INDIA’S DEMOCRACY BY AMJED JAAVED

The West is enamoured of India as the world’s greatest democracy. They point out that, since departure of the British, India has never been ruled by a dictator, a monarch or a general. It is `beckoning example of freedom and stability not just for the rest of the region but for any of the world’s poor, volatile countries’.
But, democracy is much more than who is at the helm of affairs. It is a government of the people, by the people and for the people (masses, not classes). Some aspects of India’s democracy reflect that it is just a democracy in ‘form’ (repeated elections), not in ‘substance’ (a corruption-free masses-oriented society and government). Let us look at some unsavoury aspects of this unique euphoric democracy.
Take a glimpse at progress in poverty alleviation. In most far-flung villages, families of seven children live on Rs 10 a day. Thus, no member of the family eats more than a rupee worth of food a day. The meals they eat are oil-less watery khhichri. People commit suicides (sometimes by eating pesticides) or die from starvation. But, the politicians or the health officials attribute deaths to “malnutrition”.
Indira Gandhi swept elections on crest of ghareebi- hatao (poverty eradication) slogan in 1971. Now, 38 years since then, her daughter-in-law Sonia and grandson Rahul have steered her party, Congress, to a win on the same slogan.
The lot of the poor in India is unlikely to improve even in a thousand years unless corruption is uprooted. Corruption has permeated all levels. It has become a way of life. Paying licence fee, getting or renewing a permit or licence, registering an FIR, skipping a traffic violation, and what not, everything costs hidden `service charges’.
According to Transparency International, corruption in India has increased during the last two years. It now ranks as the world’s 85th most corrupt country. R H Tahiliani, Country Chairman of Transparency International, has indicated that electoral and political systems in India are major sources of corruption. "In our electoral system, huge money is spent by political parties for winning elections. This money comes from mainly corrupt practices," he said. Every sixth candidate is a crorepati. Money, not ideologies, influences voting behaviour. .In the 2004 elections to the 14th Lok Sabha, nine per cent of the candidates were crorepati. Five years later, the figure stands at 15.5 per cent.
What a pity! The parliament abounds with crorepati MPs while a quarter of the billion-plus population lives on less than a dollar a day. Some 260 million Indians still do not have an access to wholesome food, basic health or drinking water.
Most politicians are a venal lot. They have won elections in an issue-less campaign. Being criminally tainted is no political stigma. Press Trust of India reported (May 29, 2009) that ‘nine ministers of the Congress-led UPA government have criminal cases still pending against them, including one who faces a serious charge of theft’.
No party can claim to be crime-free. According to One hundred and fifty three (over one fourth) MPs are criminally tainted. Party-wise score of parliamentary criminals is: Congress 41, BJP 43, SP 9, SS 8, JD(U) 7, BSP 6, NCP 4, TC 4, AIADMK 3, CPIM 3, TDP 3 (“Criminal lapses”, India Today June1, 2009, p. 23).
It is stated that `unity in diversity’ is a benign feature of India’s democracy. But, practically, there is no requiem for minorities. The families of sikhs who lost their near and dear ones during the anti-sikh riots of 1984 are still awaiting justice. The riots were termed “state-sponsored carnage” by the citizens’ committee, composed of India’s chief justice S. M. Sikri and eminent jurists like Fali.
It is now over 25 years since Operation Bluestar. Sikh families, whose kith and kin were killed, are still waiting for justice. The innocent Kashmiri, Afzal Guru, is still on the death row. RSS-BJP-VHP-Bajrang Dal’s combine still visibly and invisibly influences election results (D. L. Seth, Crisis of Representation, p. 179). Fanatic Hindus lynched, with impunity,Muslims in Gujarat, Christians in Orissa, dalits and other minorities in several other states.
India is no longer an epitome of unity in diversity. It is now a cauldron of ‘religious, communal or caste conflicts in every nook and corner of the country’. The net result of separatist movements by ethnic, religious or ethno-religious minorities is a demand for sovereignty which threatens India’s territorial integrity’. Social unrest is due to the dissonance between the rulers and the ruled (Sunil Chandra, “Armed Forces: Terrorism, Secessionism, Socio-Ethnic Conflicts and Democratic Instability”, p. 373).
India’s democracy has failed to ensure ‘freedom, justice and social and economic equality’ to all. Dissenters in India are dubbed as traitors and fascists’. Judicial relief in Indian Judicial System is well-nigh impossible to get. The Bangalore Law School analysed that it takes three months to three years to serve a summons or an emergency notice. Filing of written statements takes from six months to two years and interlocutory applications, from four months to four years. The tragedy with Indian judicial system is that it is class-based, communal, anti-women, and anti-Dalits.
Fake encounters are a routine phenomenon not only in the occupied Kashmir but also in several other states. Thousands of innocent people have been killed in fake encounters staged in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi.
True, India’s democracy is a farce. It is meant to hoodwink not only the Indians but also the world.

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