[01] Chanchal Kumar, Department of Political Science, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, India.

Electoral processes are very much about the management of social conflict through public dialogue, vigorous debate and the authoritative selection of leaders through electoral rules. At its core, and in line with the principles of democratic development, when people perceive that they have had an opportunity to be heard in a procedurally fair election, they are more willing to accept the results and grant legitimacy to the elected government to implement its policy and programs. Nevertheless, elections are not in themselves sufficient mechanisms for managing political change, when the players have not bought into the rules of the game. In such circumstances elections can act like a piece of tinder in a hayfield and just as easily ignite violence or conflict, as enable a peaceful transfer of power. While elections in India have meant more meaningful participation across a broad spectrum of society and better representation of all sections in politics, the incidence of electoral violence has grown along with Indian democracy. This trend reflects a complex mixing of socio-political factors and keen competition for political dominance among political parties. Elections, violence, hate and criminality have become intertwined over the decades. Strictly implemented reforms that covered the election process end-to-end, from voter registration and identity cards to a code of conduct for candidates to the adoption of electronic voting machines, have largely succeeded in securing the actual election process. But, electoral democracy continues to be plagued by criminal elements, often marshalled to serve divisive ends. Extending well beyond election management bodies, the ability of an electoral process to achieve its democratic development objectives relies on the political actors, government agencies and security bodies, civic and media groups and national purveyors of justice to uphold their roles in the process. The Indian democracy needs to take cognizance of the fact that just as almost all sectors of society have an interest in the outcome of an election; they have equal responsibility in promoting its integrity.

Indian Democracy, Electoral Violence, Universal Suffrage, Electoral Process, Election Reforms

[01] ANATOMY OF ELECTIONS AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA, http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org [02] Bobbio, Norberto (2008) El futuro de la democracia. México, Fondo de Cultura Económica. [03] Kohli, Atul ed. The Success of India’s Democracy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001 p 3. [04] Sisk, Timothy D., “Elections in Fragile States: Between Voice and Violence”, Paper Prepared for International Studies Association Annual Meeting San Francisco, California March 24-28, 2008. [05] Hounkpe Mathias, Alioune Badara Gueye, “The role of Security Forces in the electoral process: the case of six West African countries” FRIEDRICH EBERT STIFTUNG PAPER,Nigeria,2010 [06] http://aceproject.org/ace-en/focus/elections-and-security/onePage [07] Shruti, Sia, "Election Reforms in India and Challenges before the Election Commission", Mighty Laws.in, March 23rd, 2012, Delhi. [08] Sia Shruti, n.xx. [09] Lloyd Rudolph and Susanne Rudolph, The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967). [10] Weiner, Myron, Party Building in a New Nation (Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1967). [11] These results are limited by the small number of units and the absence of controls for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, which we show to be important for explaining the 2002 violence. [12] Varshney, Ashutosh and Steven I. Wilkinson, Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence in India, 1950-1995, (Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (distributor), February 17, 2006). [13] Hasan, Z.K., “Communalism and Communal Violence in India,” Social Scientist 10:2 (1982) 25-39; Gopal Krishna, “Communal Violence in India: A Study of Communal Disturbance in Delhi, part II,” Economic and Political Weekly, 20: 3 (1985) 117-31; S. Mayaram, “Communal Violence in Jaipur,” Economic and Political Weekly 28:46/47 (1993): 2524-41; Shah, “Communal Riots in Gujarat”; Shah, “Anatomy of an Urban Riot”; Engineer, Communalism in India; Engineer, ed. The Gujarat Carnage [14] Howard Spodek, “From Gandhi to Violence: Ahmedabad's 1985 Riots in Historical Perspective,” Modern Asian Studies 23:4 (1989); Jan Breman, The Making and Unmaking of an Industrial Working Class (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004). [15] http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cec-wants-to-identify-scared-voters-before-polls/983660/0 [16] “Democracy Conflict and Human Security: Policy Findings”, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2006. [17] Rajagopalan, Swarna, “ Making tough choices: Elections and security”, http://infochangeindia.org/governance/security-for-all/making-tough-choices-elections-and-security.html [18] http://aceproject.org/ace-en/focus/elections-and-security/onePage [19] Pradhan Sharat, “Criminal Tag Dogs 32 Uttar Pradesh Candidates,” South Asia Monitor, June 22, 2004. www.southasiamonitor.org. [20] Shruti, Sia, "Election Reforms in India and Challenges before the Election Commission", Mighty Laws.in, March 23rd, 2012, Delhi. [21] O'Connell, Helen. ed. Women and Conflict. Oxfam. Oxford, UK. 1993. [22] “Women and Political Violence: An Update”, Research and Advocacy Unit, July 2011. [23] Sia Shruti, n. xx. [24] Lloyd Rudolph and Susanne Rudolph, The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967). [25] Brass, Paul Factional Politics in an Indian State (Berkeley: University of California, 1965). [26] Weiner, Myron, Party Building in a New Nation (Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1967). [27] Sia Shruti, n.xx. [28] Wilkinson, Steven I. 2004. Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [29] Wilkinson, Steven I., and Christopher J. Haid. 2009. ‘‘Ethnic Violence as Campaign Expenditure: Riots, Competition, and Vote Swings in India.’’ Working paper, Department of Political Science, Yale University. [30] Ibid. [31] Steven I. Wilkinson, Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004); John Dayal, ed. Gujarat 2002: Untold and Re-told Stories of the Hindutva Lab (Justice & Peace Commission and All India Christian Council, Delhi: Media House, 2002) p. xv . [32] These results are limited by the small number of units and the absence of controls for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, which we show to be important for explaining the 2002 violence. [33] Brass, Paul Forms of Collective Violence: Riots, Pogroms and Genocide in Modern India (Gurgaon: Three Essays Collective, 2006); Engineer, ed. The Gujarat Carnage. [34] Varshney, Ashutosh and Steven I.Wilkinson, Varshney-Wilkinson Dataset on Hindu-Muslim Violence in India, 1950-1995, (Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (distributor), February 17, 2006). [35] Hasan, Z.K., “Communalism and Communal Violence in India,” Social Scientist 10:2 (1982) 25-39; Gopal Krishna, “Communal Violence in India: A Study of Communal Disturbance in Delhi, part II,” Economic and Political Weekly, 20: 3 (1985) 117-31; S. Mayaram, “Communal Violence in Jaipur,” Economic and Political Weekly 28:46/47 (1993): 2524-41; Shah, “Communal Riots in Gujarat”; Shah, “Anatomy of an Urban Riot”; Engineer, Communalism in India; Engineer, ed. The Gujarat Carnage [36] Howard Spodek, “From Gandhi to Violence: Ahmedabad's 1985 Riots in Historical Perspective,” Modern Asian Studies 23:4 (1989); Jan Breman, The Making and Unmaking of an Industrial Working Class (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004). [37] Jethmalani, Ram, “A sub continental medley”, http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/a-subcontinental-medley [38] http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cec-wants-to-identify-scared-voters-before-polls/983660/0 [39] http://aceproject.org/main/english/ei/eie12f.htm [40] UNDP, n.xi.