The 2004 elections were won by the Congress party, led by a woman political leader of Roman Catholic faith and Italian descent (Sonia Gandhi), who made way for a Sikh prime minister (Manmohan Singh) to be sworn by a Muslim (President Abdul Kalam) in a country that is 81% Hindu. That single moment captured much of what elections have meant for this diverse democracy.
5年前印度政局出现了令人震惊的改变。04年的政权落入了一名女性政治家索尼娅·甘地之手，她是意大利后裔，信奉罗马天主教。她的内阁总理辛格是西克教徒，而总统阿卜杜勒·卡拉姆则是一个穆斯林。印度人口的主体是印度教派，占整个人口的81%。这或许是印度多元民主政治的产物。