India's recent elections received international attention when the secular Congress party ousted the incumbent Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP has dominated Indian politics over the last few years, but many believe they lost power primarily because of their attitude toward the poor.
Although India has experienced substantial economic growth in recent years, its distribution of income is imbalanced. Between 350 and 400 million Indians, mostly in rural areas, live below the poverty line. Dalits, often called the "untouchables", are those who have been born into the lowest rung of the Hindu caste system. Dalits are destined to live a life of poverty, humiliation, and cultural subjugation. When Sonja Gandhi declined to become the next prime minister, Manmohan Singh was nominated in her stead, becoming the first Sikh to be appointed to that position. Singh is credited with implementing unprecedented economic reforms while serving as India's minister of finance in the early 1990's. Many see hope for economic reform with the change of power.
The BJP was also criticized for their treatment of religious minorities. Religions such as Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism together make up less than 5 percent of the population. The overwhelming majority of Indians are Hindu, with the exception of Muslims who comprise approximately 12 percent of the population. Under the BJP, some states passed anti-conversion laws which ban religious conversions "by force, allurement or fraudulent means" without specifically defining the conditions of the law. Violators can be fined large sums of money or imprisoned for up to four years. Some Christians considered these laws to have been developed to prevent Dalits from converting to Christianity.
The new Indian government, lead by the communist-supported Congress party, has promised to bring reform. In a speech made Monday, the new leadership pledged to protect the rights of religious minorities and implement new government policies to help the poor. They made reference to the Gujarat riots, in which over 1,000 people where killed as a result of fighting between Hindus and Muslims. They also promised to re-write school textbooks, which they say were distorted by Hindu religious fundamentalists. According to the Congress party, the recent elections were "indicative of people's yearning for inclusiveness... and their rejection of the forces of divisiveness and intolerance… The verdict is for establishing the rule of law and repairing our social fabric."
We will keep watching to see how this new communist-backed government ultimately affects politics in the largest democracy in the world.
