Democracy and the Speaker
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Democracy and the Speaker
Democracy has become the most acceptable institution of governance in the world. It may not be the best system for all he time but it is the best that we have invented so far and every form of government anywhere has some type of democratic practice built in to the system. In the Commonwealth countries in general we find the West Minster type of parliamentary practice taking roots in contrast with the democratic system in the USA or elsewhere. The question is not about which is the better system but about how we make the system function.
In the Indian context we have experienced that democracy enables the general will of the people to prevail at any given period of time. Every change in government through election – particularly the government at the center – has been the outcome of people’s general will expressed in the election despite differences on local issues. To that extent we have reason to be proud democracy has taught us to select the government that we want. We have also been steadfastly making efforts for refining the system of electoral politics but for which our democracy would have lapsed in to non-functioning chaos. Nevertheless we are still in the critical zone of our democratic polity as new challenges crop up to derail the system.
The threats to democracy in India are basically two – criminalization of the electoral practice and communalization of the stakeholders. Criminalization is not merely criminals contesting election but resorting to criminal methods to win an election. Use of muscle and money power, threat, intimidation and inducement are part of criminalization of electoral politics. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the common people to stay immune from the psychological and physical pressures during election and the most damaging trend is that the voters are being reduced to becoming tradable merchandise during an election.
Communalization is a practice of divisive politics and it is inherently insidious to our nation building. It can disintegrate the country faster than insurgency or terrorism; in fact it is the cause for them. It is the worse form of degeneration of democratic system. In order to win an election it is most immoral and unpatriotic to appeal to the voters to elect a candidate based on communal considerations, but that is what is actually happening in the election. It is a strategy for short term gain by destroying the long-term interest. Caste, language, religion and ethnicity are strong forces in human society and act as protectors and promoters of group interests but they can be destructive forces in the hands of unscrupulous people in quest of electoral aggrandizement. In our secular state the communalization of democratic polity must be treated as a criminal offence and instigators of such practice debarred from any public office.
The beauty of our democracy is that our parliament and the state legislatures are truly the mirrors of the social state of our nation. These institutions of people’s sovereignty are no longer the preserve of the elite or the powerful but the symbols of inclusive egalitarianism which ultimately is the goal of our nation state. Of course the cynics may say that the society gets the representative that it deserves. To prove them wrong it will be necessary for our representatives to rise above their respective social backgrounds and demonstrate their sincerity for serving their constituencies. It is not essential for our representative to be intellectuals or skilled professionals; what is more important is their commitment to serve and develop their constituencies for which the qualities required are sincerity, integrity and passionate zeal to work for the people.
As the presiding functionaries of sovereign institutions you have heavy responsibilities. With the electronic media focusing on the proceedings the public at once come o know the happenings in the House and may be a times this itself leads to the events that take place inside the House. The honorable speaker of West Bengal, Mr. Hashim Abdul Halim who has been one of longest serving speakers of the world holding his exalted office of the West Bengal Assembly for 28 years and been CPA Chairman is a rare example of a successful Speaker and we are proud of him. I am sure we have much to learn from him.
People are the sovereign in democracy and the parliament and the state legislatures are the temples that people construct in expression of this sovereignty. The Speakers are the priests-not in religious term but in a secular constitutional term- of these hallowed temples. The sanctity, dignity and the prestige of these institutions are paramount for democratic values to grow and he Speakers are their custodians. We feel inspired when the Speakers speak the language of sobriety, restraint and impartiality in the House.
We need a sense of humor to enliven the affairs of life and to say things in a spirit of civility. Humor also interest others to listen to us. In the parliamentary debates humor can break the tension and bring in an element of relaxed bonhomie. The exchanges between Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Astor, Disraeli and Gladstone in the British House of Commons are so entertaining and at the same time so forceful that make us want o hear such humor again and again. They drive home the most divergent points in a lighter vein and sustain the interest in the proceedings. In our own parliament we had Mr. Piloo Modi who when told by an Honorable Member that he was showing disrespect by turning his back toward the Speaker while speaking shot back by saying that he was a round man with no bank and front. Yes, he was a huge rotund man with a great sense of humor.
Once the redoubtable Acharya J B Kriplani was vehemently criticizing the congress party in parliament when some congress members interrupted him to say that his criticism did not hold water as his own wife had joined the congress. The Acharya calmly retorted by saying that so far he thought the congressmen were only pursuing bad policies and did not know hat they were scoundrels also who took away another man’s wife. Pandit Nehru who was present in the Parliament smiled appreciatively as the Acharya spoke. It is said that a good speech may no be opposite; a good humor will always be remembered.
Apathy is an active enemy of freedom. Parliament and the state legislature being the symbols of our freedom and liberty our representatives there have the sacred responsibility to defend our freedom. A nation can only be as free as is elected leaders chose to make it and if they ignore their role the penalty will be that we will be without freedom. As the Speakers you owe it to the nation to keep the sovereign flag of freedom flying high.
I quite appreciate that you have discussed the issues relating to insurgency and economic development in the northeast. Ours is volatile region and we have experienced he throes of insurgency and violence for long. However the situation is changing for the better. Meghalaya and Mizoram which had their share of insurgency and terrorism are peaceful states now. Tripura is also free from the insurgency related violence; so is Nagaland. Assam – the mother state of the northeast – is fast becoming normal but for the violence prone Bodo Territorial Council area. Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim never had insurency and violence. Only Manipur continues to be a difficult state with violence remaining unabated.
I do not however subscribe to the view that we need o continue fighting insurgency and terrorism with the help of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. This Act has been in use for long and has lost its relevance in view of the emerging role of the civil society in violence prone areas. This act has alienated the civil society more and more with he passage of time. We cannot contain insurgency related violence by alienating the citizens; we can do so more effectively by involving them. The civil police, which represents the civil society, needs be strengthened and reliance on the armed forces reduced for greater cooperation with the citizens in fighting insurgency.
While it is true that insurgency and terrorism impact development process it will be too simplistic to conclude that northeast has not developed solely because of them. It is disappointing to find that seven out of eight NE states are in downward spiral with per capita net state income below the national level. Only Mizoram with per capita state income of Rs. 27501 is above the national level of Rs. 24295 as in 2007-08 (at 1999-00 price). Within the NE states the development graph has been uneven and Manipur despite its prolonged insurgency is not lagging behind others I any aspect of growth. Without insurgency of course it could have performed much better.
In the international arena we can see the example of Israel progressing economically despite terrorism and intense political fights. Insurgency and terrorism may slow down the process of development but not stall it and with time they will attenuate and evaporate but the factors that are responsible for our slow growth will remain.
We need introspection an honest assessment of why we are remaining underdeveloped. It is not the lack of resources; government of India has been extremely generous in providing funds and other support to us, it is neither skill deficiency nor absence of planning. I believe we suffer from governance deficit and we need to strengthen it. We also suffer from endemic corruption, malversation and indolence that thwart the accomplishment of our plans. While corruption is not the sole trademark of NE states here we complicate it with our indolent abandon.
We can improve the system only if can step out of our comfort zone somnolence. We from the north east must develop a more proactive work culture. We have a very rich cultural legacy but poor work culture, competition was something new to us because we enjoyed living with what we had, we were happy with our today and unconcerned about what may bring tomorrow. This will have to change and without change we will continue to be laggards. The look east policy of the government of India to make the northeast he gate way of Asian century of economic activities holds a great promise for us for wealth creation through trade, transit, transportation and tourism. That will also awaken us to the competitive world in our own backyard.
Then we need to be transparent and accountable and responsive more than what we are at present. We need to have institutional mechanisms to tackle corruption in public life and we need the courage of our conviction to do right things and take our region to the path of progress and prosperity.
