Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi is an Indian civil servant who served as 17th Chief Election Commissioner of India. He was appointed as the CEC as the successor to Navin Chawla on 30 July 2010. He has also served as a Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
<p><span style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: open_sans; font-size: 16.5492px; text-align: center;">Since the founding of the republic, India has been the largest democracy in the world. In many respects it was considered a model democracy owing to its ideals, such as a non-partisan Election Commission and free dialogue and debate. Its abiding features have been non-discriminatory management of diversity, concern for an equitable and equal society, and a profound reverence towards the country's founding document, the Constitution.</span><br style="font-family: open_sans; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 16.5492px; text-align: center;"><br style="font-family: open_sans; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 16.5492px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: open_sans; font-size: 16.5492px; text-align: center;">Over the years, the tussle between historical reality and theoretical idealism ensured that at times the social contract was disrupted, with conflicts obstructing a complete achievement of democracy.</span><br style="font-family: open_sans; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 16.5492px; text-align: center;"><br style="font-family: open_sans; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 16.5492px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: open_sans; font-size: 16.5492px; text-align: center;">In India's Experiment with Democracy, former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi examines key questions that face India today: What foundational principles must be definitive to our ideas of nationhood, citizenship and democracy? How may we enliven our national discourse with a renewed spirit of inquiry and imaginative erudition, and mid-course correction? Ultimately, the underlying thrust of this book is to posit reasoned argumentation, objective enquiry, secularism, civil liberty and compassion as indispensable features of a democracy.</span><br></p>
