Democracy is not a form of Government, but a form of Social Organisation
The bedrock of the Indian legal system i.e. our Constitution was
framed by the Constituent Assembly after many rounds of fiery debate and razor
sharp rhetoric bandied about by the members. The grand Parliament Building stood
a silent witness to this spirited and critical exercise of defining what
exactly our young democracy would look like.
One of the most perceptive observations made during these Constituent
Assembly meetings was by the man behind the Drafting Committee, Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar. He stressed that the making of new laws is not enough, the real challenge is to establish democracy at grassroot level. He observed that in our country, “Democracy is like a topsoil, artificially
layered on the Indian sub-stratum which originally is essentially
undemocratic.” This observation is vindicated by the fact that although we
have democratic elections right from Panchayat level to the Parliament, yet the use of money and muscle power has become a big deciding factor in winnability of candidates. A recent article in TIME
magazine revealed that in India, candidates with serious criminal background
are twice as likely to win as compared to candidates with no criminal
background. Why does it happen or is likely to happen? Is it that the indian collective conscious is still plagued by slave mentality induced by fear and intimidation so firmly embedded in the common man's mind first by the rajvaras and then by the british to serve their narrow ends ? Or is it that the democracy came in when the average indian was not quite ready for it and has resulted in it being hijacked by capitalists and criminals. Thus the real challenge still is to put the spirit of democracy
into the hearts and minds of all Indians. This challenge has not received
enough attention until now.
Over the decades the Sansad Bhavan has witnessed many grand (and not
so grand) moments during the Parliamentary proceedings, but the zealous debates
of the Constituent Assembly are yet to be surpassed. Attending the recently
concluded Model Youth Parliament at International Youth Centre, New Delhi, gave
me hope. I realised that with the youth of this country taking initiatives to
debate on policy making, learning about the process of Parliament, and speaking
their hearts out on how they wish to have a more participative democracy,
democracy may finally be progressing beyond being a mere topsoil and actually
take roots. Our Demographic Dividend might just serve us with energy and hope to be the final push we need to
make our democracy truly participative.
History tells us that we are basically a democratic sort of people. In ancient India, about 1000 BC, our Janapadas and Mahajanapadas had a republican form of governance with no hereditary passing of the tribal chief’s title. It was the ablest man who got the job in the tribal republic ranging from its highest chief to its lowest menial. Therefore, democracy is not some foreign concept that we have imported or need to adapt ourselves too. It is there in our ancient roots and in our spirits. Now, more than ever before, the democracy in our hearts is rebelling against the undemocratic social institutions around us. This rebelliousness is only natural in a young nation like ours with 65% of its population under the age of 35.
In the Youth Parliament proceedings I saw a glimpse of our constituent assembly, with nuanced and highly informed arguments advanced by the ruling party as well as the dynamic opposition. It was what our Parliament ought to look like, young and highly representative with members from all corners of the nation. I saw the usual cynicism about politics in our country melting away as the youngsters took to the role of representing their constituencies with gusto. Perhaps as our democracy takes roots, the unfulfilled dreams of a great nation and its many a freedom fighters who laid down their lives for it, will also finally take wings.
...Divya Gurnay. Ba Hons, Psychology, M.A. Journalism and Mass communication, a student of LLB.
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