. On our centre-left (of the political spectrum) is the Indian National Congress(INC), lead by Rahul Gandhi (Maps of India). Gandhi comes from a long line of famous politicians: his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India, his grandmother Indira Gandhi was the fourth Prime Minister of India, his father Rajiv Gandhi was the seventh Prime Minister of India, and his mother is the current president of the INC. Needless to say, Rahul Gandhi ran this campaign with no small scrutiny or expectations.
On our centre-right is the INC’s opponent – the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) – lead by 63-year-old Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister of the Gujarat state in West India since 2001, Modi is an experienced political veteran. He was named the best Chief Minister of India in 2006 and was even featured on the cover of TIME magazine Asian edtion in 2012. Lke Gandhi, Modi had also faced tensions during his campaign. Critics noted the Gurajat Riots of 2002, where the burning of a train filled with Hindu passengers resulted in mass anti-muslim riots, with a death toll between 900-2000. Modi was accused of indirectly promoting the violence by inciting the police with “shoot on sight” orders and strict curfews. Many believed that he did not properly handle the situation, and worry about the legitimacy of his current campaign, as his party also adheres to the name “Hindu Nationalist Party.”
The Indian voters look for change in the coming years, but will Gandhi or Modi lead the charge? On one end we have Rahul Gandhi fighting for equality for all Indians, including a right to health care and pension, and hope to grow India’s economy and GDP by waiving all export taxes. Modi chose to take a different approach. He proposes to focus on growing the economy by encouraging traditional methods of agriculture, while strengthening it by upgrading infrastructure and housing to promote self-employment. He even promised a high speed train network to the masses. His most striking promise however, even if it was overlooked, was his pledge to put a toilet in every single Indian household. While this seems to be a trivial matter for us, let us not forget that India is still a third-world country, and the fact that many do not have a access to clean hygiene is very alarming. I am not going to go into great details about Gandhi and Modi’s goals, as this article might span too long, but it is safe to say that they are our typical right-wing/left-wing politicians.
Election time draws near, and Indians from corners of the country flock to one of millions of polling stations to cast their vote. In order to accomodate the staggering amount of voters, the Indian government decided to use the electronic voting system. Each polling station is small enough to fit in a large suitcase (see picture at the beginning of article), and saves countless trees and time. This is very interesting because Canada and the U.S. still use the paper polling system for their federal elections.
As of May 16, the BJP officially won the general elections of India 2014 and Narendra Modi will become India’s 15th Prime Minister. This signifies a great wave of change that will crash onto India in the coming years. The whole world is watching as Modi steps into the spotlight. He is praised for his economic policies in his state Gurajat, while being condemned for the lack of human-rights development in Gurajat. For better or worse, I believe that India has the human and natural resources to become the next economical superpower, following in China’s footsteps, and Modi is the ideal man to bring about that change.
Don’t think I made you read that lengthy political word joust without a little bit of a mind-number at the end. I’ll let Jon Oliver end this election coverage for you.