Executive Summary: Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), and Islamic State in Hind Province (ISHP), attempted to destabilize India during the legislative elections from April to June with threats, anti-Hindu/anti-democratic propaganda, and terrorist attacks. Most of these efforts were foiled, but collectively, the actions represented a large-scale attempt to destabilize Indian society.
With so many ups and downs in the past, New Delhi has pinned high hopes on the military-backed Caretaker Government in neighbouring Bangladesh for better and more progressive ties. Though it seems strange for India to give an approving nod to a military-powered regime, it strongly believes that the current government may continue for longer and for the better. It seems the campaign for democracy in Southern Asia is not on India's priority list for now.
Democracy is the most widely admired political system, but perhaps the most difficult to maintain. Democracy begins with excellent objectives in human governance with unquestionable intensions to impart freedom from injustice and social exclusion. It is characterised as a system in which expectations are raised because people identify themselves with the polity. There has been a greater urge for opening up the space for participation and competition in a state like Nepal which had a long history of monarchical domination.
Democracy and Nuclear issues cannot go hand in hand. While civilization flourishes through public participation – a distinct principle of democracy, nuclear (as a weapon) eradicates a large number of populations when it is used. Therefore, nuclear is the antithesis of democratic principles. Any discussion on nuclear-related issues, may it be national security, the production of nuclear energy and its derivatives, is bound to be anti-democratic, which has maintained its status quo in all nuclear-capable countries around the world.
It has been proved several times in the history of nation states that credible mechanism of governance takes years to build but may collapse in a single stroke. Nepal, today, is experiencing the same. Over the years Nepal has been forced to witness the systemic collapse of its political institutions. Democracy in Nepal is still far from realization, as the landlocked Himalayan Kingdom remains entangled in a two-way fight between the autocratic monarchy and Maoists.