Modi Faces Protest Threat Over Election Commission Scandal

• International Affairs

In 1951-52, independent India held its first free and fair election. As the country’s first chief election commissioner, Sukumar Sen—a civil servant who trained as a mathematician—was responsible for overseeing the voter rolls and ensuring the integrity of the vote. The task he faced was daunting: The Indian electorate at the time was composed of 176 million citizens, 85 percent of whom were illiterate.