India is undergoing another transformation. The India I first visited, in the 1970s, was impressively democratic — with the exception of the period known as the Emergency imposed by then prime minister Indira Gandhi between 1975 and 1977. But its economy grew too slowly. After the balance of payments crisis of 1991, India introduced radical reforms. Over the next two decades its economy became faster-growing, while the political system remained robustly democratic. After the global financial crisis, however, growth slowed. India’s politics is also now moving towards an aggressively illiberal form of majoritarianism. These twin changes are not for the better.
印度又在經歷一場轉變。我第一次訪問印度是1970年代，當時的印度非常民主——除了1975至1977年間時任總理英迪拉•甘地(Indira Gandhi)實施「緊急狀態」(the Emergency)時期。但經濟成長太慢了。