India, May 3 -- Record voting is testimony to the tide of the times and a reflection of growing social consciousness. Today, when the poll results of the five states are announced, we should look back at the rumblings before the contest.

It is hard not to have felt that the campaign trail was inundated by hate. Words denoting identity such as mian/miya (Muslim), Hindi, Hindu, Muslim or Sanatan - in some cases, people were called "infiltrators" - were constantly thrust into our consciousness. Do these leaders who have been ruling for the last five to 15 years and their detractors have nothing positive to contribute to the political discourse?

During the first general elections in 1952, India's literacy rate was 18.33%. At that time, mere...