India, July 20 -- India's political landscape is a vibrant, chaotic, and fascinating study in contrast, driven by its massive diversity and multi-party democracy. Governed by a mix of national coalitions and state-level regional forces, its massive electorate engages in vibrant, highly contested elections to balance local aspirations with national governance.

But whether people matter to politicians outside election years has been a profound question that eludes a sensible answer. Of course, people are indeed a consideration, but primarily as data points, economic drivers, and public opinion barometers rather than as individual citizens.

Political science and field experiments show that a 'representative system' is often structurally b...