Principles of Democracy - Part one

To begin with, this is a series of 5 blogs I propose to write on democracy in India. I do so empowered with a sense of abstract thinking and of course reality checks, the right wing loyalist I am. I do not wish to talk about politics - let me make that very clear. I wish to be the neutral observer to what is happening in the country's political sphere. I wish to explore the real meaning of democracy in the Indian context and seek to impovise what we think on the subject.

Democracy is essentially the rule of people. You know - by the people, for the people, of the people. But is that the case in our country ? That is a far more intriguing question to me. It makes me think for longer than 5 minutes.

For instance, we see democracy as a state where the mandate of the majority prevails - wrong and abstract and uninformed though it may be. 70% of the populace votes for an ideology / party / person / group - and that group comes to power. Add to this equation an over exuberant media and you have a perfect government at the helm of affairs. But then, is that is case with India ?

Democracy may not deal much with the rights and wrongs, but it deals with the old and new. Precisely why we feel the need for change. Does this explain why we have elections held every five years ? Because we feel the present system of governance is old ? 5 years - a lifetime in politics - anywhere. The general perception is that democracy is the rule of the people, mentioned above. But in our country, what is worth noticing is that the supposed core of democracy - populist rule - is not half as explicit as much as ideological emphasis.

Because nothing else can explain the presence of several tainted ministers in our parliament, the meteoric rise of the UPA, the phasing out of other factions, the seemingly impossible futures of Orissa and Bihar, and the seemingly endless brawl over Kashmir - issues which plague us to this day. If we are really a democracy fulfilling some of the basic conditions listed above, we should have risen above all this long, long ago.

The fact that we have not, brings me to a conclusion that we have not instilled the ideals of democracy to perfection. That being said, we cannot call ourselves a perfect democracy. What ails us is what I propose to save for part two. I invite ideas - old and new :)