Join me on August 11 for a discussion of Indian democracy with former PM Tony Abbott
Join me on Tuesday, August 11 for a frank discussion of the state of Indian democracy with Australia’s former prime minister, the Hon. Tony Abbott AC:
India was born a democracy on August 15, 1947. It is one of the few postcolonial democracies to have remained a democracy down to this day. At 75 years old, India is Asia's oldest democracy, and the world's largest. More people have voted in India than in the rest of the world combined.
Yet many view India as a troubled democracy. The Economist's Democracy Index classifies India as a "flawed democracy". Sweden's Varieties of Democracy Institute calls India an "electoral autocracy". Freedom House rates India as only "partially free". Are these warnings correct, or has the world underrated the success of Indian democracy?
In celebration of the 75 years of independent India, I’ll be asking Tony Abbott about his up-close-and-personal observations of Indian democracy in action. A long-time India watcher, Abbott played a key role in kicking off the negotiations that led to April's surprise announcement of the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. He was also Australia's prime minister when Narendra Modi first won office in India, and probably knows India’s current leader better than any other Australian.
The August 11 event is being held by Sydney’s Centre for Independent Studies, where I am proud to have the opportunity to contribute to some of Australia’s most important policy debates. Aarti Seksaria will open the event for CIS. I hope to see many of you there.