Why is democracy so fragile in both of our large subcontinental neighbours?

How come Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, and Sri Lanka remain constitutional, democratic, and stable despite Islam and Buddhism, respectively, but Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar don't?

If you promise not to google the answer, I will ask you a question. So please tell me, other than Peace Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, which name have you heard in the context of the power shift in Bangladesh? Dr Yunus has, this week, been lionised on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly by top Western liberal leaders, from the US to the EU.

Now the second question. Why is it that among both our large subcontinental neighbours, democracy has been so fragile? The instinctive answer would be Islam — that Islam and democracy can’t go together.