posted by Ray,

India is a multi racial, multi ethnic, multi lingual, multi religion country that is not yet developed as the US. Where there is imbalance in development, there will be strife.

Observe the EU. There are not a nation and yet they are in total disarray, each country having different ethnicity is up in arms to defend their own turf. Have a religious divide as soon it is forecast there will, if the alarming reports of the demography changing is believed and you will have the same situation as we have in India.

Already in the UK, they are in the same position as India, pandering to the vote bank i.e. appeasement. What are the riots all about in Britain? Why is the BNP slowly growing in strength? Britain never had riots till it became multi ethnic and multi religion country. And Britain is a postage stamp compared to India and having a much less population and diversity! And yet they are struggling!

Therefore, what India has achieved is commendable.

We have stayed the democratic course and not opted for a military option in governance as is the fashion in the neighbourhood!

Pakistan has insurgencies, because even though they have a common religion, they have diverse ethnicity!

Bangladesh does not have this problem because they have a common religion and ethnicity.

Therefore, there are many reasons for having insurgency and it need not be merely due to bad governance or human rights abuses! No ethnic group or religious group in a diverse mix of factors in a country likes to play the second fiddle!

We are fortunate that India has not crushed insurgencies like what they did in Sri Lanka!

Democratic norms still exist in India. Not perfect, but still worth its while!

Ray, I agree with most of what you wrote, and as I wrote earlier it is a miracle that India had progressed as far as it has (and should continue to progress) based on the challenges you listed. You can also add as a challenge your neighbors, but perhaps that would be impolite.

A couple of points I disagree with is your comment on the EU. They are having a lively political debate, but they are not up in an arms. Any debate and protest done legally is not an insurgency, but normal and healthy politics.
Where the EU goes in the future is anyone's guess, and some have suggested this the beginning of a return to the old Europe which had a long history of war between their states. I don't think so, but then again who really knows.

Bangladesh has made a lot of headway, but I think HUJI-B and JMB can still be considered insurgents. As you know ethnic divisions are not the only reason for insurgencies, although ethnic groups remain one of the easier groups to mobilize based on identity.

As for the media being misleading, that has always been true, but at the same time simply dismissing reports as inaccurate, especially when they're serious allegations isn't helpful. The Human Rights Violations study was not put together by BBC.