The World’s Most Powerful Citizens

Microkhan’s been reading everything under the Sun regarding the forthcoming Indian election, a true marvel of democracy. Yesterday’s fodder was this New York Times bit on the growing political enthusiasm of India’s urban elite. Buried amidst the reporting was a rather gobsmacking fact: only 543 members of the nation’s parliament are directly elected by the people. (This presumably refers solely to the Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament; the upper house is indirectly elected, a bit like the