Democracy is what India thrives on, political analysts say. It has not escaped the attention of its citizens, so it remains the most flaunted off thing. The world’s largest democracy, a glue of different cultures, religions and regions of India, an answer to the doomsayers of the world et al. You pick any book on Indian political discourse, and you will see this point grinded to smidges.
Democracy-the rule of the people, by the people and for the people, Abraham Lincoln had theorized. Its genesis is believed to be in ancient Greek, though different cultures, including India, mention it as their child. Such has become its lionization that it is now the universally accepted form of rule. In modern times, it got materialized after the American War of Independence (Philadelphia Conference-1787), though French Revolution (1789) ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity too leant a great deal of perfecting themes to it. Subsequently other nations adopted or are trying to adopt it.
But is democracy the be and end of all? If some one asks me, am I proud of Indian democracy, so vividly expressed in the last 63 years, then I would emphatically say, yes. But if someone asks again, am I proud of its achievements, then a firm no. I do question this in context with China. China has a single-party political rule, ridiculed worldwide as a dictatorial regime. It nevertheless has achieved stupendous results, esp. after the Deng Xiaoping economic liberalization (1979), and it continues to run faster than India. I wonder what rights Chinese citizens don’t enjoy which we do and by the dint of which, we consider ourselves superior? Do we really enjoy the so-advertised freedom of speech, liberty, choice and all the sundry rights? Haven’t we been mere pawns of the unscrupulous politicians all these years? What we want more- rights or development? These are some of the vexing questions which bother every citizen of every society/country. After some rumination, I come around my dubious sense, and realize that India still is a better model of polity, at least in theory, than China and hence preferable. It is just the malicious handling of the system, which has created such a mess, unlike in China, where the system brooks no sort of tolerance.
It is nevertheless a solacing view, and it has been never exhibited more vehemently than by the former US President, George W Bush. He wanted to convert the whole West Asian political regime, read Arabic, from the long-continuing monarchy/dictatorship into democracy. His country invaded Afghanistan, attacked Iraq, manipulated findings – all just in the belief that the new rule will ameliorate the situation. It is a decade now, but has the situation improved? I am not getting into any result analysis or debate, but just wondering.
Yesterday, after the so-named Jasmine Revolution, the 23-year dictatorship of Ben Ali, the President of Tunisia, came to an end, when he fled the country to Saudi Arabia. People are now baying for Hosni Mubarak, the President of Egypt. Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia etc all are on watch now. The Lebanese Government, Saad Hariri’s, has fallen recently, which itself came some time after the country's Cedar Revolution (2005). Mahmod Ahmedinejad crossed all limits in his attempt to get reelected in 2009 elections in Iran. The thesis is that politics in all these places is indeed very individual centric. There are problems galore there-unemployment, price rise, rising fundamentalism, Palestine issue etc. But is regime change the answer? What is the guarantee that Mr Ben Ali will be replaced by Mr Good Ali? Isn’t it change in society that is a first-needed thing?
I don’t know. History, esp of political revolutions, don’t substantiate this point to total acceptance either. But what I have come to accept increasingly is that any political system becomes good not by its ideals, but its handling. A monarchy run by an efficient king is much better than motley of jokers practicing democracy. So, this soul and body sacrificing search for democracy is futile. While Politics remains the most defining place for initiating change, the effort should also be to better people who themselves will come together to choose their best authority.
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