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• neetakochar posted a comment on 29th January, 2011

  
  Democracy at crossroads-Who shoulders the blame
  
  Robert Schumann,one of the founding fathers of Europe said about the construction of Europe that it was a difficult exercise,but he said,"Iam neither pessimistic nor optimistic, Iam determined " and this applies to our Prime Minister Shri Man Mohan Singh,who needs determination in order to cut through the political degeneracy. Oddly though,to him goes the credit for presiding over one of the most corrupt governments in recent Indian history. Should he then shoulder the blame,we shall come to that later.
  But what needs more urgent attention is the role of the opposition. The docility and of late,the hand in glove nature of political expediency displayed by the opposition parties has permitted the Congress government to get away with unconscionable crime of graft in high places. As a matter of fact,the activism of political parties has come in too little and too late,whereas this could have been an important dictating force in a democracy such as ours. It could ,for example ,be argued that despite the lack of hard evidence,the vigour and persistence of the opposition would have been indirectly effective in restoring their credibility and appeal to common man,as also in effectively reining in the government of the day.
  
  What ails democracy in India?
  As Amartya Sen rightly points out in his essay Development as Freedom-why no famines have ever occured in post-independance India as every successive government has tried to avoid it,so as to continue to remain in power (the plight of famine victims is easy to politicise.) ! To take the analogy further,how has every post-independance government come to power; by perpetuating the persistence of endemic illiteracy. Every other adult is illiterate in India.An illiterate voter base,coupled with economic unfreedom is India's raison d'etre for,inspite of being a democracy,the exercise of democracy and responsible social choice has so far eluded the Indian voter. But now as elementary education and right to information is recieving more attention from the government of the day as well,it would,one hopes,paradoxically help to improve the general polity and thus develop and srengthen the democratic system and further its constructive role in the creation of values and norms of public life. To argue further, the sentencing of Jeffrey Skilling of Enron in the United States is an example where a literate voter base,an informed opposition,open media and a strict judiciary typify the preventive role of democracy.
  
  Protective role of democracy
  Democracy per se does not serve as an automatic remedy for all ailments as quinine works to remedy malaria.Fidel Valdez Ramos,the former President of the Philippines, put the point with great clarity in a November 1988 speech at the Australian National University,when he said ; '' A democracy cannot survive without civic virtue............ The political challenge for people around the world today is not just to replace authoritarian regimes by democratic ones. Beyond this, it is to make democracy work for ordinary people.' When things go fine and everything is routinely good,this aspect of democracy may not be badly missed.
  But it comes into its own when things get fouled up,for one reason or another, (for example, the recent 2G financial scam,Adarsh Society Housing scam,CWG scam and myriad other smaller ones). Even if the political coalition of 2001 and the present day sitting opposition was not as directly or as extensively linked or not at all, to wrongdoing ,the Opposition's stated position in not allowingg Parliament to run,did actually subvert the very ethos and tenets of democratic governance.
  
  Constitutional role of the Opposition
  The presence of the Opposition is a democratic institution and it can not be viewed as a mechanical device to be corked or uncorked at the behest of politicians. The role of organised opposition is particularly important in this context,for during Parliament ,the government of the day should have been engaged by the opposition parties in public debate and discussion. Why should it be a CAG or JPC ,for that matter, why should not Man Mohan Singh give answers in Parliament in full view of the voters and not try and come squeaky clean in a Congress Adhiveshan!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  Not only is the force of public discussion one of the correlates of democracy,with an extensive and protective reach,but its cultivation by the opposition parties could have made democracy itself function better. The democratic nature of oppositional politics is such that,it could tend to force any government in office to take a corrective, directional course ,in a way that such scams did not happen in the future.
  
  An opportunity lost
  India could have emerged as a champion of democracy,had the opposition exercised political wisdom in the form of participatory opprtunities in Parliament. The 2 G scam could have been placed under greater and stricter scrutiny if the democratic opposition were able to demand answers and greater transparency on the floor of the house!
  
  The role of the 'uncensored media icons' and unscrupulous business linkages and non transparent business arrangements between the government and media /financial bosses ,could have been brought to light if the opposition not scuttled the running of the Parliament
  .
  James Buchanan has pointed out : 'The defination of democracy as 'government by discussion' implies that collective values can and do change in the process of decision making.''
  
  Developing and strengthening a democratic system is an essential component of the process of devlopment. It would not be unreasonable to conclude that both the government of the day and the opposition have failed the common man and in the process,disgusted and shamed him enough to rethink the rationale of electing these same politicians over and over .
  
  Is Man Mohan Singh to blame ?
  Corruption is not,however,a new phenomenon nor are proposals for dealing with it. What is new is the lack of political will to stem the propagation of corruption.There is no algorithm for eliminating corruption except to arrest corrupt behaviour in 'high places' by quick,effective and exemplary punishment ,rather than by verbose posturing alone.
  
  An honest Prime Minister quickly needs to wash away some of the taint. Some words of ancient wisdom from the land of the Chinese-- writing in China in 122 B.C. the authors of HUI-NAN TZU put the problem thus " If the measuring line is true,then the wood will be straight,not because one makes a special effort,but because that which is 'ruled' makes it so. In the same way if the ruler is sincere and upright,then honest officials will serve in his government and scoundrels will go into hiding,but if the ruler is not upright,then evil men wil have their way and loyal men will retire to seclusion.' There is sense in this piece of ancient wisdom. There is room for change ,
  and some of it can cumulate as well as disseminate and there is considerable merit if approached from the top.
  
  History may,yet judge him kindly as in the words of Adam Smith who noted : " Many men behave very decently,and through the whole of their lives avoid any considerable degree of blame,who yet, perhaps, never felt the sentiment upon the propriety of which we found our approbation of their conduct,but acted merely from a regard to what they saw were the established rules of behaviour,"
  
  Man Mohan Singh might win the battle,but he could be in danger of losing the war. Euclid is supposed to have told Ptolemy : " There is no royal road to geometry." It is not clear that there is any royal road to redeeming his name either !!
  
  He has to shoulder the blame.
  
  Let us remind ourselves--Mr. Singh has the capacity to make a difference.
  
  He is here because we proud Indians believe he can make a change.
  
  Now He has to move.
  
  He has the knowledge and the means; the question is whether he has the wisdom and the will.

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