The third wave of democratization in the early 1990s encompassed Asian countries. Like African states Asian countries, especially in the southern part of the continent are experiencing a siege on democracy. This article published by The Avenue Mail is written by Bimal Prasad Mohapatra. Here is an excerpt:

Can democratic world afford weakening of democracy in South Asian countries? This is a billion dollar question, needs to be addressed urgently for the following reasons: 1. The region houses world’s one fourth of total population, 2. It is fast becoming workshops of the world, and 3. The last but not the least is the region houses world’s largest, and so far stable and vibrant democracy that is India. And during the last few years, the region’s democratic governments are getting rapidly weakened due to assaults from external forces, both from democratic and authoritarian world.

And during the last few months the process of weakening of democratic governances in the region have been found faster, thanks to dreaded pandemic Covid-19 on the one hand -allegedly developed and allowed to spread with strategic objectives -refer PLA incursion into Indian territory and subsequent attack on Indian Army on the Himalayan Hills- when India was struggling to save her people from the monstrous clutches of the virus-, which has in the meanwhile engulfed the entire world, the first of the kind in fastness and severity the entire human civilization had ever encountered.

Communism or authoritarian regime and democracy are not same bed fellows. In the recent past in South Asia, when democracy is not aggressive in spreading its wings, the communism and authoritarian regimes together are found very aggressive and marching with one after another success, mostly at the cost of democracy. For Communist authoritarian China, successful and vibrant democratic India with big economy and strong military is an eyesore. These aspect western democracies, the vanguard of democratic movement in the world, should not ignore.

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