NEW DELHI -- At a time when international terrorism has intensified debate on the potential role of democracy in moderating extremist trends, the world's largest-ever election in India is a reminder that democracy and freedom are not luxuries but central to the building of stable, pluralistic and prospering states.

In a world in which rapid economic growth has usually been set in motion through political autocracy, India presents itself as a commendable democratic model of modernization. Even as Indian voters have regularly thrown out politicians who became too big for their boots, India has quietly moved from being an emblem of poverty to being a brainy nation threatening to steal high-tech jobs from the West.

Despite the important challenges it faces, India has the satisfaction of having one of the world's fastest-growing economies. With 10.4 percent GDP growth in the last quarter of 2003, India -- the world's back office -- is proving more than a match for next-door China, the largest autocracy and the world's back factory for cheap consumer goods to the West. In fact, through superior corporate performance, a globally competitive service industry and a rising consumption base that diminishes reliance on exports as the growth engine, India's model assures steadier, sturdier development and higher returns for investors than the Asian "tigers."