Journey of a 60-year-old republic
By Tushar Gandhi Jan 24 2010
Tags: Opinion
Tomorrow, we will be a 60 year-old republic. On this day, 60 years ago, we adopted our Constitution. It took a lot of collective effort to arrive at what was then the perfect Constitution for a newly liberated nation. Our founding fathers took great care to create a document that would serve everyone equally and fairly. The document addressed the needs of every group that comprised a diverse amalgamation of the privileged and those who enjoyed none, the various religious groups and their need to maintain their distinct identities, the discriminated gender and the vast number of poverty-stricken, illiterate Indians. The Constitution has stood us in good stead for 60 years, but six decades is a long time, changes occur and to accommodate those changes, the systems must also evolve, and so should our Constitution.
We are a 60 year-old republic, but have our democratic institutions and practices been audited honestly and sincerely? Some will say that elections are people’s audit in a democracy. This may be true in many democracies, but in India, we don’t have free and fair elections. Elections are rigged and unfairly conducted. Many people will object, but take a look at how political parties manipulate elections. Candidates are selected based on the caste mix of the constituency, not on ability but ‘win-ability’. Political parties have the caste equations perfected for every constituency, so a candidate from the influential or ‘vote bank’ caste wins.
Since there are no debates in Parliament and Bills are passed with negligible participation from people’s representatives, the ability of the member of Parliament to understand the Bill and then vote, is not essential. This is how our democratic system is rigged.
We call ourselves a democratic nation, but in 60 years, we have never had a referendum on any issue. At present, Andhra Pradesh is burning on the issue of a separate Telangana. Why is the government dithering and allowing the issue to become vitiated? Why isn’t it holding a referendum on Telangana? Let the people, who are directly affected by the move, vote and decide.
There are demands for other smaller states, too. Let there be a nationwide referendum on whether these demands should be accepted and smaller states created. Then, based on the results of the referendum, constitute a states reorganisation commission and let it carve out smaller states.
People’s representatives, bureaucrats and the judiciary are constantly attempting to snatch away citizen’s rights. Take the example of right to information (RTI). In a democracy, why should anyone be permanently protected from RTI queries? On issues that are confidential, the questioner can be told that it cannot be answered. Why keep someone permanently immune to questioning. Isn’t that undemocratic? On the one hand, we talk about the need for transparency, and on the other, we protect people behind ‘privileges’.
For too long our judiciary has been shielded by the provision of ‘contempt of court’. People questioning the judiciary have been bullied into silence with the threat of ‘contempt’ proceedings. Why should the system of delivering justice be thus protected? There have been many instances of intentional miscarriage of justice, why can’t it be exposed and challenged just like everything else in a healthy, functional democracy? Why aren’t judges punished when they act illegally and immorally? With the number of cases of corruption at the highest levels in our justice system coming to light, one wonders if justice in India is free and fair any more.
Our founding fathers realised that the persecuted class of our untouchables and other lower castes were not equipped to be able to stand on equal terms with the upper castes, so a time-bound incentive of reservations was introduced. Let no one misunderstand this, but BR Ambedkar was convinced that after 10 years of reservations in education and jobs the persecuted and deprived classes would be able to hold their own in our democracy.
Sixty years have passed since the equalising incentive was introduced but there is no equality. Post-‘Mandal’, reservations, which have become a tool for electoral gains, are becoming a tool for fragmenting our nation on caste lines. Shouldn’t there be a healthy debate on the efficacy of reservations, and why they haven’t achieved the results that Babasaheb was convinced would occur within 10 years?
In a healthy democracy, why should there be any unchallengeable holy cows? It’s time that an honest, unselfish and sincere audit of our democracy and democratic machinery is conducted. Why can’t citizens be trusted to be mature enough to vote on issues that vitiate and weaken the fabric of our nationhood? At 60, shouldn’t we now truly become a democracy?
I leave you, with the words of the Father of our Nation, “You may get the finest constitution that is conceivable... It will be worthless, if there are not men and women fit enough to work that constitution.” Young India; September 15, 1927.
