INDIAN DEMOCRACY

A MARVEL AND A DISASTER

The other day, I had the opportunity to listen to an excellent discourse by a nonagenarian freedom fighter and dedicated Gandhian on the Indian Constitution and the Gandhian thoughts on it. Now then, I am not a Gandhian in outlook or demeanour; in fact, I have always been an admirer of Subhash Chandra Bose and a firm believer that we should have ‘taken’ and not been ‘given’ our freedom. However, contextually, as we are approaching the 75th anniversary of the creation of our constitution, I cannot help reflect on the state of our democracy, in the light of the Gandhian views on it.

No doubt the participative democracy that Gandhi visualized, through a pyramid-like constitutional structure with the Panchayat as ground zero, is diametrically opposite the representative democracy we have come to practise, under a centralized system with the executive at the apex calling the shots. I am not qualified to discuss the merits and demerits of the two models. Nevertheless, while we can compliment ourselves for our perseverance in continuing as a functional democracy for three quarters of a century, unlike most other post-colonial regimes thar have collapsed under dictatorship or anarchy within far lesser duration, it might be worthwhile for us to have a look at the pitfalls in our system that have disastrous consequences for the country.

Let’s begin with the supreme body, the parliament. It would be an understatement to say that, over the years, it has become a dysfunctional entity, serving no tangible role in the administration of the country. A parliament is supposed to be a civilized institution, wherein laws can be framed through debate and discussion, whereas all that we see is acrimony. Walkouts are the order of the day. The irresponsibility of the opposition is evenly matched by the highhandedness of the treasury benches. It boils down to the fact that both sides are more concerned about promoting their political agenda, rather than what is good for the country. The only point of consensus our parliamentarians can arrive at is the increase of their emoluments and perks, which is invariably voted unanimously. Maybe, a law forbidding walkouts could help the parliament achieve a minimum desirable level of productivity, which is almost zero at the moment.

The next severe malady lies with our electoral system. The class of people we elect as legislators are of a dismally low calibre, especially in terms of their integrity. Despite electoral regulations in existence, we have not been able to prevent people with criminal backgrounds finding their way to legislatures. Political parties, with their opportunistic agendas, cannot be relied upon to remedy this, but judiciary and the Election Commission certainly can. An ongoing prosecution against a person should be reason enough to debar him or her from contesting an election, not necessarily conviction alone. Again, exploitative politics like cash-for-votes and freebie-promises strategies that politicians blatantly employ to buy votes could be countered only by an absolute no-nonsense stand by the EC. A responsible media and concerned NGOs could educate the vulnerable sections of the electorate to be resilient against such manipulations. The people’s will, after all, is the last bastion.

Then, there is a huge disconnect between the electorate and the legislature. The elected representatives, Ministers, MPs and MLAs, have evolved into a haughty lot, no less detached from the people than our erstwhile colonial masters. These so-called VIPs flaunt their status by moving about escorted by massive cavalcades that interrupt traffic, while wasting tax-payers’ money in the pretext of security concerns. Whether you believe in Gandhian ideals or not, it is pertinent to observe that how far our leaders, with their opulent trappings of power, have shunned the lessons in humility Gandhiji espoused, while hypocritically paying obeisance to him as the ‘Father of the Nation’. They have failed to grasp the essence of his famous proposal that the legislators must clean their toilets themselves, an advice for simple living rather than what it literally meant. Maybe we need a law to get rid of the VIP culture.

Last but not least, is the political interference in the functioning of all the state’s institutions. The most damaging of these is when they try to meddle in the affairs of the armed forces. The armed forces swear their allegiance to the country and the constitution and not the government in power. That is why the President and not the Prime Minister is their Supreme Commander. Governments may come and go, political dispensations may change, but the armed forces remain the steadfast guardians of the country and the constitution. Indeed, they accept the superiority of the legislature, but only in as far as bowing to its ultimate authority in deciding the country’s defence policy goes. In turn, the executive and the legislature, respect the professional status of the armed forces and do not interfere in their functioning in any manner. It is a delicate balance that all successful democracies maintain. Unfortunately, while our armed forces have always maintained the highest standards of professionalism all through their post-independence history, scrupulously sticking to their part of the bargain, the same cannot be said about the political leadership. The infamous highhandedness of Nehru that sabotaged the military capabilities of the country, leading to our disgraceful defeat of 1962 is history. The present regime is on an equally disastrous course with its agenda of forcing its brand of nationalism on the armed forces, which have so far, with their impeccable credentials of secularism, remained the staunchest icons of India’s plurality and diversity. What else could explain the bizarre act of replacing the iconic surrender photo of 1971 from the office of the army chief, with a tasteless, apology of an artwork with religious symbols?

A time comes in the history of every free nation, when its people would need to shake off their complacency and introspect whether they are truly free. It’s one such time for India, when it is imperative for us to do some course correction. In which direction, I do not know. I can only infer that we do need a powerful system of checks and balances in place. Maybe, we could incorporate some of the features of the Gandhian model to our constitution, so as to have more of a decentralized system. Are our lawmakers listening?