Page 61 - Leap of Faith Vol - 2
P. 61
A New Democracy on World Map Chapter 2
“ - Chester Bowles “
I have seen the spectacle of more than 100 million free Indians going to the polls in the world's largest free election, and I
can imagine no achievement greater. I have seen long lines assembled before dozens of polling booths. I have seen women
defy old customs and cast their rst vote (it is estimated that a higher proportion of women voted than men). I have seen
“untouchable” walk for miles to stand in the voting line next to Brahmans.
I have seen Muslims and Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Hindus, half-naked peasants and rich landlords, workers in shorts
and undershirts and Western-dressed officials, all waiting their turns in deciding the future of their country.
I saw, too, an old man of eighty on his deathbed who demanded that his fellow villagers carry him to the polls on a stretcher
so that he could cast a vote in the New India before he died.
In Asia, as in America, I know no grander vision than this, government by consent of the governed.
US Ambassador to India (Oct.1951-March 1953)
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