By Jeff Glekin

There are many things about China that India would love to emulate. Attitudes to freedom of expression should not be one of them. India's slower growth is often defended as a price worth paying for freedom and democracy. But censoring Salman Rushdie and censuring Jay Leno doesn't say much for India's tolerance levels. And efforts to filter content on the Internet suggest India may be following China down the wrong path.

Governing the world's largest, and arguably most diverse, democracy is no easy task. The politics of caste and religion still play a huge role in determining who rules Mother India. Protests, fuelled by any perceived slight, offer politicians an opportunity to show the voters whose side they are on.

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