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Is India a Democracy?

Romak Jayanta Roy Chowdhury

B.A. LLB ( HONS )

Student ID- 2011215001058

Indian democracy is still nascent. It is evolving. There are bound to be

problems. And, in any case, there is no perfect model of democracy

anywhere in the world.

Every democracy, including those in the US and England, has evolved

over centuries. It took the US a Civil War and almost 100 years to abolish

slavery after its independence but the “slavish” mentality continued much

longer. Britain faces an unprecedented crisis on account of an allegation of

racism against the Royal family. This is after centuries of maturity.

Democracy doesn’t get manifested in India only through the electoral

process. Yes, the citizens get to vote to elect a government both at the state

and federal levels periodically but democracy is much beyond that. It has its

legal roots in the Indian Constitution that provides for certain inalienable

rights like the freedom of expression and movement. These are ensured by

an independent and impartial judiciary and a free press. The Parliament and

the State Assemblies are forums where issues of importance are discussed.

India is indeed a functional democracy that we are proud of. Then, is

something not all well now?

A look at the events during the past few years and the

response/conduct of institutions that are sentinels of democracy will help us

understand what is going right or wrong with Indian democracy.

“The intellectual level of the debate was quite low. Sometimes the

debaters did not make themselves intelligible………A turbulent mass of

people, all gesticulating and bawling, with pathetic old man shaking his bell
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and making frantic efforts to call the house to a sense of indignity by friendly

appeals, exhortations and grave warnings?”

No, it is not a description of the Indian Parliament. It is an extract from

Mein Kampf on what Hitler could make out of the proceedings of Austrian

Parliament but is indeed reminiscent of how sometimes our own Parliament

functions. This institution has virtually ceased to be a sentinel of our

democracy and this happened long ago, not in the recent past. Brute

majority of the ruling party has only made its irrelevance even more

profound.

The Judiciary has seen its ups and downs during the past few decades.

Judges have been given post-retirement assignments in the past as well.

Some of these assignments have been frowned upon. However, if there is a

perception of a quid-pro-quo when such assignments are handed over, it

erodes the institution.

When a Supreme Court Judge who holds a press conference against the

sitting Chief Justice of India is not only not taken to task for blatant contempt

but is himself appointed as Chief Justice, eyebrows are raised.

And, when the same judge against whom sexual harassment charges

are levelled is “rewarded” with a nomination to Rajya Sabha after he presides

over some “favorable” judgements for the government, it lends credence to

the doubts about the independence of Judiciary.

Election Commission is an institution that we have been all proud of.

The credibility of the institution went many notches up when the likes of T N
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Seshan were at the helm. However, when an Election Commissioner who is

apparently “inconvenient”, in line to become the Chief Election

Commissioner, is “allowed” to join the Asian Development Bank, tongues

start wagging.

Whether we accept it or not, there is a sense of insecurity amongst

some minorities in the country. However, it is not for the first time that

minorities have felt insecure in the country. Perhaps that is how democracies

evolve.

How can we forget what happened in 1984? The worrisome feature

now is the flaunting of necessity to promote such animosity by some sections

of the society for political gains. This is dangerous and will need to be tackled

proactively. Indifference to “goli maaro saalo ko” (shoot the brothers-in-law)

will be counterproductive and can cause irreparable damage in the long run.

There have been occasions in the past when newspapers in India had

published a blank cover page to protest against press censorship. And, the

country came out of it. The media today is unfortunately deeply divided.

Objectivity is sorely missing and this does not augur well for the democracy.

The alleged “harassment” of journalists and media houses critical of the

government is also not a good sign. Similar apprehensions have been

expressed in academia.

However, despite all this, we still have farmers agitating freely for

months just on the outskirts of the national capital, Delhi. We still have

different political parties ruling in a number of states. We still have articles

critical of the government published in the media. We still have a Prime

Minister duly elected by the people and periodically endorsed by the majority

at the hustings.

We also have a leader whose only claim to leadership is perhaps his

lineage and he is able to challenge another democratically elected leader

who now runs the country. All this would not have been possible in Saddam’s

or Gaddafi’s world, even in Pakistan.

Yes, we are still a functional democracy. Yet, we have to be on the

guard. There is a lurking fear somewhere.