Does Democracy Avert Famine? - The New York Times

Indian economist and 1998 Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen, who theorized that democratic nations that held their leaders accountable through election process could therefore not be susceptible to famine, is subject of scientific scrutiny as India reports growing incidents of starvation; Sen contends that democracy does not solve problem of hunger or poor resource management, but does solve problem of widespread famine and large-scale loss of life, which India has not experienced since 1947, when it won independence; photos (M)