Indian democracy
Success of Indian democracy stands in stark contrast to the bloodlettings taking place in other nominal South Asian democracies -- Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These nominally democratic countries have failed to bring peace and prosperity to their people because of their propensity to resort to violence for political change. India's success in running a relatively violence-free democratic process has been mainly due to Mahatma Gandhi and his legacy of non-violence.
When Mahatma Gandhi launched his non-violent political movement to end the British colonial rule in India, he made it clear why he rejected all calls for a violent freedom struggle: "If Indians take up guns to kill the British, given India's great ethnic and religious divisions, they would still be using the same guns to kill each other long after the British had gone. I don't want India's freedom if it meant Indians would be free to slaughter each other. If India makes violence her creed I will not care to live in India."
Thanks to Gandhi, India, despite sporadic bloodlettings, has remained a basically peaceful and stable nation. It has faced many crises since its inception, but it has been able to resolve these crises without descending to never-ending bloodbath as happened to neighbouring Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It still faces many threats but Indian democracy has proved to be capable of resolving them without resorting to protracted violence. This is evident from the Indian response to recent terrorist attack on Mumbai. Although it was clear that the attack was carried out by extremists based in Pakistan, India's response has been prudent and non-violent. Gandhi's teachings will come handy as India faces extremists who are causing havoc in Pakistan.
India can also help Sri Lanka to peacefully resolve the conflict with the Tamil minority. Initially India supported the Tamil Tigers' violent movement and then turned against it. India should play the role of a moderator to bring about a non-violent resolution of the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict. It should now prod the Sri Lankan authorities to address the genuine grievances of the Tamil minority. In this context, India can point out that Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist who thought he was partial to the Muslim minority. The success of Indian democracy is a beacon of hope in a region torn by violence and extremism.
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