Democracy in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was a three-time loser last week. In three consecutive one-day sessions of the state assembly in Hyderabad, the capital, members of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Congress (I) Party and defectors from the opposition party shouted obscenities, set firecrackers and otherwise proved so disruptive that each meeting had to be postponed. The sessions were intended to let former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, 61, who was deposed Aug. 16 by Gandhi forces, prove that his dismissal was illegal. The gatherings were also to be a test of political strength for Gandhi, who...
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