Marshall M. Bouton

India's elections aroused fears about its political viability but elicited yawns about its economic health. The reality of India's prospects is just the opposite. Conventional wisdom aside, the main threat India faces is economic. Slower growth and a stalled program of economic reforms could endanger India's stability. Its politics, by contrast, exhibit an admirable ability to bring extremists, including the Hindu nationalists of the newly preeminent Bharatiya Janata Party, closer to the center. India's democracy is the glue that keeps the country together; its economy, if not reformed, could cause dangerous strains.