Open Forum
New Delhi, 21 July 2021
Indian Democracy
CRACKS IN ITS
VIBRANCY!
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The highest court of the land, Supreme
Court’s, recent observations on sedition law and throttling of dissent puts a
big question mark on India’s claim to being a vibrant democracy. Dissent, which
is the cornerstone of governance and democracy, has come under sharp focus with
umpteen cases being registered against civil society activists, academicians,
journalists, human rights’ crusaders etc, thereby stifling the freedom of
speech, expression and liberty.
In recent months, the Supreme Court has been
heard saying it was time to define sedition. Last week, CJI N V Ramana said: “Sedition
provision Section 124A of the IPC is a colonial era which was used to
silence dissent or protest against British and was used against Mahatma Gandhi
and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Does the government want to retain it after 75 years
of independence. ”The situation on the ground is of concern, as it stated ‘if a
State government does not find the voice of opposition palatable, it slaps
section 124A to implicate those groups of persons who raise their voice against
government’.
The observations send across a firm message that
the law has passed its time and that the apex court is prima facie convinced
the law is being misused by authorities to trample upon citizens’ fundamental
rights of free speech and liberty. The court has in related mattersmade it
clear that it is sensitive to public demand to judicially review the manner in
which law enforcement authorities are using the sedition law to control free
speech and send journalists, activists and dissenters to jail, and keep them
there. “Criticising the government can’t be termed sedition”, it had noted.
While a democracy is theoretically governance
of the people, for the people and by the people, in reality it is governance
representing the majority of these very people. As is generally agreed, democracies
work best when situations -- environmental, economic, social and political --
are favourable. These are less systematic in times of adversity, when this very
plurality and dissent end themselves to chaos, perhaps even anarchy, which is
the case prevailing in the country.
This is manifest in the recent custodial
death of Father Stan Swamy, who devoted his life working on the demand for jal
(water), jangal (forest) and zameen (land) for the tribals of
Jharkhand. It is pertinent to quote social activist, Nikhil Dey, who
observed: “The government is using the UAPA indiscriminately to crush dissent
and any kind of opposition. Such misuse of the law is in a way threat to the
law itself. Whenever it (UAPA) would be used, including genuine cases, it would
be seen with suspicion”. Further, in this context, National Crime Records
Bureau shows that as of 2019, over 95 per cent of cases under the UAPA are
pending before variouscourts in India. The question arising is not such a
draconian law against the very basics of democratic functioning?
Unfortunately, the Opposition is not having a
level-playing field in discharging its duties to critically evaluate,
highlighting limitations and risks, explicit or otherwise, in the policies
proposed by the government. The party in power has been found to have
long-term, deleterious effects on the functioning of democracy, undermining the
open-mindedness and the continuous exploration of truth that are central to
liberalism. The method, therefore, is far from critical than the moral
consistency in upholding liberalism and the principles of democracy.
Circumstances in the country are making it difficult for the Opposition to
discharge its duties, to examine policies in detail and from different angles,
thereby throttling the functioning of a democracy.
To liberals, the entire democratic structure seems
to be on the verge of collapse. Institutions are being remotely controlled and
while the judiciary is to great extent, playing its due role in promoting the
interests of the people, its functioning is compromised with judges posts lying
vacant denying cases to be settled expeditiously so that justice reaches the
people on time. The government must remember the famous adage, justice delayed
is justice denied.
‘Autocracy’ and centralisation of power, say
activists are embedded in the present day political system and talks of a
vibrant democracy have no real meaning today. Education, which is also
paramount to democracy, to have a well-informed public, lags far behind even. It
comes as no surprise that though India is the world’s biggest democracy, 50 per
cent or even more of its population is uneducated though may be literate.
Theorising about democracy, it may be stated
that in an ideal democratic order the role of the government has to be minimal
and its legitimacy based on consent, trust and pluralism should prevail. But
the government is centralised usurping all powers while the individual is
threatened by the tyranny of the majority. Not being properly educated, he is
somewhat ignorant about the political process and unaware of his rights.
Even decades back, in adopting political and
economic plans, centralisation was all along evident. Within the three-tier
panchayats there was clamouring for being neglected and not consulted in
formulating development at the grass-root levels while States wanted more power
in deciding their development needs.
In recent times, the concept of religious
nationalism through propagation of Hindutva philosophy by the ruling party has
gained currency in the country. This strategy has immensely helped the BJP as
people with low education are not just deeply religious but also superstitious.
There is also an unhealthy trend to inculcate majoritarian values and
indirectly play a divisive role with other religious communities. This
obviously hampers the spirit of a democratic polity.
Though achieving a liberal democratic set-up appears
jarred at this stage, experts believe for an ideal, non-violent society such a
system is imperative. However, it must be stated that not every democracy is
liberal and not every liberal society is fully democratic. Many democracies are
liberal in economic matters and illiberal when it comes to social issues. Even
the late Jawaharlal Nehru cannot be said to be an ideal liberal democrat.
The future of democracy is also rather bleak globally
as many nations are witnessing nationalist or right-wing governments. They are moving
towards individual-centred than party-based centres of power. In India this is
evident where Prime Minister Modi is being seen as all-powerful, having the
final say in all matters and the BJP or even the RSS is subservient to him. The
vision of decentralisation of political and economic power appears now to be a
big challenge.
Peoples’ wishes and demands in the march
towards development are not being given due weightage. The people are no longer
the centre of planning but the erroneous notions of political leaders aided by
an elitist bureaucracy is holding sway. As a result, the welfare of the poor
and economically weaker sections gets short changed in development planning,
which is contrary to an inclusive and vibrant democracy. It makes a mockery of
democracy by following the capitalist model of development. Added to this, is the
social factor wherein the importance given to caste and class chisel democracy
further.
Finally, it is worth noting international
media watchdog, Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF),a French headquartered
non-profit organisation’slist of “Predators of Press Freedom”, which includes, Prime
Minister Modi, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Pakistan’s Imran Khan and China’s Xi
Jinping. India hasbeen ranked 142nd among 180 countries in the 2021
World Press Freedom Index.
With the Supreme Court taking up cases of
sedition and questioning authorities for clamping down on dissent, should the
people have hope that the erosion of democracy and its core values will be
restored? Optimism is better than being pessimistic.---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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