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The nation of India is the world's largest democracy, and it is holding an important election for members of its legislature, which is like our Congress. While India is much smaller than the United States geographically, it has a population of more than 1 billion. In contrast, our own country's population is about 306 million, less than one-third India's population. In this picture you see some of the facts that make India's election very challenging. Because of the great number of people, and because election violence is possible, India's election is held in stages that last an entire month, from April 16th to May 13th. Can you imagine if our election were like that? Most Indians are peaceful people,
but in some areas, small groups want to disrupt the elections
and use violence to try to keep people from voting. This is partly
why India's election is held in stages, so enough police and
military people can be available in case of violence in one area.
Last month 17 people were killed in election-related violence.
Yet turnout was high, even as parts of the country suffered from
a terrible heat wave. India's influence around the globe is growing,
and it has had a huge economic boom within the last 15 years.
By 2040, experts say, it may be the world's largest economy. |
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