Will Democracy Survive in India?

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: What does it mean for a country to be a democracy?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• extremism (p. 14)
• dissent (p. 14)
• embraces (p. 16)
• partitioned (p. 16)
• succumb (p. 17)
• refutation (p. 17)

3. Engage
Have partners discuss, write, and share with the class their definition for what it means for a country to be a democracy. After the lesson, have students discuss whether they have revised their ideas about democracy.   

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Will Democracy Survive in India?, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the following page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What is the author’s main purpose with the first three paragraphs of the article? (Author’s purpose, text structure) (The author’s main purpose is to show one way the rise of Hindu nationalism in India has affected the Muslim population. The author does this through an anecdote about a Muslim student who was not allowed to enter her school because she wears a headscarf, and she now can’t finish her education. Beginning the article this way also helps set up two central ideas of the article—that the Muslim population in India is facing oppression as a result of the rise of Hindu Nationalism and that democracy may be dying in India.)

• What is the Hindu nationalist vision? What has led to the rise of Hindu nationalism in recent years? (Word meaning, sequence) (The Hindu nationalist vision is that India should be a country first and foremost for Hindus. Hindu nationalism began to rise in 2014, when Narendra Modi was elected prime minister. He is the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P), a right-wing political party that advocates for Hindu nationalism. Modi and other B.J.P politicians have implemented laws that target Muslims—sending the message that Muslims are second-class citizens, thus opening the door to more discrimination and violence against them.)

• How has Hindu nationalism affected the Muslim population in India? (Cause & effect, key details)(The Muslim population has faced discrimination, oppression, and violence as a result of Hindu nationalism. B.J.P.-ruled states have passed laws that prohibit Muslim girls from wearing headscarves in school, interfaith marriages, and the eating of beef, which is important in the Muslim diet. Mobs have beaten Muslims and otherwise harassed them.)

• What does Sadanand Dhume mean when he says that India is a thriving electoral democracy but is in trouble as a liberal democracy? Do you agree with his assessment? Explain. (Make inferences, evaluate claims) (By “a thriving electoral democracy,” he means India has universal adult suffrage and that many people vote in India’s elections. With his assessment that India is in trouble as a liberal democracy, he means that equality in daily life is in trouble. He says, “Independent courts, freedoms of the press, and minority rights are all under siege.” Students’ evaluations of Dhume’s assessment of India will vary but should be supported with text evidence and other facts.) 

• The subtitle for the article explains that many observers are worried about whether democracy will survive in India. Based on information in the article, why do you think these experts see an end to democracy in India as troubling? (Central idea, key details) (First, they likely see an end to democracy in India as troubling because, on an immediate level, the Muslim population is suffering. Second, some find it troubling because if democracy in India fails, then a huge segment of the world’s population will no longer live in freedom. Finally, some worry that if India fails as a democracy, that might signal that democracy can work only in wealthy, less diverse countries.) 

• What is the central idea of the sidebar “Gandhi: From Hero to Villain?”? What does it add to the article? (Central idea, integrate multiple sources) (The central idea is that admiration for Mohandas K. Gandhi is waning in India, and admiration for his killer, a Hindu nationalist, is growing. This information shows another way that Hindu nationalism is rising in India and changing norms in the country.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research British colonialism in India, and write a one-page essay discussing how much of an impact you think the legacy of British rule has on India today. 

7. Video
Watch the video about the partition of India in 1947. What does the history add to your understanding? 

8. Classroom Debate
Is Dhume correct that if India ceases to be a democracy, then it means that democracy is a “luxury good”?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension and Organizing Ideas to review outlining skills.