Every January 26 the Indian State along with its people commemorates Republic Day. It is a day when India adopted its constitution—to be a sovereign...secular, democratic...republic. More than sixty years have elapsed since then and this is a good time to introspect on where India is heading. Has it been able to live up to the ideal and vision set out in the constitution? Is it a land of peace, harmony, happiness, health and prosperity? Strange as it may sound but there are more questions than there are answers and this should be worrying sign for India. The fact that several unresolved conflicts remain is testimony to the failure of the Indian republic to address the political issues of the day whether in Kashmir or Northeast. The Government of India should not assume that bringing on board armed groups into ceasefire or dialogue can guarantee permanent peace. In fact one will have to question the wisdom of the Indian establishment to engage in negotiation for years on end without actually putting a closure on dialogue initiatives. So unless those who are elected and run the country’s affairs are able to take bold political decisions, India will continue to live with strife, violence, uncertainty and the vision of a peaceful India will continue to be a utopian dream.
Coming to democracy, which at least India can be proud of, after all these years, the periodic elections and the running of an elected civilian government is quite an achievement given the instance of India’s neighbours where coup d’etat and political instability has been the norm. And in terms of the size of the electorate, India can claim itself as the largest democracy in the world. So ever since its first general elections in 1952 the democratic process has been functioning well. Nevertheless, India is also criticized as a pseudo-democracy. Republic Day can be a time to study the errors or maladies that afflict the present day political system. In other words, what ails Indian democracy? The reasons are not far to seek. India has failed in its primary democratic responsibility of ensuring liberty and equality to the people. Despite more than 60 years of its republic, there are still millions who go to bed hungry; poverty continues to stalk the land of Gandhi; basic rights such as access to safe drinking water, sanitation or proper health facilities continue to elude the masses.
Governments have come and gone, policies have been framed and supposedly implemented, crores of rupees have been spent and yet India struggles to live up to the ideals mentioned in the constitution. To be sovereign and democratic is meaningless if people’s basic human rights cannot be met by the Indian state-republic. In a way as India commemorates yet another republic day, there is undoubtedly the need to improve the quality of its democracy and thereby improve the lives of the billions. If Indian democracy signifies nothing but party politics and expensive elections marred as it is by rigging, booth capturing and bogus voting, then this is a distortion of the tall claims for democracy. Not surprisingly, the retrograde effect of Indian democracy has led some well meaning citizens to even suggest for an end to democratic rule. Some are talking of dictatorship at least for a short period and justifying their demand by arguing that such a step would help to restore discipline and reverse the process of degeneration that has set in. It is clear that we should not take democracy for granted. It is time to correct the ills that have set in and reinforce the ideals set out in the constitution.
