Dear MEL Topic Readers,
More than a billion people will head to the polls across South Asia in
2024
Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan were ruled by the British
Empire for 100 years until after the end of World War II. The combined
population of these four democratic states exceeds 1.8 billion, accounting for over
22% of the world’s population. This year, these four South Asian countries have
general elections.
Below is the year of independence and the first general elections, the population
and the number of voters, and the % of the major religions of these democratic countries.
Bangladesh: ind. (1947->) 1971,
ele. 1973, pop. 171 mil, vot. 130 mil, 90% Muslims
Pakistan: ind. 1947, ele. 1947, pop. 234 mil, vot. 140 million, 96% Muslims
India: ind. 1947, ele. 1951, pop. 1.4 billion, vot. 1 billion, 80% Hindis
Sri Lanka: ind. 1948, ele. 1947, pop. 22 million, vot. 16 million, 70%
Buddhists
Even though democracy has been in place, none of these countries has been
free from undemocratic leadership displacement by military coups, assassinations,
and forced resignations. Also, democracy is often ruled by the majority of interests
and supporters. How do religions influence democracy in a country where a certain
religion dominates the majority of the population?
Read the article and learn about what this year’s election means to
four South Asian countries.
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