State of Democracy in South Asia: Report II

The State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA) study was conducted in five countries of South Asia – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to gauge citizens’ understanding of democracy as a concept and as a process. It also seeks to assess citizens’ experience of delivery of public services and their trust in public institutions. The objective of the SDSA round II was to measure the change and continuity from a decade ago. The study was anchored by Lokniti, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in collaboration with esteemed research organizations of each surveyed countries between January and December 2013. The country specific reports were released in each country.

On March 2, 2017, Lokniti, CSDS in collaboration with Jain University, Bengaluru, released a report titled “State of Democracy in South Asia: Report II” at Jain University in Bengaluru. The report was released jointly by a panel consisting Dr Ramachandra Guha (Historian and Writer), Dr Jayadeva Uyangoda (Rajni Kothari Chair, CSDS), Dr. Yun-Han Chu (Professor, National Taiwan University) and Dr. Chenraj Roychand (President, Jain University Trust). The authors, Dr. Sandeep Shastri (Pro Vice Chancellor, Jain University), Prof. Sanjay Kumar (Director, CSDS) and Prof. Suhas Palshikar (Co-Director, Lokniti, CSDS) were also present during the report release. The country coordinators Dr. Sk. Tawfique M. from Bangladesh, Dr. Krishna Hachhethu from Nepal and Dr. Pradeep Peiris from Sri Lanka had also attended the report release.

On March 3, 2017, a panel discussion was organized titled “Democracy in the 21st Century: Issues and Challenges”. The speakers at the panel discussion were Dr. Marta Lagos from the Latino Barometer, Dr. Yun-han Chu from the East Asia Barometer, Dr. Christian W. Haerpfer from the Eurasia Barometer, Dr. Michael Bratton from the Afro-Barometer and Dr. Krishna Hachhethu from the South Asia Barometer and Prof. Suhas Palshikar, Co-Director, Lokniti, CSDS.