There’s now a discussion on whether India can continue to call itself a liberal democracy. Just like in the US & in several other countries, we really have to define, or redefine, the character of democracy. The Arab Spring uprisings best expressed the character of real democracy which is direct political rule by & for the people. That’s why they have been so ruthlessly & violently repressed using ‘war on terror’ ideology.
India, the US, & most other so-called democracies don’t come close to that kind of democracy. What we have behind a parliamentary facade is oligarchies, governments by & for capitalists, even feudalists. That’s one reason the majority of people choose not to participate in the charade by not voting or, as in the case of the Black community in the US & Muslims in India, are systematically disenfranchised.