India, Nov. 9 -- This week's election results in the United States brought me considerable cheer. They did so for two reasons. One was personal: my friend Juli Mathew was re-elected as a judge in Fort Bend County, Texas, for a third consecutive term. The other was political: the American electorate delivered a resounding rebuke to President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

Juli is a Democrat. I have had the privilege of visiting her court and watching her dispense justice. The experience was quite different from what I am accustomed to seeing in Indian courts. Indian judges, with a few exceptions, tend to maintain a rather stern demeanour.

Juli, on the other hand, laughed, joked and exchanged pleasantries with her staff, attorney...