As India goes to the polls, can democracy deliver a better life for all of its people?

Behind a veneer of progress, injustice and inequality propped up by corruption and the caste system haunt the subcontinent

This year, more than 80 countries and half the world's population face elections. While many islands in the Caribbean go to the polls, their people are usually more occupied with US and British elections than those in their ancestral homes in Africa and India.

This may be excusable, there is an old saying: When America sneezes, the Caribbean catches a cold." It may also seem strange that some identify as Republican or Democrat, and Conservative or Labour, while living in a region that has to endure a rigorous process and heavy expense to obtain a visa to even holiday in those countries.