India becoming independent and forming itself into a democracy is perhaps the single most important political event in the second half of the 20th Century. Thereby, more than 340 million committed to an institutional and constitutional democracy. Most experts, then, believed that the country would, with its humongous diversity of language, culture, and religion, collapse. Its success was perhaps as much due to the reality of its democracy; even if inclusion, the movement to similar civil codes, the assurance of human rights, and nation-building were to be work in progress. The reality of centuries-old caste, an anathema in any democratic society, had to be addressed. Significant movements towards democratization of society and social institutions happened, and despite somewhat slower growth than in East Asia, its political success was beyond doubt. The first challenge from the radical left was overcome, and then from regions and from economic groups (especially farmers), as expressed in the emergence of regional parties, and class-caste parties. Since the 90s, the challenge of Hindutva and the idea of a Hindu Rashtra has come to the fore, which portends to have a deep impact on political development. The talk will be followed by discussions and Q&A facilitated by Profs. Sebastian Morris and Kingshuk Sarkar.