When A Billion People Vote: Managing India’s Democracy

**Please be advised: This event will premiere LIVE on this page at 9:00 a.m. EDT, Friday, November 13.**

Join Hudson Institute for a discussion examining the Indian democratic experiment, both its successes and challenges, on the heels of the U.S. presidential elections. To discuss this and more, Hudson Institute invites you to a panel discussion with the former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr. N. Gopalaswami, Dr Daniel Twining, President, International Republican Institute (IRI) and Dr Sandeep Shastri, Pro Vice Chancellor of the Jain University. Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Dr Aparna Pande will moderate.

At a time when the world over, democracies and democratic norms are facing both domestic and international challenges, the bedrock of the India-U.S. relationship has long been a values based partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies. At the ‘2 plus 2’ ministerial that took place in Delhi in end October 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the two countries as ‘great democracies, global powers, and good friends.’

India has long remained unique: a post-colonial country, that remained a democracy with strong political institutions, civilian supremacy over its military, and an overall vibrant economy and society. Starting from 1952 when independent India held its first elections with 176 million eligible voters, the country has built an impressive electoral machinery that helps conduct elections at local, state and federal levels. In the 2019 parliamentary elections there were 900 million registered voters, 1 million polling stations, 10 million electoral officials, and over 8000 candidates.