The outcome of the Bihar elections is stunning in its scope as well as in its nature. Once again, the illiterate, long-suffering people rose above caste and religion in search of a better future, and proved the psephologists and pundits wrong. This capacity to transcend narrow loyalties and express the collective will with calm grandeur has been the saving grace of our otherwise flawed democracy. This happened in 1971, when people were fired by hope; in 1977, when they were outraged by the fetters imposed on liberties; and several times thereafter all over the country.

Now that some of the dust raised by the Supreme Court judgment on dissolution of Bihar Assembly has settled, the time has come for sober, non-partisan reflection. Clearly, the Court verdict is an indictment of the various institutions whose failure to protect democratic values has been palpable. The Court’s williness to bark and refusal to bite also expose the limitations of judicial review in a rapidly changing situation on matters which are intensely political.

Over 20 million people of Indian origin are dispersed in 110 countries all over the world outside India.  About half of them constitute the first generation immigrants or their immediate families – mostly in North America, Europe, Middle East, and South-East Asia, apart from our own neighborhood.