THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY.

The Future of Democracy published in Mainstream, VOL L, No 35, on

August 18, 2012.

I. Setting and Argument

Between December 18, 2010 and September 17, 2011, three events

in different parts of the world highlighted the issue of the future of

democracy as central to the social and political discourse everywhere.

These three epoch-making events have different evocative titles: The

Arab Spring; India Against Corruption; and Occupy Wall Street.

The Arab Springa wave of demonstrations and protests-began on

Saturday, December 18, 2010 in Tunisia when Mohamed Bouazizi

immolated himself in protest against police corruption and ill-treatment

in a rather remote place called Sidi Bouzid. The protests soon spread to

Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Saudi

Arabia, Sudan and Western Sahara. This peoples uprising in Tunisia is

popularly referred to as the Jasmine Revolution because of the place that

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jasmine occupies in Tunisian society. Subsequent interviews with

Mohameds father and sisters established that he set himself on fire for

dignity and that to him dignity was more important than the bread.

The Arab Spring generated a lot of hope in the Arab world. The

massive and spontaneous nature of the street-protests posed a decisive

challenge to authoritarian rule. They resolutely questioned the authority

of rulers who were stealing the wealth of the community and depriving

people of their freedom. As a result of mass uprisings, governments

were overthrown in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The Tunisian President,

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011. In

Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11, 2011, thus

ending his 30-year Presidency. The Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi,

was challenged on August 23, 2011 and was killed on October 20, 2011

in his hometown of Sirte. A civil war broke out in Syria and

demonstrations occurred everywhere.

During this period of regional unrest, several leadersPresident

Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Iraqi

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Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikiannounced their intention to step down

at the end of their current terms. Protests in Jordan have also caused the

sacking of two successive governments by King Abdullah.

All of these were perhaps provoked by the fact that dictatorial

governance was the norm in the Arab world. In future, it may well be

that this region will be ruled by democratically elected leaders. The

Arabs will eventually exercise their rights to regime change as in the

European countries, the US and India. It will, however, take time for

democratic institutions like the legislature, the judiciary, the media and

the Election Commission to acquire firm roots and an independent

character. The India Against Corruption movement owes its leadership

to, and inspiration from, Kisan Baburao Hazare popularly known as

Anna Hazare. On April 5, 2011, Hazare began his hunger strike in New

Delhi to press the demand for a strong Lokpal at the Centre and

Lokayuktas (ombudsmen) in the States. On April 8, the Government of

India accepted the movements demand and a Committee was

constituted to draft the Lokpal Bill. On July 28, the Union Cabinet

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approved a draft of the Lokpal Bill, which kept the Prime Minister,

judiciary and the lower bureaucracy beyond the ombudsmans ambit.

Hazare rejected the governments version by describing it as a cruel

joke and wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announcing

his decision to begin an indefinite fast from August 16, if the

government introduced its own version of the Bill in Parliament without

accepting suggestions from civil society. On August 16, following the

Independence Day celebrations in India, Anna commenced an indefinite

hunger strike but was arrested by the Delhi Police and sent to Tihar Jail.

After his arrest, Hazare received extraordinary support from people

across the country. He refused to leave Tihar Jail. There were reports of

nearly 570 demonstrations and protests with millions of people marching

on the street all over the country. The government allowed Anna to

undertake a public hunger strike of fifteen days at Ramlila Maidan as

demanded by him. Anna ended his fast on August 28, after the Lok

Sabha passed a resolution indicating its resolve to strive for a strong

Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayauktas in the States.

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 Anna, a former truck driver of the Indian Army, was elated with

his work and saw himself as an agent of change. He declared at a public

meeting: When God wants to bring in change, He needs a vehicle of

change, I became that vehicle. The movement brought into focus the

fact that Indian democracy is injected with corruption at both the top and

bottom of the system.

This anti-graft movement received support from constitutional

bodies like the Supreme Court of India and the Comptroller and Auditor

General of India as well as from enlightened citizens, the media and the

middle class.

The Occupy Wall Street movement began on September 17, 2011

(in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City) against social and

economic inequality, high unemployment, greed and corruption.

Capitalism and its working faced severe criticism. The inspiration came

from the Canada-based Adbusters Media Foundation. This, in turn, gave

rise to the Occupy movement in the United States and around the world.

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 These protests are against social and economic inequality, high

unemployment, greed, as well as corruption and the undue influence of

corporations on governmentparticularly by the financial services

sector. The protesters sloganWe are the 99 per centrefers to the

growing income and wealth inequality in the US between the wealthiest

one per cent and the rest of the population. The protests in New York

City have sparked similar Occupy protests and movements around the

world and still continue to do so.

My enquiries against the backdrop of these three continuing

movements have revealed that while people believe in the desirability of

democracy as against other forms of governance, they are profoundly

dissatisfied with the manner in which the institutions of democracy are

workingfunctioning without significantly addressing the issues

concerning the dignity and welfare of its citizens. They allege that the

State has failed to deliver quality service to its citizens and stop

corruption on the part of political leaders, civil servants, and

businessmen.

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 In several democratic countries, citizens have expressed

disapproval in the working of key democratic institutions such as

National Parliaments, States Assemblies, Civil Service and Local Self

Government bodies. Yet people continue to believe in the virtues of

democracy and clamour for it especially where dictatorial or

monarchical dispensation prevails. Is it possible that this precarious

balance between the appeal of democracy and the dissatisfaction at the

working of its political institutions could jeopardise the future of

democracy itself? Are democracies, as John Keane puts it,

sleepwalking their way into deep trouble? Are alternatives to

democracy being contemplated both in democratic countries and

authoritarian ones?

The paradox of this situation needs to be appreciated both in

historical perspective and in the context of the world we live in.

II. Origins of Democracy

SOME form of participatory democracy was born about 2600

years ago in the Greek city of Athens. This invention was a product of

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the Athenian attempt to broaden the form of authoritarian government

which they had and truly reflected their genius and good sense. They

called it Demokratia by which they meant self-government among

equals. It was a unique experiment in a kind of direct democracy where

the people did not elect representatives to vote on their behalf, but

directly participated in and voted on legislation, and gave some

executive directions.

Athens was located in the region of Greece called Attica protected

by mountain ranges in the north and west and measuring some 2500

square kilometres. Athens produced great leaders like Cleisthenes,

Heraclitus, Pericles, Demosthenes and several others. However, their

type of democracy, while an early experiment, was also deeply flawed.

This Athenian democracy, though a somewhat secular one, highly

esteemed their gods and deities. Sadly, they put Socratestheir finest

geniusto death in 399 BC after a public trial for impiety and for

corrupting the youth. Other negative features of the Athenian system

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was that slavery existed, women could not vote and the franchise was

very restricted.

The Greeks were very proud of their type of governance. The

celebrated historian, Thucydides, recorded the famous funeral oration

that Pericles gave at the end of the first year in that long war between

Athens and Sparta. Pericles mounted a high platform and addressed the

mourners proclaiming the virtues of Athens, a form of government in

which he argued that everyone was equal before the law. Athens was a

model for others to follow, he claimed. I declare that our city is an

education to Greece.

The Athenian democracy, however, ended with terrible defeats at

the hands of Sparta. It survived on and off for two-and-a-half centuries.

The attacks on democracy arose from intellectuals who found the

demos disgusting. There were widespread allegations of abuse of power

both in internal and external affairs. Leaders were accused of not caring

for the welfare of the people or giving them real power. Other models of

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governance, more authoritarian in nature, were held up as better systems

of organising a community.

The lamp of assembly-based democracy, however, was practised in

the east as well. Syria, Iraq, Iran and India too had practised some form

of popular self-government. In the early Buddhist period, local republics

governed by assemblies were common. The Pali canon gives us a

picturesque description of the city of Vesali or Vaishali in the 5th

century BC where the government by discussion was practised. This is

borne out by recent archaeological excavations as well. Recorded history

shows that the Buddha had a fondness for democracy as practised by the

Vajjians or the Licchavis in Vaishali. Once, the mighty king of Magadha

wished to annex the Vajjian confederacy and sent a Minister, Vassakara

the Brahman, to the Buddha to seek his advice as to whether the attack

would be a success. Instead of answering this question directly, Buddha

spoke to Ananda, his closest disciple in the following manner:

Buddha asked: Have you heard, Ananda, that the Vajjians hold full and

frequent public assemblies?

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Lord, so I have heard, replied he

So long, Ananda, rejoined the Blessed one, as the Vajjians hold these

full and frequent public assemblies; so long may they be expected not to

decline, but to prosper

It is another matter that after the death of the Buddha, the Magadha

empire annexed the Vijjain confederacy into its fold.

Even in the days of these early democratic experiments, it was

recognised by some that although people were not angels, they were

perhaps good enough to prevent oligarchs and dictators from thinking

that they were so. Democracy meant self-government where sovereign

power resided in an assembly of people and not in the hands of despots

or voices of tradition.

Over the years, democracy has aroused millions of people all the

world over. It has also empowered them in shaping their own destiny in

a manner that they have considered appropriate and useful. It is true that

the world has been ruled by monarchs, dictators, and autocrats, duly

sanctioned by force at their command, for much longer periods than by

representative government constituted by political parties on the basis of

secret ballot guaranteeing individual liberty and freedom, is only 200

years old. It has some of its roots in the American Revolution, the

French Revolution and the British resistances against dictatorial

monarchs in the 17th century AD. Democracy evolved thereafter but had

major setbacks in the first half of the 20th century. The first five decades

of the 20th century saw a long period of dictatorship and hate.

Bolshevism in Russia, Fascism in Italy, Nazism in Germany, and

Militarism in Japan and Latin America negated democracy and

destroyed many individuals rights, freedom and self-rule. Democracy,

however, reasserted itself toward the end of the 20th century, and soon

more people were living under democracy than under dictatorship.

According to the New York Times, at the end of the twentieth century,

3.1 billion people lived in a democracy and 2.66 billion did not.

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 III. Participatory Democracy to Representative Democracy

OVER the centuries, participatory democracy proved difficult to

function because communities grew too big and got replaced by

representative democracy a clearly superior form of governance. It was

the American freedom leader and thinker, Alexander Hamilton (1755-

1804), who first coined the word representative democracy in 1777 in

a private communication and that rapidly gained public currency. In

hindsight, one feels that if adopted earlier it might have even added to

the quality of life of the people of Athens and of Vaishali. For

representative democracy delivers a more efficient way of conducting

the political affairs of communities as they expand in size and activity.

Democracy is a very flexible and adoptable system and at places it

has even accommodated monarchy. However, democracy does not draw

its legitimacy from having a king or a queen in its midst. Democracies

do not invoke divine authority for management of secular challenges.

Above all, no political party or party in power derives its legitimacy

from being the instrument of a privileged social grouping, be it a

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business house, a political family, or an academic institution.

Democracy has often evolved with a mixture of democratic, aristocratic,

monarchial and capitalist elements.

Throughout its history, the essence of democracy is that people are

the sole source of its authority. One is aware of emperors like Ashoka or

Akbar who strengthened the structure of liberal values, and yet, they

cannot be called democrats. For democracy does not entertain what John

Locke called the appeal to Heaven. The idea of peoples participation

in the structuring of political deliberation where each citizen should not

merely have an equal formal right to contribute to it, but a real

substantive opportunity to do so has assumed new meanings in the

context of the internet revolution and round-the-clock electronic media

coverage.

The ties between democracy and the role of individual citizens

within public deliberation has assumed importance. It acknowledges

both the personal entitlement of people to try to persuade and the

cognitive advantage of inserting all potentially relevant considerations

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into decision-making. It is, however, clear that no system can equalise

power among citizens in political deliberation, but these developments

constitute an advancement over other systems and give a new voice to

the people.

Here it needs to be mentioned that democracies provide strength to

the free market economy. Markets rest upon the twin institutions of

private property and freedom of contract. Market systems, however, do

not rest on thin air. They depend critically upon the use of State

monopoly of power; first to protect the holders of property from

depredations of wrongdoers, and next to enforce the contracts that

facilitate the transfer and re-combination of human and physical assets.

The basic protection offered to property rights does not undermine

the ideals of deliberative democracy. Politics is not just about

expression, sentiment, and education. It also depends on the practical

problems that give rise to the apriori need to deliberate. The institutions

of represen-tative democracy provide that facility.

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 IV. Democracy Finds Fresh Roots

THE Athenian democracy contributed significantly both to the

form and understanding of some essential features of democracy. There

is, however, no evidence to suggest that the neighbouring countries of

Greece like the areas that are now France, Germany or Britain were

either inspired by or influenced in their management of human affairs by

this experiment.

The democracy that was practised by the Licchivis at Vaishali also

did not influence the drafting of the Indian Constitution. The Chairman

of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India, B.R. Ambedkar,

saw little merit in drawing on that old and strictly local experience in

devising the Constitution for modern Indian democracy. It is another

matter that Athens, the Licchivis and the Buddhists mahaviras held

frequent dialogues on public issues. Important social and religious

matters were discussed. The first Buddhist council was held in the sixth

century BC at Rajagriha (modern Rajgir) shortly after Gautam Buddhas

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death. This tradition was also a feature of social and political behaviour

in many parts of the world.

During the colonial era, several countries benefited from the

introduction of the institutions of assemblies and councils, courts of law

and democratic aspirations for liberty, equality and fraternity. This was

greatly strengthened in India by the Freedom Movement and the Indian

National Congress. Leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra

Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, B.R.

Ambedkar, Rajendra Prasad contributed immensely to democratic

processes and secular ideals. Mahatma Gandhi held that:

Democracy is the art and science of mobilising the entire physical,

economic and spiritual resources of various sections of the people in the

service of common good of all.

Another major contribution to strengthening the democratic

processes emanated from a free and independent Press, a tradition that

took roots in Europe and the USA since the 17th century. A free media

not only give us information, but also plays an important role in giving a

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voice to the neglected and disadvantaged. In fact, an independent and

objective media contributes to public reasoning. This places a high

responsibility on the mediasomething that they have not always

appreciated.

The working of democratic institutions, however, depends greatly

on the activities and imagination of leaders and members of the public in

utilising opportunities for realising their potential in a constructive

fashion. Towards this, we have to think about democracy not only in

terms of elections and ballots but also as a government by discussions.

In his famous book, Theory of Justice, John Rawls calls it the exercise

of public reason. He goes on to assert the definitive idea for

deliberative democracy is the idea of deliberation itself. When citizens

deliberate, they exchange views and debate their supporting reasons

concerning public political questions.

V. The Essentials of Democracy

THE satisfactory working of democracy needs (i) high calibre of

politicians; (ii) the availability of choices through both competition

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among rival political parties and leaders about programmes as well as

consensus among them on overall direction of national policy; (iii) a

civil service of good standing and tradition to assist the political leaders

on all aspects of policy formulation and administration; (iv) a culture of

respect for differences and diversity of opinion; and (v) a positive

attitude that shuns criticism for the sake of criticism.

Political parties are essential for democracy. The world view of

political leaders is important since they shape political parties and also

determine the future course of action. The role of leaders in

representative democracy is dependent upon the support that they get

from the electorate, particularly at the time of voting. The permanent

bureaucracy is expected to help the political leaders both in the

formulation of policy and their effective and timely implementation.

The political leader has to be a generalist and a person who has the

ability and interest to involve himself with the problems of the people; a

person who would devote his time to the party, and when called upon to

take executive responsibility in government, be in a position to

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formulate policies and programmes that could benefit the people in

general.

The quality of political leadership is very significantleaders are

accountable to the people and are empowered by the people to take

policy decisions. A leadership that understands peoples problems and

has the imagination and skill to lead them in order that plans and

programmes are properly formulated and implemented is indeed an

essential part of representative democracy. Such an imaginative

leadership also strengthens the democratic society.

Power, along with glory, remains among the highest aspiration and

the greatest reward of human beings. In all societies and at all times, the

exercise of power is regarded highly and the trappings that go with it are

enjoyed profoundly. One of the disturbing trends in constitutional

democracy is the fact that those who exercise executive power at times

enact laws to sub-serve their own interests. This leads to formulation of

new laws and occasionally even amendments in the Constitution. The

working of Indian democracy too has shown that amendments to the

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Constitution and enactment of the laws, at times, have been undertaken

to advance the interest of the ruling elite. Fortunately, in Indias case,

corrective measures have been applied either by Parliament itself or by

the Supreme Court. This drama goes on. For example, the present

political conflict in Thailand owes its origins to the fact that the Thaksin

Government amended laws and even enacted fresh ones to further the

economic interests of his own and that of his colleagues. Apparently,

there was no violation of law but supremacy of the rule of law was

quietly replaced by rule by law.

It goes to the credit of the framers of our Constitution and to the

distinguished judges and lawyers that they have established the primacy

of the rule of law in India after most acts of deviation in this behalf.

The control over the levers of political power in democracy is a

key factor. The power elite is composed of men and women who

transcend the environment in which ordinary men and women live. They

are in positions to make or influence decisions having major

consequences.

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 The working of democracy ensures mobility among members of

the elite group. Over the years, the working of democracy has also

facilitated religious and caste leaders, members of the media, artists and

scholars to join this group. The composition of the power elite in a

democracy has clearly established that celebrity-hood can be acquired.

The nature of the democratic universe is greatly determined by

these factors.

VI. The Nature of the Democratic Universe

ALL those who aspire to rule or govern should recognise

democracy as the principal guarantor of political legitimacy. In the

process, democracies can entertain conflicting ideas and approaches. We

have people who believe and practise the notion that markets and

commercial pursuits are better secured in a democratic rule. On the other

hand, there are those who swear that democracy alone provides a

credible covenant for egalitarian and inclusive social order.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of the

Soviet empire in the last decade of the twentieth century provided new
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vigour and impetus to the spread of democracy in Europe. The Arab

Spring of the second decade of the present century is securing a similar

objective in several parts of Asia and Africa. Democracy Index of 2011:

Democracy Under Stress, prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit

(EIU), has indicated that 167 countries (which include 165 UN member

States) have adopted some democratic form of governance. Democracy

has been under pressure in many parts of the world. The EIU has

formulated a detailed set of norms to evaluate the functioning of

democratic States. The analysis of the EIU appreciates that free and fair

elections and civil liberties are necessary pre-conditions for democracy.

But they are unlikely to be sufficient for a full and consolidated

democracy if unaccompanied by transparent, and at least, minimally

efficient government, sufficient political participation and a supportive

democratic political culture.

Democracy as a set of values retains strong appeal worldwide.

Despite setbacks and overall stagnation, surveys by Freedom House,

another think-tank, and EIU show that most people in most places still

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want democracy. Trends such as globalisation, increasing education and

expanding middle classes tend to favour the organic development of

democracy.

It is not easy to build a sturdy democracy. Even in long-established

ones, democracy can corrode if not nurtured and protected. Nations with

a weak democratic tradition are, by default, vulnerable to setbacks.

Many non-consolidated democracies are fragile and socio-economic

stress has led to backtracking on democracy in many countries. The

underlying shallowness of democratic cultures in many countries on

account of weaknesses in political participation and political culture has

been exposed.

The years beginning from the last decade of the 20th century to the

end of the first decade of the 21st century witnessed the sharpest rise in

living standards that the world has ever known. There was a phenomenal

expansion in the middle class accompanied by equally sharp increase in

income disparity between the few rich and the many poor. In this

context, the massive and effective protests against autocratic rulers and

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against corruption by the youth belonging to middle class families in

different countries contribute an interesting phenomenon of

contemporary history.

Studies dedicated to the working of democracy in different parts of

the world have established that large sections of people in several major

democratic countries have lost confidence in the working of the

democratic institutions of their country. A high proportion of citizens in

these nations believe that democratic institutions have declined since

they largely work for the power elite comprising political leaders and

officials, and top businessmen and their corporations. The redeeming

feature, however, is that the decline in the confidence in the working of

democratic institutions has not been accompanied by a decline in

confidence in the concept of democracy. The Arab Spring has clearly

established that.

It is remarkable that in many countries of the Arab world, groups

of educated middle class youth thought independently, planned

independently, and executed their programmes of protest without the

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encouragement or endorsement of political groups or political leaders.

Time magazine put it picturesquely when it said millions protest,

Armies stand down, dictators leave. In a historical context, it is also

interesting to note that this happened two decades after the end of

communism as an alternative to democracy.

The proponent of the Arab Spring in country after country are well

aware that democracy operates through elections in which political

parties play a vital role. They also realise that electoral politics is messy

and it is difficult to obtain votes on individual merit. And yet, there is

consensus amongst the youth in these countries that democracy is a new

culture and that they have to get used to it.

Protests in several established democratic countries are aimed at

eradication of corruption and for securing equality of opportunity and

dignity to the common people, and not against the idea of democracy.

This is a new spirit, and if properly channelled, it can strengthen

democracy, not only in India, but also in Europe and the USA where the

youth too want changes.

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 The character of governance during the past 100 years has

undergone significant qualitative changes. At the beginning of the 20th

century, there were several competing forms of polity management. This

included monarchy, military-dictatorship, non-military dictatorship,

colonialism and democracy; added to these were fascism and

communism. It is true that democracy succeeded over all these other

forms of governance.

It is, however, not everybodys contention that democracy

prevailed only because of its own strength. The success of democracy

was hugely contributed to by the misdeeds and abuse of power by other

systems of governance. For example, Germany twice misjudged its

strengthfirst as a monarchy; and second, as a fascist nation-state.

Japan did the same. The Soviet Union too succumbed to similar pitfalls.

In fact, these authoritarian systems over-reacted, took too many

opponents militarily and also mis-governed their people. Time and

again, the economies of these countries could not bear the burden of

political competition. The collapse of Germany, Japan, and the Soviet

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Union in the 20th century are shining examples in this behalf. By the

first decade of the 21st century, the triumph of democracy over other

forms of governance became clear all over the world. Today even

dictators and autocrats would like to style themselves as democrats. Two

instances in this behalf are instructive. First, while addressing the

Australian Parliament on October 24, 2003, the Chinese President, Hu

Jintao, declared that democracy is the common pursuit of mankind and

all countries must earnestly protect the democratic rights of the people.

He went on to assert that in the past twenty years and more, since China

embarked on the road of reform and opening up, we have moved

steadfastly to promote political restruc-turing and vigorously build

democratic politics under socialism. Second, in 2004, Libyas Colonel

Gaddafi in a conversation with Tony Blair explained that his country,

too, was a democracy. He drew an imaginary circle in the air, then said:

This is the people and (placing an imaginary dot in the centre) here am

I. I am their expression, and that is why in our democracy political

parties are not required.

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 In the 21st century, democracy is faced with two major challenges.

The first emanates from the forces of Islamic Jihadism; and the second

from the success of authoritarian capitalism, as practised in China and

Russia.

Islamic Jihadism has disturbing qualities, but is geographically and

demographically unlikely to be a replacement system. The bigger

threat to democracy would come if major democracies like the United

States of America; the countries of the European Union; Japan and India

fail to manage their societies well either physically or economically. On

the other hand, if China or Russia do better economically and become

more stable politically, democratic governance will look feeble and its

intellectual position will decline.

If democracies are mismanaged, cannot deliver good governance

and economic fairness and growth, authoritarian capitalism will be a

formidable challenge. In fact, this may emerge as the most serious

challenge to democracy in the coming decades. The anticipation of such

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a situation casts a special responsibility on demo-cratic countries to get

their act together soon.

It needs to be appreciated that just because democracy enshrines a

better set of ideas (more humane) it is not enough to sustain its position.

It has to deliverespecially in todays world. Just proclaiming its

virtues will not be enough. And the present triumph of democracy could

be undercut by authoritarian capitalist nations-indirectly assisted by the

divisionary pressures of Islamic Jihadism India is justifiably called the

worlds largest democracy in view of the significant size of the

electorate and the frequency, regularity, and significance of competitive

elections. We need to look into the Indian democratic scene in some

detail.

VII. The Indian Scene: Challenges and Possibilities

ON August 15, 1947, India was formally declared a democracy

with the right to vote given to all persons irrespective of caste, creed,

gender, education and property qualifications.

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 In his famous Tryst with Destiny speech at midnight that heralded

freedom, Jawaharlal Nehru set this challenge brilliantly. He posed:

What shall be our endeavour? He answered: to bring freedom and

opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to

fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a

prosperous, democratic and progressive nation; and to create social,

economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness

of life to every man and woman.

The need was to demonstrate that unity in a highly diverse country

could be built by respecting its differences in terms of religion, language

and ethnicity, and that democracy itself would become a uniting factor.

This democracy, popularly referred to as Lok Sahi, would empower all

Indians and help build the noble mansion of free India where all her

children may dwell. The minorities, particularly the Muslims, would

have full dignity and all rights for Indian democracy had to be Secular.

The task of building an equitable socio-political order that the

newly established Indian democracy demanded was not easy. The

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founding fathers of the Constitution of India, who were products of a

sustained freedom movement of epic character, were painfully aware of

the layers upon layers of cruelty in Indian society. Deprivation of people

in the name of religion, caste, and gender was widespread

notwithstanding the freedom and equality of opportunity proclaimed by

the new law of the land. The partition of India on religious linesthat

preceded the declaration of Independencewas not only a political

failure, but also a civilisational failure. I am, however, aware that some

civilisations have the strength of taking corrective measures but one

cannot visualise a time-frame for these measures.

Indian society had long neglected the tribal people, and was indeed

oppressive towards the Dalits. B.R. Ambedkar (popularly known as

Baba-saheb), the most important leader of the Dalits, realised that the

members of his community could not secure justice in a society where

Hindu scriptures institutionalised untouchability and inequality. He, like

other Dalit leaders before him, encouraged religious conversion for

securing social justice and equality, and himself led a large band of

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followers to embrace Buddhism to escape religious tyranny. It must also

be said of the greatness of Ambedkar that he did not chase the path of

revolution. He asserted that the battle of the Dalits for social and civic

rights could not wait for a revolution to take place at a future date in

history. It had to begin at once. Towards this, he prescribed

Constitutionalism.

The coming of democracy not only brought changes in the lives of

the Indians, but also fundamentally altered the nature of democracy

itself. Hitherto, many thinkers, especially in the West, perceived

economic development to be a fundamental pre-condition of democracy.

The establishment of democracy in India challenged the traditional view

that democracy requires certain a priori conditions, like economic deve-

lopment, high levels of literacy and a common languagefor Indian

democracy has blossomed in the midst of poverty, illiteracy and

diversity. Democracy created a new nation-state of equal citizens in

India. The Indian system of parliamentary democracy soon became a

33
model for countries newly emergent from colonial rule in Asia and

Africa.

Among several strengths of Indian democracy is the fact that

elections are held at regular intervals in a free and fair manner based on

universal suffrage-and also that the transfer of power from one political

party or coalition to another takes place in a normal fashion. In many

countries, elections are postponed or delayed and the transfer of power

involves violence.

Indian democracy has moved beyond holding periodic elections

and now demands good governance. Good governance, as I perceive it,

means securing justice, empowerment, employment and efficient

delivery of services. Good governance does not occur by chance. It must

be demanded by citizens and nourished explicitly and consciously by the

nation-state. The elected representatives of the people and the permanent

civil service have enormous responsibilities to discharge in this behalf.

34
Indian democracy, however, entertains caste, ethnicity and religion and

during elections, money and muscle power play significant roles.

However, the traditional belief that by keeping the poor poor and the

weak weak, the leaders can guarantee their next election victory is no

longer valid. Thanks to the media, people are getting increasingly aware

of the role of power-brokers and middlemen who tamper with the

institutional framework and the system to enrich themselves. No wonder

there is a clamour for the elimination of corruption and unearthing of

black money. It is true that the State controlled develop-mental system

did not succeed in eliminating poverty and illiteracy. And yet, the

alternative model of market economy, which is rapidly becoming

fashionable in India, is unable to include most of the poor and

dispossessed among its beneficiaries. In fact, the poor are well aware

that new Indias malls and market complexes are open to them but are

not meant for them.

Both Rajendra Prasad, the President of the Constituent Assembly,

and B.R. Ambedkar were deeply conscious of the continued need to

35
have dedicated people who would be called upon to implement the

Constitution. On November 25, 1949, Ambedkar stated in the

Constituent Assembly: The working of the Constitution does not

depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution. The Constitution can

provide only the organs of the State such as the legislature, the executive

and the judiciary. The factors on which the working of these organs of

the State depend are the people and the political parties they will set up

as their instruments to carry out their wishes and their politics. Who can

say how the people of India and their parties will behave.

There are people who believe that it is a myth that Indias political

classes submit themselves to accountability at every election. They

allege that elections are manipulated in a manner whereby leaders are

elected through a system of patronage politics that favours some sections

of the population at the expense of the majority. Democracy, therefore,

does not always result in quality delivery of goods and services to the

entire population. Non-inclusive growth is also related to patronage

politics.

36
 In view of the deep-rooted social and economic inequities of

centuries, India cannot blindly follow the capitalist model of growth that

puts excessive reliance on market forces for such a model may, in the

long run, undermine the stability of Indian polity. And yet, rapid

economic growth is essential to meet the aspirations of the Indian youth.

Placed in these circumstances, the leaders have to devise ways and

means that secure both fast growth and an approach that combines

Gandhian ethics with a democratic temper.

In response, innovations are taking place in the government, in the

market and in the civil society. Social and political processes are getting

increasingly interlinked, changing the character of the elites in the

countryside. As a result, the high caste elites of the 1950s have gradually

yielded space to intermediate caste landholders and businessmen and

also holders of adminis-trative and political offices. In future, the nature

and content of good governance would undergo changes in tune with

rising expectations and fresh demands of the people.

37
 As a people, we Indians are extremely loyal to the family, to our

caste or ethnic group, to our religion and belief systems. Thanks to the

freedom struggle and representative institutions, we are also loyal to

democracy. At times, to preserve these various loyalties, we tend to use

short-cuts and undermine the rule of law and indulge in unsavory acts or

even promote illegality. We forget that this sabotages democracy and the

fundamental rights and duties of the citizens as enshrined in the

Constitution of India.

In India, we are living at different levels of development in a

multi-layered society. In several areas of the country, there are structures

that characterise pre-industrial societies as people are dependent on raw

labour power and extraction of primary resources from nature. Side by

side, we also have industrial society edifices in respect of the economy,

occupational systems and stratifications based on Western models of

society and economy. India also has features of a post-industrial

societya most modern phenomenon prevalent in highly industrialised

38
countries. What counts in the post-industrial society is the quality of

manpower which has access to information and can think ahead.

Fortunately, we have professionals who are equipped by education and

training to provide skills which are increasingly in demand in post-

industrial society.

In this dynamic and layered situation, the Indian nation-state has to

mediate between the landless labourers and the landholders; between

capitalists and the workers; and between the interests of the

professionals and captains of corporate organisations as well as conflicts

among and in these communities.

Today, the nation-state is also expected to play a decisive role for

two fundamental reasons. First, it must create an atmosphere of peace

and stability to facilitate trade and commerce. Second, our socio-

political order has to accommodate the claims of new social groups that

are clamouring to establish their rights and role in polity and society.

39
 An area of important challenge to public policy relates to the

relationship between technical and political decisions. The political

leaders will need to be adept in the technical aspects of policy

formulation in view of its importance to the economy and polity.

The democratic orders of the future will have to devise ways and

means for inclusion of disadvantaged groups and meet their demands for

more amenities in politics, education and health care. Once this happens,

the character of our political culture too will change. Different countries

will make different responses to meet this challenge according to

prevailing local situations. But such questions need to be continuously

kept in view as these constitute the core of the conception of public

policy and democracy. History is moving fast these days in terms of

demography, culture, urbanisation and expansion of human

consciousness. All these changes, accompanied by phenomenal rise in

expectations, are posing unforeseen challenges. Our leadership is

required to make policy choices in several economic, social, and

external and cultural arenas in order that we can successfully synergise

40
our strengths and ability for technological innovation, problem-solving

skills and political vision.

The singular achievement of Indian democracy has been to keep

India united as a polity and to keep its vast market functioning. The

architecture of the constitutional democracy has prevented extremist

organisations and their leaders from wrecking the ship of the Indian

State. But unfortunately, it has not been able to prevent the pressure of

these groups.

Serious questions are now facing us. Can Indias democracy rise

up to the task of effecting improvement of its service delivery systems;

accommodate the dispossessed and marginal communities in its policy-

making systems; and impart them skills to become beneficiaries of the

market mechanism? Is it possible for our democracy to enable us to

invest more in the countrys long future? We have shown imagination

during the Freedom Struggle and in the early years of the Republic in

solving our major problems. Can we do this now as well?

41
 There is a widespread dissatisfaction with the pattern of economic

growth in the country. It is true that the rate of economic growth has

increased considerably which was undreamt of 20 years ago, and yet, a

large number of people are being left out from economic betterment.

The most serious manifestation of this state of affairs is Naxalite

violence which is prevalent in over 160 out of 600 districts in the

country.

At places, administration and political institutions have become

ineffective and fragile. Both the law and order machinery and service

mechanisms are subjected to manipulation by politicians and economic

power groups. The system itself is ineffective and marked by widespread

rent-seeking. The justice system is also dilatory and beyond the common

mans reach. If democracy means the opportunity to play a meaningful

part in realising ones potential in life, this spirit of democracy does not

appear to prevail in many parts of the country. It is true that the genius

of Indian culture helps strengthen the democratic processes in India, but

42
this needs to be supported by improvements in social and economic

environment for the people.

It is true that a number of measures have been taken to empower

the common people. The Constitution of India itself provides for

affirmative action in respect of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes

and Other Backward Classes. The Constitution was amended to provide

for Panchayati Raj in the rural areas and self-governing local institutions

in the urban areas. As a result, we have in the country 3.3 million elected

representatives in these bodies, of whom more than one million are

women. And among these women, over 86,000 hold office as President

and Vice President of these bodies. Assuming that for every elected

office in these bodies there are three contenders, we have then over 10

million stakeholders of democracyan arrangement that secures

continuation of the democratic processes in India. The Right to

Information given to the people is another step that has empowered

them.

43
 Another favourable feature in India is the increased participation of

the common people in politics. Discussions of politics in the urban

centres as well as in the rural areas are on the rise. People value their

political rights and opportunities and exercise their votes in the elections

to Panchayats, State Assemblies and Lok Sabha regularly.

Democracy and Economic Development

There is a widespread belief that political systems play a decisive

role in economic success. A dialogue with the leaders of the think-tanks

and economic barons in Washington D.C. or New York would make

known that democracy and capitalism are not only superior systems, but

they also go in hand-in-hand with economic prosperity. One would hear

similar voices in the capitals of the European countries. India, too, is

slowly acquiring that tone notwithstanding the fact that socialist ideas

are still highly valued as against that of market capitalism.

44
 There are the opposite views as well. And these are located not

only in authoritarian countries, but also in democratic ones. In their

perception, well-managed authoritarian systems produce rapid economic

growth. They cite the successful development stories of South Korea,

Taiwan and Singapore in this regard. To this impressive list, China is

being added.

It is being widely argued that democracy is not conducive to

economic growth. Populism and promotion of ethnic and group interests

do not allow economic freedom to reach the people. Democracies do not

have the skill, as some eloquently put it, to get out of this dark valley.

In many parts of the globe, democratic politics is seen as impeding

the decisive action needed to expand economic possibilities. Enlightened

citizens view the democratic institutions as being guided by the rich and

corporate houses to further their interestsnot acting to promote the

welfare of the common people. This state of affairs is being challenged

from the US to Europe to Japan and to India. Citizens are growing

impatient and, at times, even contemptuous of some leaders.

45
Democracies also sustain inequality. For example, there are several

layers of life in India. The glitter and glamour of cosmopolitan cities

reminds one of Western capitals, while villages bereft of electricity and

potable water, and faceless towns establish that things have not changed

much despite rapid economic growth in the economy during the last two

decades and more. A closer look, however, gives some hope. The

populous States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh

have commenced their journey on the path of development. Bihars

economy is growing at an 11 per cent rate annually, the second fastest in

India. The States of the Indian Union also have acquired political and

economic clout in recent years.

The stability of democracy in the coming decades in India needs to

be seen in the context of its demography. The demographic scene in

India shows that by 2020, the average Indian age will be 29 years as

against the average European age of 49 years, and the Chinese age of 37

years. If India succeeds in giving its youth quality education and skills,

the democratic governance will get new strengths. Today, the youth has

46
a choice between world-class engineering colleges and joining Naxalite

camps. The Naxalite option needs to be effectively denied to the youth

of India in order to secure an assured future of democratic form of

governance.

However, in view of Indias recent economic success, there are

several persons who believe that democracy is vital for economic

growth. It is being forcefully advocated that the growth that India enjoys

today was facilitated by the introduction of political decentralisation and

improved governance. And contrary to conventional wisdom, India

stagnated in the past not because it had too much democracy, but

because there were too many controls.

If India, with its vast cultural and geographical diversity, coupled

with widespread democratic arrangements, can embrace a high rate of

economic growth, then no other country need to ponder over a trade-off

between economic growth and democracy.

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 The ground realities establish that authoritarian control, per se, is

not an advantage and yet, at the same time, failure to arrive at a decision

in democracy does not at all help economic success.

Notwithstanding Chinas impressive economic accomplishments,

most Indians believe that our democratic system provides a unique

strength. They also believe that democracy is not the cause of our

poverty, and that an effective leadership which believes in massive job

creation can succeed in eliminating it. An inclusive democracy needs to

combine the philosophy of a strong nation-state with pluralism. The

States have to be capable enough to ensure quality delivery of services

to the people and to maintain peace and order. An inclusive democracy

needs more effective government and more space for markets.

Outlook

Over the millennia, India has entertained social inequality and

worse in the name of upholding the Varnashrama Dharma. This social

stratification was seriously challenged during the freedom struggle. The

constitutional democratic system during the last six decades and more

48
has gone for constructing a non-discriminatory society and polity with

considerable success. Today, we are faced with another massive

challenge of economic inequality accompanied with inflation, graft and

denial of basic amenities to the poor people. Will Indian democracy

grapple with this rising economic stratification in society or will it

simply move on oblivious of this phenomenon and its possible adverse

impact on the democratic process itself?

One is aware that million mutinies are taking place almost on a

daily basis in India. The need is to go for million negotiations that

would ensure that the government, market and civil society work

together for the empowerment of the poor and the dispossessed.

VIII. Towards Future

IS democracy destined to be universal or will it fade away and be

substituted by another ideal? Will democracy be able to succeed in the

21st century? Will democracy triumph over the forces of religious

fundamentalism and authoritarian rule?

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 Democracy has attracted criticism right from the beginning. The

famous Greek thinker, Thucydides, called democracy of Athens an

effeminate government, while Amrapali, the royal courtesanwho

invited Buddha to her house for dinner against the wishes of the Vaishali

Republicpublicly ridiculed the then prevailing system of democratic

decision-making. In fact, from Thucydides to Karl Marx and beyond,

democratic governments have been accused of incompetence, short-

sightedness, selfishness, corruption, and worse. In recent years,

democra-cies have been ridiculed as being hand in gloves with the

bourgeoisie and the capitalists. The quest for ideal democracy is a near-

impossibility. It is full of deficiencies and it has no built-in guarantees. It

is marked by widespread corruption and internal power struggles. The

durability of democracy is by no means certain.

It is also widely believed that democracy is the best form of

government that the human mind has so far devised. Democracy

promotes creativity at the local level by promoting local initiatives and

ideas. It creates a way of governance that has global relevance. And yet,

50
democracy is not a kind of theology that needs to be blindly obeyed

democracy allows rational enquiry and criticism. It emphasises

persuasion and dialogue, and maximises deliberations among the people.

It also needs to be appreciated that there are no alternatives to

democracy presently in circu-lation. The situation was somewhat

different in the 1920s and 1930s when communism was considered as an

alternative to democracy. The Chinese model of a one-party system,

market-led economic growth, and tight State control has not caught the

imagination of the people either in the Arab world, or in Asia or Latin

America.

People have expectations. Democratic gover-nance, in particular,

often promises to do more than it actually can do. This gets amply

reflected at the time of elections. Against this background, if society is

not vigilant, elections could be used by authoritarian leaders in the

manner that Hitler and the Bolshevik leaders did. The success and

spread of democracy in the 21st century will depend upon the delivery

of quality services to the people, and provision of a corruption-free

51
political, administrative and business environment. We do believe that

politicians, civil servants and business leaders have the ability to learn,

and it is certainly not impossible that they will start to listen to the public

voices formulated by the enlightened citizens.

There is a natural tendency to be optimistic when we discuss the

future of democracy. Can we presume that the future of democracy will

automatically be bright? One is not very sure. For the sustenance of a

democratic system, it is essential to have an alert citizenry. The citizens

have to be mentally prepared to engage in movements, even civil

disobedience movements, to keep democratic institutions functioning in

terms of the ideals of democracy. It is important to have multiple

organised voices of citizens, of the media and NGOs. The key

institutions of democracythe judiciary, the media, the Election

Commission, the audit organisation, and the Public Service Commission

need to remain independent. The civil servants must have freedom to

work for securing public good.

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 Democracy is a precious ideal that tries to establish equality among

man and woman, man and man, and woman and woman. It creates a

government by publicly elected representatives through the secret ballot.

Its goal is to install an independent judiciary, guarantee press freedom

and an impartial electoral machinery.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and collapse of the Soviet

Union soon after, many democracy watchers believed that the world has

ushered itself into an era of democracy and freedom. Francis Fukuyama

particularly, called it the end of history. He believed that we have

reached: The end point of mankinds ideological evolution and the

universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of

human government.

This is, however, not true as several nation-states like China,

Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and others are not willing to embrace Western

liberal democracy as the final form of human government. Several

democratic countries too have developed their own norms which are

conducive to the genius of the people of that land and have not adhered

53
blindly to the Western model and so have thus indigenised democratic

systems and practices.

The twentyfirst century is vastly different from the twentieth

century. Humanity as a whole has become more sensitised to gender,

racial and religious inequality and inequality of opportunities. Migration

and demographic trends mean that pluralism will be required for peace

and domestic stability. It is in this context that I have advocated the

Bahudha approach, both within India and in the global arena. This

celebrates diversity, inculcates an attitude of listening to others with

respect, and strengthens an environment of dialogue. The Bahudha

approach entails that people should be encouraged to have multiple

identities in terms of language, ethnicity, dress, gods and rites and

modes of expression.

At the End

Three events of 2010-11popularly known as The Arab Spring;

India Against Corruption; and Occupy Wall Street, mentioned earlier

have been part of my intellectual concerns in recent months. I have

54
followed these events with keenness with different perspectivesas a

life-long student of politics; as a civil servant in the largest democracy of

the world for nearly four decades; and as a constitutional head of the

strategic border State of Sikkim (a State that embraced Indian

democracy after 333 years of monarchal rule). These events of mass

distur-bance in established democracies have raised questions as to

whether the disenchantment with the malfunctioning of democratic

institu-tions and rising expectations of the people would lead to eclipse

of democracy itself.

Another concern emanates from the disappea-rance of the ideals of

communism from the erstwhile Soviet Union. The Chinese Communist

Party too has deviated from the thoughts of Marx, Engels and Mao to

embrace market capitalism. The rule of Guardians, that Plato had once

envisioned, still remains an Utopia. However, the ideals of a socialist

societythat is equitable and justcontinue to inspire many people all

over the world. Similarly, the democratic ideals of liberty, equality and

justice would continue to be the guiding lights for mankind. And yet, it

55
is realistic to hold the view that democracy cannot sustain itself only on

the basis of its ideals. On other occasions, I have entertained the idea as

to whether human ingenuity would devise a better alternative to what we

have and call it by another name other than liberal democracy or

parliamentary democracy. No definite answer has come to me, or

probably to any other person. This, however, does not mean that

alternatives are not already present deep down in the human

consciousness. It may perhaps take considerable time for them to

emerge.

Forecasts about the future forms of governance are not in fashion.

Here we are talking about something which may evolve. It is thus not

amenable to futurology, and yet we have to warn ourselves as most

gurus and forecasters involved with the business of looking at forms of

governance are willing to give the ruling elites what they want. It is,

therefore, not unlikely to hear one set of answers that is favourable to

democracy in India, and another completely different version in China.

In fact, democracy needs no astrologers. The time has, however, come

56
for political leaders, jurists, enlightened citizens and others, who are

concerned about the future of democracy, to look closely at the

challenges facing democracy in their country, and devise ways and

means to remedy the shortcomings in the working and structure of

democratic governments.

The author, currently the Governor of Sikkim, is a distinguished

scholar, thinker and public servant. His latest book is Bahudh and the

Post-9/11 World (OUP: 2010).

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