'Crook'ed Democracy

India concluded its Parliamentary Elections recently . Despite the lower rates of education and literacy compared to the West, Indian public participates vigorously in these elections. However, there are too many destructive forces within the Indian election system. Financial Times has a good article on this topic - Indian democracy has an ugly side. In it, Mr. Rachman writes that "n most countries when politicians are slammed as “criminals” this is simply vulgar abuse. In India, it is often the literal truth. The British public, currently hyperventilating about expenses fiddles in the UK parliament, might be interested to know that 128 of the 543 members of the last Indian parliament had faced criminal charges or investigations, including 83 cases of murder. In a poor society, gangsters can and do use muscle and money to force their way into parliament....."