Panacea for ills plaguing Indian democracy
Col Satish Singh Lalotra
” One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”……Martin Luther king Jr
While looking back at 2020 ,it is hard to lose sight of the fact that restrictions on fundamental freedoms were imposed at an ever-growing pace even in countries that believed themselves to be immune to authoritarian temptations . However along with increasing restrictions on civil society rights, we can also see civil society fighting back and countering to claim rights. Welcome to “Citizen Activism” ,the ultimate mover and shaker in meeting the aspirations of millions of Indians ,as the country gears up to celebrate “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ signaling india’s entry into 75th year of its independence. Though our PM Narendra Modi has often shared his vision of building a new ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ by the year 2022 ,with themes like Governance, Development, technology, reforms, progress and policy all these require traction to be build up to bear fruition in the near term to medium to long term.
It has been the wont of western world to call India a ‘Flawed democracy”,since the fruits of democracy have often been uneven in nature and often usurped by the few having clout of money, muscle power and connections to say the least. Very often these fruits of democracy are obfuscated from the views of the general public by evil machinations of a select few forcing the masses to forge new ties to take on these select few who in cohort with the state play truant on the hapless public of the country. With India entering its 75 th year of independence with aplomb and cherished values of democracy as also casting a leading light on its neighbouring countries who are mired in theocracy and monarchy it is but natural to bask in our past performance. But here ends the basking in past glory. ‘Democracy is the name we give people whenever we need them’ – The French playwrights quoted were not only right about France in the early 1900s but also the largely one-act plays i.e democracy in contemporary India. It is enacted once in five years and features an admirable number of citizens casting their vote. It outsources governance to elected helmsmen and allows citizens to spectate the sport for the next five years. The exception to the above is when Armageddon strikes . It evinces a dynamism and genuine godliness from citizens . Be it the 1999 Super cyclone of Orissa , the 2001 Gujarat earthquake or the Chennai floods of 2017 ,citizens spontaneously rose to aid their fellows ,oblivious to personal hazards.
This is aberrant social behaviour . Reason? Well everyday lackadaisical citizenship that is instantly imbued with superhero like attributes in the face of a catastrophe . ‘Reactive citizen activism” in India triggered by egregious tragedies like the ‘Nirbhaya incident” or a devastating tsunami is spontaneous outpouring of outrage or empathy that extinguishes once the protest or disaster relief ends. This hit and run citizen activism may balm aggrieved souls but no tangible improvement in governance results . For instance there is partial improvement to rape laws due to justice verma committee ,but public pressure flagged and the streets have seen no change thereafter. Similarly India has one of the most responsive disaster warning systems in the world all along its eastern and western coast but rudimentary drainage problems continue to plague us. In fact common Indian narrative is simplistic and lopsided in portraying the legislative, executive and judiciary as the sum total of democracy . Nothing can be farther than truth in this case. In actuality elections are a contract through which the voting public agree to pay the minority elected to deliver public services. Therefore the public or citizens must bear the burden of checking and verifying fulfillment of the contract through the term. Instead ,the widespread notion amongst the educated and economically unencumbered that ‘politics is dirty’ has inverted India into becoming a republic of people subservient to the state. In fact in the worldwide ‘Gallup poll 2016 on civic engagement ,India stood in the bottom half at 29, versus 61 for the US, 60 FOR Australia and 54 for the UK.
Indians were not always like this way though and this is a substantial departure from the tradition. Citizens of yore were themselves actively involved in administering public resources in the true spirit of the people. For instance there are continual references to Mauryan india , where local administration of specific matters at the village levels was performed by Gramiks ,autonomous of the king and drawn by and from the local community. This fifth pillar ironically most pervasive and dynamic during the monarchies has slowly and surely frittered away and the modern democratic republic is nearly bereft of a strong civil society. Now how do we regenerate this citizen centric society . As our Mahatma told us-“Real swaraj will come not by the acquisition of authority by a few ,but by the acquisition of the capacity by all to resist authority when it is abused.” In our case of Jammu and Kashmir , the yeoman’s job done by ” Ikk jutt Jammu” to expose the nefarious design of the state dispensation in close association with select few to usurp 24,000 canals of state land and palm it off to a particular community thereby changing the demographic profile of Jammu province is the “standard bearer” of citizen’s activism . But such examples of citizen’s activism are far and few in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. One such burning example which requires citizen’s activism in Jammu region is that of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis who in connivance with some unscrupulous elements have caused a social upheaval in the region.
The above example of “Ikk Jutt Jammu” is why any developed and functioning democracy relies upon citizen engagement as an indispensable pillar of governance. In fact elected leaders follow ,not lead. Laws, policies and various amendments often are devised in response to long overdue measures, well after enormous pain and lobbying by activists and good Samaritans. The “Bhoo Dan” ( donating of land) movement led by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in the 1950s, the Hindu succession(amendment) act for instance accorded daughters the right to inherit ancestral property as recently as 2005, and the employment of manual scavengers and construction of dry latrines (prohibition ) act banned the abominable practice only in 1993 are some of the sterling examples of citizen’s activism.
Forging change requires pressure from citizens that increases and lasts. Success for a citizen’s movement in a democratic republic is simply the narrowing of gap between people’s aspirations of public services and actual outcomes delivered through good governance. A citizen’s activism must display development along three axis… quantum, spread and depth of civic engagement. ‘Feet on the street” again and again ,sustained unflagging and over long time is the need of the hour in an area like Jammu province which seems to have acquiesced to the inevitable. Second it must include the diverse demographic of the public it seeks to represent. Lastly the scope of citizen’s activism should span the spectrum of governance ranging from laws to policy to process and consultation to implementation and oversight of an area. Vibrant civil society calls for a reversal of common public attitudes-social apathy and disdain for politics . Feeding the hungry on a given day, of the year or sponsoring a child’s education only goes so far. It is good for the individual’s soul and assuages the guilt of plenty in a land of grave disparities. But does it galvanise the socio-political governance to institutionalize a better society? I leave it to a discerning reader.
The writer is a retired colonel and can be approached on his email…slalotra4729@gmail.com
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