“A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon
the character of the user.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
― Theodore Roosevelt
One cannot probably think of a better time to narrate
the democratic upsurge in India with a firsthand experience of the same. The
general elections for the 16th Lok Sabha are ongoing giving us a
live demonstration of the democratic upsurge in India.
India adopted the principle of universal adult
franchise when the present Constitution was implemented on 26 January, 1950, according
to which if one is an Indian citizen of 18 years or above, he or she can vote.
Unlike Western democracies, which granted the right to vote first to propertied
men, later educated men, then all men and only after much debate and agitation
to women, independent India granted all adult men and women regardless of their
religion, caste, language, wealth or education the right to vote in one fell
swoop. Thus started the sunrise of democracy in India which had till then been
eclipsed by the imperialistic Britain.
Democracy is not new to India; it existed even during
the ancient period. Ancient India is claimed to be the repository of the
highest form of democracy. We find the people participating in urban councils
with the power to instruct and direct the king according to their will. The
multitude of ethnicities and people provided for the autonomy and
self-determination of the villages, city-states, republics and constitutional
kingdoms through the observance of Dharma. The villages ruled by their elected
representatives and were, therefore, autonomous and self-governing
administrative units having the power to manage their educational, economic
social, administrative and other requirements. Their own assemblies and
committees also governed townships. There were Mahajanapadas and Janapadas
which represented a form of democracy.
Wikipedia defines Democracy as a form of government in
which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly or indirectly
through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of
laws. It encompasses social, religious, cultural, ethnic and racial equality,
justice, liberty and fraternity. But democracy is not merely limited to
electing one’s representative or voting but I essence it comprises of all the
actives which ultimately lead to an elected representative. Democracy is about
the freedom of speech through which ne puts forward one’s ideas, it is about
the freedom to pen down one’s thoughts and debate about it, to form an opinion
and sit back and analyze your vote for the next 5 years to start the process
all over again.
Despite not having compulsory voting, the number of
people voting keeps increasing the percentage remaining around 60%. Unlike the
global trend which points to a steady decline in voting numbers, Indians vote
in large numbers because they believe democracy brings about a change in their
lives, a change for the better. Analysts have pointed out that if those at the
lower end of the socio-economic hierarchy take the trouble to vote, defying
threats and violence, it is because democracy is bringing change in their
lives, however small these might be.
The first general election were held in 1951 and
Indian National Congress emerged as the clear winners and the process continued
till the 70’s when the first democratic upsurge occurred with the declaration
of emergency and collapse of Congress rule. Politically, this led to a non-Congress
coalition ruling India for the first time since independence. Socially, it led
to the transfer of political power from the upper caste Hindus who had
dominated the Congress since its inception to the intermediate peasant castes,
today called the OBCs or the Other Backward Castes.
Democracy is not about a single dominant community
enjoying all the privileges but about the uprising of the people in the lowest
rung of the social ladder. The second democratic upsurge, which began in the
late 80s, brought the Dalits into the political mainstream as an independent
force. By 2007, the Dalit controlled BSP ruled India’s largest state. However,
the economic and social transformation of the second democratic upsurge is far
from complete, with the Dalits continuing to face marginalization and violence,
mainly from the OBCs.
The democracy keeps on growing with the addition of
every new voter to the electoral rolls, with the addition of cleaner candidates
in the parliament and with the election moving away from caste based to issue
based one. One such democratic upsurge could be the slow entry of the middle
class and neo middle class into politics. These are the very people who made a
conscious effort and stayed away from politics although criticizing and narrating
its pitfalls every minute. But in the fag end of 2010 it appeared that the
neo-middle class was ready to enter politics with its own voice. During the
India Against Corruption agitation, it was noted that middle class India was
now a mass and wanted to play a bigger role in the country’s politics through
its media clout. The key intervention of the AAP has been to combine this new
middle class clout with the numbers and anger of Delhi’s working class to
produce a transparent, non-sectarian urban political coalition. Could this be
the third democratic upsurge? Well people on both sides my argue in favor or
against the motion but the rise of the neo-middle class is a new chapter in the
book of democracy.
One cannot forget the most important institution which
is responsible for conducting the elections, The Election Commision-The
Election Commission (EC), which conducts the polls, goes the extra mile to
ensure that voters can exercise their franchise. In some parts of the country,
which are inaccessible by roads, officials trek for three to four days or ride
on the backs of elephants to set up polling booths. In the western state of
Gujarat, the EC has set up a polling booth for one voter - a priest in a temple
in the heart of the Gir forest, which is home to the Asiatic lion. He will vote
in the third phase of the election. Officials brave wild animals, scorching
heat, long treks, militants and impatient voters to ensure that people can
exercise their fundamental right to vote.
While India gears up for the month long 16th
Lok sabha elections, democracy is getting redefined. Every election is termed
as a historical one because it brings out new dimensions of the word democracy.
Following are some of the key areas:
Social Media:
The educated urban youth, in the near
past had completely alienated themselves
from mainstream political activism. For a long time, associating with politics
or political activism was a taboo and was considered a major negative in the
path of a bright young Indian's professional career growth. But things are
changing fast. The signs were all there for the last two-three years when the
rapid popularity of the social media was making things undergo fast
metamorphosis. Twitter and Facebook became great tools for the reluctant young
Indian to actively engage at least in discussions on political, economic,
military as well as social issues. What started as discussions eventually
became powerful groups for not just mere discussions but criticism and
dissemination of opinion on several issues..
How much the
social media and active engagement of educated youth of India would make a real
difference in the election outcomes, only time can say that. But no one can
deny the fact that social media is here to stay and it is increasingly becoming
an indispensable tool for political democracy. With India's internet
penetration moving steadily upward, the reach would eventually extend to not
just the educated mass of cities but also perhaps one day become a tool to
connect with every Indian, be it urban or rural, be it the skilled or unskilled
workforce, be it the elite or the rustic. Social Media is here to stay and is
now an extended army of democracy of India from which nothing can be hidden and
which is now a major pressure group to reckon with, which no one can ignore.
Social media has perhaps made India's democracy more inclusive.
Citizen’s
participation: The mechanisms for citizens’ participation in
governance have been conceptualized in the form of citizens seeking
information, citizens giving suggestions, citizens demanding better services,
citizens holding service providers and other government agencies accountable
and citizens actively participating in administration and decision making
processes. Access to information is a fundamental requirement for ensuring
citizens’ participation in governance. In this context, the Right to
Information Act 2005 has laid down adequate ground-work for the same. Its
functionality and utility depends on greater awareness on part of the citizens.
The process of including people in decision making processes necessarily needs
to start small and with direct interaction with the citizens, asking for their
suggestion through surveys, referenda, public hearings, suggestion boxes etc.
Grievance
redressal : An effective public grievance redressal system
includes identification and analysis of grievance prone areas, setting up of a
consumer protection system in the form of lok adalats and consumer forums for
rapidly dealing with consumer complaints, and setting up of a well-functioning
consumer feedback system. These mechanisms must necessarily be inclusive of
marginalised sections of the society- women, physically challenged, lower
castes, remotely located and such like. The Citizen's Charter and Grievance
Redressal Bill 2011 also known as The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery
of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 is a
manifestation of it.
Civil
Society: India is the
largest democracy in the world. But without its lively NGO scene, many ills in
society would continue unchallenged. Civil society derives its strength from
the Gandhian tradition of volunteerism, but today, it expresses itself in many
different forms of activism. Recently, Anna Hazare – a modern Gandhian and his
team struggled hard to pressurize the union government to pass a strong Jan
Lokpal Bill so that bureaucracy, courts and ministry including Prime Minister
could be brought within the purview of such a strong law to check corruption in
India. it was successful to large extent when the The Lokpal Act,2013 was made.
Public
Delivery System: “Democracy eventually gives everyone a promise and a
hope to be included in citizen entitlements. Within the international
community, democracy and governance are widely advocated as intrinsically
desirable and important goals. The challenge for democracies is, therefore, not
simply to strengthen downward electoral accountability so that politicians have
an incentive to pay attention to citizen needs.
The need for democracy and development and the challenge of developing
societies like India is to make democratic governance work in terms of good
public delivery systems which truly impact the lives of citizens.” -Najeeb
Jung, current Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Effective public service delivery
implies involvement of citizens at all stages of a programme, that is,
planning, implementation and monitoring.
Placing citizens at the centre of administrative and
decision making processes of the government is the hallmark of a living and
thriving democracy. The great churning process has begun once more and after
several round we have made a remarkable progress but lot is left to be done.
There might be a democratic upsurge in India but several reforms still await to
see the light of the day. The Supreme Court struck down Section 8 (4) of the
Representation of the People Act, 1951, which protects convicted MPs and MLAs
from disqualification if they appeal before a higher court within three months,
on the ground of pendency of appeal. This was indeed a landmark judgement but
the final call lies with the voters who exercise their right to flush out the
criminal background candidates, they have even been bestowed the NOTA option
i.e. to reject all the candidates incase none appears a clean candidate. The
media has never been so lively before bringing out the intricacies of
candidates, parties, manifestos and all involved in the election. But
ultimately it’s the voter whose level of literacy and understanding of the
candidate he votes for which will decide the future of Indian democracy and not
the ‘tainted neta’ or the ‘mafia’ lord or the ‘empty dream weaver’.
---------------------------------
Rajan
Agarwal is a civil service aspirant. This essay is a replica of the entry for the essay competition at www.upscportal.com
securing 4th position.