ARE WE DEMOCRATIC?

 “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?”

--Mahatma Gandhi

Democracy (‘rule by the people” when translated from its Greek meaning) is seen as one of the ultimate ideals that modern civilizations strive to create, or preserve. At the heart of all problems lies the politics of the country. But I have been wondering for quite some time- how democratic is Indian polity?

Indian polity has failed to provide solutions to the common man’s problems. The common man do not have access to proper health care facilities ( a doctor in a got. Hospital does not treat properly/give medicines), educational facilities ( govt. schools lacks infrastructural facilties/ moreover the deadly mid-day meals) and food security ( inflation and inferior food stuff and corrupt PDS).

We cannot do anything about it. We can only complain to higher authorities, who do not act upon our complaints. So, we citizens do not have any control over govt. employees. We also do not have any control over govt. funds. Govt. fund is our money. We pay taxes. Even a beggar on the street pays tax- when he buys a soap/biscuits, he pays sales tax and many other taxes. All this money belongs to us. And we absolutely have no control over it. Do we have any control over government policies or the kind of laws passed by our legislatures?

Empowerment requires the rule of law. People feel empowered only when they know that they have rights and the institutions of govt. exists, first and foremost, to enforce them. The rule of law is, however, only another name for justice. Empowerment therefore requires justice. Inspite of being a democracy for 65 years, India could not create something that people value even more than material benefits- a just society. It has achieved this unique feat by making both its elected legislators and its bureaucracy, not to mention it’s lower judiciary, immune to accountability. It has therefore become a predatory state that the people have learned to fear.

In India this has been all, but denied not simply by law but by the constitution itself. Article 311 of the constitution reads- “ No person who is a member of a civil service of the Union or an all India service or a civil service of a State or holds a civil post under the Union or a State shall be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to that which he was appointed.” It makes very clear that this injunction applies to not only civil but also criminal cases as well. For the central services, the empowered authority is the President of India; for the state civil services, it’s the governor. This has meant that no prosecution can be initiated without the permission of the central or state government. As the dismal experience of the central Vigilance Commission has shown, in civil cases this permission is rarely given.

“There was much in such a society that was primitive and insecure and it certainly could never measure up to the demands of the present epoch. But in such a society are contained the seeds of revolutionary democracy in which none will be held in slave”

--Nelson Mandela