Protests, polling, and politics: the democratic landscape of South Asia

2024 was arguable the biggest test of democracy worldwide, with over 70 countries entering the polls. What makes it even more impressive is the polling population- contributed by countries with massive populations like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh- which underwent one of the largest democratic exercises. In addition, Bhutan underwent parliamentary elections from late 2023 to early 2024, while Sri Lanka saw their population go to polls in 2024. We are, however, cognizant of the fact that polls alone do not determine the strength of a democracy. The following essay builds on evidence to support the notion that protests are a mechanism for resilience in South Asia- following the themes of defending rights, ensuring accountability, and requiring transparency which in turn form the pillars of democracy.

The landscape of South Asia, and the Indian subcontinent in specific, can be considered to have dominated the political scene in the last few years. The coming of democracy less than a hundred years ago, and the constant struggle to maintain it has been impressive and reasonably successful. However, recent spectacles across Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka would prove otherwise. Afghanistan has abandoned hope of democracy in wake of the recent Taliban incursion, while the Maldives and Bhutan remain a quiet, but powerful force considering their physical and political proximity to China. As a whole, South Asia is no stranger to protests. The coming of independence to most South Asian countries was famously delivered through mass protests and political movements. And it is thus no surprise that it is a longstanding tradition to uphold democratic values through largescale protests. The objective, target group, and participant profile for such protests have been clear and defined which adds to the legitimacy of the protest, an end goal for the uprising, and a clear structure post the unrest.

Rights

The notion of democracy seems tantalizing as it places power in the hands of the public and alludes to the wisdom of the crowds. Democracy, perhaps, might be the single largest attempt to mobilize public support- and it attempts to retain as much personal freedom of each member of the crowd as possible. When this freedom is threatened, citizens promptly express their disapproval in the system and many have been successfully in expressing this. Nepal’s GenZ protests are a prime example of the most recent positive force in support of democracy. With a social media ban looming on the country, the youth took to the streets, effectively replacing the government with one of their choosing. The message is clear-rights are not granted, they are protected and defended, and citizens are not afraid to take to the streets. The recent elections have led to the rise of a rapper-politician as the country seeks a fresh voice to represent its youth.

Transparency

India’s CAA/NRC protests, the Farm protests, and Anna Hazare’s hunger strike were clear calls for a more transparent structure in the functioning of the government. It forced debate on the efficacy of these laws, means of protecting public interest, while also providing a clear dictate on the rule of law that governed these proposals. It forced an open-door discussion of the mandates, preventing India from turning into an autocracy.

Accountability

Bangladesh is perhaps the most compelling case study in demanding accountability. The removal of Sheikh Hasina wasn't just a regime change, it was a structural demand that the government must be answerable to the people, not just to its own economic metrics. The real test of resilience will be visible a couple months in, if the recently democratically elected government provides the much needed respite from the autocratic tones of Bangladesh’s tumultuous political history.

Attitudes that build resilience

In a comprehensive thesis, Majumdar considers that diffuse support and emancipative attitudes are positively and negatively correlated, respectively, to higher incomes. The author argues for democratic backsliding because of highly populist movements that beleaguer the subcontinent, but a review of evidence from the past years of protest claims a different story. Freedom of choice and speech have been exercised in either violent or non-violent forms. To prove this, Pakistan’s Imran Khan may remain in jail, but his party members continue to be elected to power.

One can even go so far as to argue that the number of protests in South Asia points towards greater democratic resilience for the coming years. As Grinin and Korotayev argue, it took 5 insurgences for England to reach universal suffrage- a quality that is enjoyed well into the present. Furthermore, protests firmly place the power in the hands of the people. Insurgencies, revolutions and uprisings are proofs of power being firmly with the people- a pillar of democracy that cannot be ignored. It is important to acknowledge that a successful protest passing through, either through negotiation or full upheaval, contributes to a successful democracy. Any insurgencies quashed by the government could lead to establishing a more autocratic state.

There do remain concerns for stability of a democratic reign in South Asia- considering the deep casteist and religious divide that besets much of the subcontinent. Examples of Afghanistan and other parts of West Asia demonstrate protests without a clear direction- chaos resulting in an autocratic and destabilized regime. Jha adopts a similar tone when he discusses the Indian protests that defined modern India’s reaffirmation in democracy. The author argues that these protests work best under the confines of civil society with the sole purpose of holding a government accountable and building a sense of unity amongst citizens. A band of protesters may not function as a government, but they can ensure a government functions as it is supposed to. Drawing a parallel between Bangladesh’s movement and Sri Lanka’s Aragalayain protests in 2022, Bangladesh’s quick nomination of an interim government helped it recover in eighteen months. Sri Lanka, having allowed for a cooling period of twenty-four months, continued to find strength in its original parliamentary structure despite popular unrest. In both instances, the people worked within an original system, and a spring-back to this system ensures the discontent is shortly lived and democracy remains resilient.

In summary and future direction

A cautionary tale, however, leads us to place limits on frequent upheavals. Multiple protests in a short period of time could point towards an entirely inefficient government, and a diagnostic of the frequency of protests in South Asia must be conducted to test the long-term resilience of democracy in its countries. The population is under agreement- the nascent steps of democracy in South Asia must be protected, even if the upheavals present a conundrum. Protests are highly efficient, but there must be clear outcomes that must be implemented once order is restored. Protests without direction- such as reactionary upheavals- cannot be expected to bring about sweeping change that benefits all its citizens.

While democracy is often seen at a wider level, understanding how micro-level government bodies ultimately lead to macro-level decision making is a great topic of secondary research. On-ground research that draws a pattern from the village to the center can also act as an evidenceb ase to see if federalism sets out to do what it initially promised.

Furthermore, most debates around democracy begin from educational institutes. Analysing curriculums, freedom of speech within institutes, radicalizations and concretization of ideas, and youth movements in larger spheres creates a powerful narrative of the overall status of satisfaction amongst the youth and may serve as a mechanism to predict youth dissidence and further protests.

The pillars of democracy must be made part of curriculums and active conversation, and a strong central democracy that can justify itself to the public may just be the solution to a lasting democratic institution- and students of the social sciences play perhaps the most pivotal role in documenting these historical events.