Let us think
and Act with an open mind to
Develop a Vibrant Democracy – Article
18
SRB
Introduction: I have identified thirty obstacles which cause a distorted
and ineffective democracy and possible solutions for these. Because very few
people have time / inclination to read long articles, these are presented in
separate brief articles for pointed attention and easier assimilation. I hope
this will lead to spreading of awareness and facilitating point by point debate
on each of these for saving our sinking democracy.
(Please
keep these articles within easy reach for referring back till the series is
completed.)
Role
of people
Responsibilities:
Democracy
has been defined as government of the people by the people for the people. To
have a government by the people, we (the people), have to play important roles to
ensure that governance is carried out according to the true spirit of
democracy. For this, we have the responsibility to elect
representatives who have character, clean image and the qualifications and
experience needed for governance. We
have not only failed to do so in many ways but also have not realized the
seriousness of our mistakes and therefore remain callous about these.
All
those who did not vote have unfeelingly failed in their responsibility. Voting
figures show that they
form more than 30% of the electorate. Among those who voted,
many did not fulfill their responsibility of choosing capable and efficient
representatives with character and clean image: large numbers voted in
droves and failed in their individual responsibility; some others made the
serious mistake of selling their vote; some others have allowed themselves to
be intimidated even though their vote was secret; some others had preferred
persons of their own caste. For example, in a sample survey in 2013 across
Karnataka, 41%
had stated that caste was very important in deciding who to vote for
(Times of India dated 01-11-14, page 6).
These
four groups who wrongly voted and those who did not vote have made a mockery
of our democracy by failing in their responsibility to elect capable
and efficient representatives with character and clean image. Those who did
not vote and those who voted on caste basis together form more than 70% of the
electorate. No estimate is available for the first three groups of wrong
voters. With their addition, percentage of voters who did not consciously fulfill
their responsibility is likely to exceed 90%. Unfortunately, these five
groups, who
together constitute the vast majority of voters in most constituencies, did not
realize the seriousness of their mistakes. Because of this
grave failure by people, most of our elected representatives suffer from
the incongruity that they were supported only by a negligible minority of
voters who had consciously exercised their responsibility!!
We have not realized that capacity required for
good governance is different from that needed to win an election. Moreover, while winning election needs capacity for one time hectic
effort only, good governance needs capacity for sustained efforts for many
years. Another aspect is that politicians who win elections by making false
promises are deceptive. All the above lacunae explain why experts in
winning elections have often failed to ensure peoples’ welfare. As efficient voters we should watch out to prevent being
duped by experts in winning elections. We should demand for proof
about their capacity and commitment to ensure peoples’ welfare and verify their
character and image. It is better not to take the risk of supporting
candidates with even doubtful image. We should also ask why they or their party
did not fulfill the promises made earlier. Merely blaming others without
giving positive solutions and resorting to hate speeches should be considered
as disqualifications.
All of us interested in saving our sinking
democracy should use the NOTA option during elections if we do not “find a
right candidate with character and clean image” as exhorted by the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare (The Hindu
dated 18-03-14). If large numbers of voters have used NOTA option we should
insist on fresh elections after excluding all the candidates who have been
rejected by this option. To save our
sinking democracy we should not only consciously use NOTA option but also
educate and motivate others to do so.
As responsible voters, we should reject even right
candidates if they belong to a party which is observed to be “buying votes” or
has sponsored candidates with criminal background. This is very important because, after election,
even these “right persons” will be forced to support party interests at the
cost of peoples’ interests; for
example supporting the party in not punishing those who are corrupt or
have misused their power to help vested interests.
Failing in our
responsibilities to vote properly is the twenty-sixth and very
serious obstacle which resulted in a distorted and ineffective democracy.
Wrong
conceptions:
Another
major failure is that after voting once in five years, we close
our eyes and allow our representatives and the government they form to govern as they
like. We are not alert enough to question when they do
not act to ensure our needs and aspirations and
repeatedly ignore the principles of democracy and the promises made at
election time.
A
third major failure is the misconception
that government alone can provide good governance. This has led
to a totally negative and callous attitude about cooperating with government
efforts and supplementing these.
Even worse, we often create problems because of lethargy, narrow
selfish interests and intolerance of others.
When
faced with problems, we expect government to do everything for us but we do
not make any efforts to cooperate with government to solve problems or try to
reduce them. For example, when there is
shortage of electricity, we do not try to eliminate avoidable consumption or
at least reduce it. If everyone switches off lights and fans when leaving a
room there will be substantial reduction in shortage. Unnecessary use of large
number of bright lights to show off affluence enhances the problem. If we,
particularly owners of large office buildings and multistoried flats, install
solar power spending affordable funds, shortage will come down drastically. We
have also not cared to make full use of wind energy.
Similarly,
preventing wastage of water will immensely help to reduce shortage of
precious water. Currently, it is estimated that as much as 40 t0 50% of water is “lost” in the
distribution system (Article 15) but we do not protest. Leaking
taps, leaving taps open for longer time than required, misuse (such as frequent
car wash in stead of dusting, washing passages in stead of sweeping etc.) and wasting
90% of full tank for flushing of toilets after urination add a lot to wastage.
We have no right to complain about any shortage until we prevent wastage.
Where
garbage is a serious problem, we expect the authorities to clean up but have no
hesitation to throw it anywhere we like. Segregating waste and producing power
from it to reduce shortage or making organic manure which reduces the need for
harmful chemical fertilizers not only help to reduce the problem but also
solves other problems.
National
integration, which helps to sustain democracy (Article 12), has failed mainly
because we have not
taken any interest in building up the concept of being an Indian.
Regrettably, we have nurtured dissipating tendencies in stead of building up
togetherness with humanitarian approaches.
We
are often carried away by hatred or belief in unverified rumours by trouble
makers. We have also developed the harmful habit of hero worship
which has often resulted in our blindly glorifying some politicians who
mesmerize us by their oratory or hoodwink us by clever tactics, even when they
did not ensure peoples’ welfare with equanimity – sometimes even
ignoring their criminal past. Moreover, we
often start fights for trivial or irrelevant matters due to emotional
imbalances or selfish interests. These show our inability to discern what is good
for welfare of majority of people which is a key principle of democracy.
A
fundamental
mistake is to consider that democracy is needed only for good governance.
We have not realized that many more aspects e.g., those
relating to religion, culture, entertainment, recreation, sports etc., require organized attention to avoid conflicts and to enjoy
a peaceful life and be happy. These cannot and should not be
taken up by government. We have to build other organizations to fulfill our
responsibility to ensure happy and peaceful surroundings which are not
subjected to hatred and fear.
Because
ensuring the
noble idea of equality is illogical and impractical, we can and should set
limits for inequalities in income, expenditure, ownership of
land etc. This is another fundamental omission.
Sad
to say, we (the people) have not visualized such important aspects which ought
to form the back bone of a democracy which aims at happiness, peace and a good
quality of life for people. For this a new type of
leadership has to come up. These important aspects are discussed
further in later articles.
All these show that
we, the people, have some wrong conceptions which hindered development and
maintenance of a true and vibrant democracy.
This is the twenty-seventh and
most serious obstacle which resulted in a distorted and ineffective democracy.
To overcome these obstacles we have to introspect and change our mindset. We
have to realize and create awareness that all of us have the
responsibility to ensure that capable and efficient representatives with character and clean image are elected and governance actually reflects the will of the people and
effectively functions for the people.
We have to be alert to sustain
our democracy. We should be watchful to detect signs
of deterioration of democracy in any locality or in any manner.
We should insist that once in six months the MLA of
our area together with our MP should report to us their achievements as well as
problems faced and future plans to overcome these in a meeting of all “groups”
of people (without any exceptions). During these meetings, they
should also advice us about how we can cooperate with them to achieve better
results and also help to maintain peace and social harmony in the area, besides
striving for national integration.
During these meetings we should also give our assessment
of the extent to which government has succeeded in meeting our needs and
aspirations. We should insist that video recording of these meetings should
be immediately sent by the concerned MLA to the State Election Commission so
that it can keep a regular watch on the efficiency of these representatives and
local leaders who had participated in the meeting. This method of assessing efficiency of MPs, MLAs and government is a
much better way for people to exercise their voice than by voting once in five
years to elect
representatives without (a) knowledge and expertise required to elect efficient
managers of democracy and (b) being misguided by other considerations like,
caste, party affiliation, monitory incentives etc..
Often, particularly during election, leaders speak
at public meetings. We should be alert enough to avoid being hoodwinked or
mesmerized by their crafty speeches especially when the speaker is cleverly
using gift of the gab and dramatic gestures to mislead us. When leaders speak
at length criticizing others, they should be politely told that we are not
interested in fault finding but in what plans they have to improve welfare of
people and how they are going to implement these plans. We should realize
that those who criticize others without giving any positive plans are more
likely to be incapable of positive actions. Those who make hate speeches
should be told that we consider them as enemies of peace. Those who give
flashy promises without elaborating their plan to achieve these are also not
worthy to be elected. Some national and regional leaders speak in support of
candidates from their party. We should not trust that what these leaders say
fully reflects the views and principles of the local candidates and is binding
on them.
Some leaders cleverly manipulate
creation of caste, linguistic, religious and other group conflicts as well as cliques and other favourable conditions to safeguard their interests and to achieve their ignoble ambitions. We
should not
allow ourselves to become their tools for such anti-social activities which
disturb peace in our areas. We should avoid electing persons who
are thrust on us by leaders from other areas who cleverly mesmerize us by their
oration but choose those who directly convince us that they can act with
vision and compassion, with empathy and empowerment and with qualities of head
and heart. Some
disqualifications for a leader of democracy will be explained in Article 20. We
should closely watch whether our leaders have any of these disqualifications
and should not choose them as our leaders.
We have also to be alert to ensure that mischief mongers
and selfish groups do not create problems. Constant efforts should be made to
identify rumour mongers and to isolate them in the community. Though
unintentionally, most newspapers divert our attention from real problems by
providing gossip about celebrities, political parties and politicians. We should
not be distracted by such gossip.
The
six-monthly review meetings mentioned earlier should be made use of to short
list efficient leaders, out of the elected and local leaders who participate in
these meetings.
We have to give full support to social activists
who are eager to be upholders of democracy (Article 17) so that they can provide
leadership for saving our sinking democracy. We should request them to be our
watchful leaders to attend the 6-monthly meetings suggested earlier and to
bring problems to the notice of the authorities and fight peacefully for
solutions.
All
the steps mentioned above are essential to overcome our lack of
qualifications and expertise to elect efficient managers of democracy and
thereby ensure true democracy.
We should develop a sense
of discipline to solve problems which come up and to avoid creating other
problems. It is important to have a committed approach
to solve all social and economic problems with or without government help.
We should be eager to use every opportunity to support helpful government
efforts and extend our full cooperation.
Where government cannot help we have to organize ourselves. In fact, we have to play the dual roles of partners in democracy and watch
dogs to detect deficiencies in our democracy.
Note:
You can help to save our sinking
democracy by making as many
people as possible aware of these obstacles and possible solutions, through
personal group discussions, newspaper articles, e-mail and social media like
face book and twitter so that we can have healthy
debates and arrive at some innovative ideas to save our sinking democracy.
Comments
(especially those which point out errors or deficiencies, if any, in this
article and thereby help to improve it) and suggestions to overcome this very serious
obstacle are welcome. Please send these
to
StartRemovingBlocks@outlook.com. I shall make use of
all befitting suggestions to prepare the last two articles of this series –
Articled 23 will spell out the basic principles which will guide formulation of
the revised system of democracy and Article 24 will outline the revised system
of democracy for public debate to arrive at a consensus.
