India, Nov. 10 -- 1801 is a landmark year in the proud traditions of American democracy. It was the first time a political party handed over power to its rival and marked the first peaceful transfer - an important precedent in the global experiment with democracy. The second US President John Adams made way for Thomas Jefferson and slipped out of the then still-under-construction White House in the wee hours of the morning. The run-up to the elections had witnessed a bitterly polarised campaign that played out in the partisan Press, and Adams had controversially made key judicial appointments before the elections, just as Donald Trump had done. While Adams did not show grace in attending his successor's inauguration, the subsequent tradit...