In about three weeks, India, the world's largest democracy, will be going to the polls. To discuss the current state of democracy in South Asia, the Harvard-Radcliffe South Asian Association (SAA) held its third annual Academic Forum last weekend.

About 75 students and members of the community attended the panel discussion on "Democracy in South Asia," held in the Kennedy School of Government's Malcolm Weiner Auditorium on Saturday.

The former American ambassador to Bangladesh, Howard Schaffer '50, opened the panel by discussing the political landscape of South Asia over the last 50 years. He specifically addressed the longstanding strains in Indo-American relations.

"It is important to understand that American policy in South Asia has de-emphasized the stabilization of democracy and the protection of human rights," Schaffer said. "Washington has focused on the establishment of regional peace and stability."

Schaffer said relations between India and the U.S. have improved since the end of the Cold War, adding that the U.S. now realizes the importance of strong economic ties with India.

Panelist Anwar Syed, professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, spoke on "The Pakistani Experience with Democracy." Syed acknowledged that Pakistan's political climate has historically been unfavorable for the creation of a strong democracy.

"One of the underlying problems in Pakistan is that the culture doesn't support debate," Syed said.

"An attitude of respect towards the adversary is an essential part of the democratic disposition," he added.

Ashutosh Varshney, associate professor of government and instructor of Foreign Cultures 14: "Society and Politics in India," discussed "Hindu Nationalism and Indian Democracy" in light of the upcoming elections.

Other panelists were: Pankaj Ghemawat '71, a professor at the Business School, who discussed aspects on "Economic Reform in a Democracy"; and Prem Shankar Jha, former adviser to the government of India and one of the most prominent economic journalists in India today.

Jha's address, titled, "Corruption and the Cleansing of the Democratic Process" addressed the complexities of sustaining democracy in India.

Karthik Muralidharan '98, the academic and political chair of the SAA and organizer of the event, said that this panel provided an important forum for discussion of current South Asian politics.

"Everybody was thrilled that we could put together such a diverse panel consisting not just of academics but also an ambassador and a journalist," he said.

Members of the panel also said that they enjoyed listening to different viewpoints on the topic.

"The forum far exceeded my own expectations and I found myself learning as much as I contributed to the discussion," Schaffer said.