Democracy’s Heartland : Inside The Battle For Power in South Asia

South Asia is often seen as chaotic volatile and even undemocratic. But former Chief Election Commissioner of India S.Y. Quraishi argues in Democracy’s Heartland that no other region has embraced the democratic experiment as fully or as fiercely as South Asia. From India’s electoral juggernaut to Pakistan’s power struggles Bangladesh’s voter resilience to Nepal’s constitutional churn Afghanistan’s downslide to Bhutan’s hesitant first steps Quraishi offers a comparative tour of the subcontinent’s democracies warts wonders and all. Drawing on decades of first-hand experience he combines sharpanalysis with untold stories from the front lines of elections across the region. What emerges is a definitive account of how democracy survives adapts and even thrives in South Asia despite the odds. Bold original and deeply informed Democracy’s Heartland repositions the region as democracy’s most vital and contested terrain.