Wheels in the mire

THE last three weeks have left one with apprehensions about our country as a democracy. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, regardless of his political affiliations, is a rare exception in the current political milieu. He is respected as a rational, moderate and patriotic leader. He felt compelled to offer his resignation in the face of accusations made against his office. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha challenged the Union government’s authority in the transfers of IPS officers, although they are constitutionally a part of the All India Services. The finance minister refused to accept responsibility for the UTI scam, which has severely jolted public confidence in the probity of the government.

Different ministers of the government are functioning at cross-purposes. Recent economic surveys indicate that infra-structural sectors are performing far below targets, not because of resource constraints or a lack of capacity for performance, but because of confusion at the political level, deliberate delays and subversion. Power generation is 50 per cent less than what was envisaged at the beginning of the tenure of the present government. Five to seven thousand crores of rupees earmarked for improving the road system remain unutilised. Progress on disinvestment has been pathetic — only 20 per cent of the targets have been met.

Our civil aviation system is in a mess. Out of the 122 airports in India, only 12 function efficiently, showing marginal profits. Only 8 to 10 per cent of the total workforce in India is covered by labour laws and there is no security net for those who get unemployed because of the faulty and contradictory processes of economic reform. Nearly forty per cent of Indian villages do not have access to clean water or roads. More than two-thirds of public sector units are running at a loss. India’s export performance has declined, which in turns affects our foreign exchange reserves and balance of payment position. As one was brooding over this dismal scenario, came the news that the Cabinet has recommended a three-fold increase in the salaries of MPs, which in turn would provide the basis for a similar enhancement in the emoluments of MLAs.

Moving away from day-to-day roller-coaster developments in Indian politics, the overall characteristics of our politics and processes of governance do not indicate better prospects. The institutional infrastructure of Indian democracy and our Constitution are maintained only in form, not substance. Ministers, at the state and Centre, openly flout the principle and practice of collective responsibility in order to further their narrow political interests. The permanent civil services in India, particularly the administrative and police services, have become more politicised over the last two and half decades because the political leadership wants to use them as instruments to buttress their own access to power. This is the basic motivation behind the Tamil Nadu chief minister’s campaign to challenge the authority of the central government in the deployment of members of the All India Services, specially the IPS.

The destruction of the Babri Mosque has not closed the chapter on communal fanaticism afflicting the Indian polity. Hindu and Muslim extremist organisations are still busy perpetrating violence and destroying each other’s places of worship, whether it is in Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, or in the southern states, not to speak of the persecution of Christians in the Northeast, Gujarat or Orissa. One refrains from referring to this pernicious and violent phenomenon in J&K because it falls in a separate category in itself. Fifty three years after independence, we still do not have a uniform civil code, one which would in no way challenge the basic tenets of any religion.

Despite declarations of intent, our Parliament has not been able to take decisive steps to ensure proportionate women’s representation in the Central or state legislatures. Much lip service is paid to the need for electoral reforms but not a single concrete step has been taken.

We keep claiming to be the largest democracy in the world and the 10th most important economy in the world. We claim that over the last three decades, especially, much progress has been made in the empowerment of weaker sections of India’s civil society. We claim that over the last decade, we have undertaken dynamic steps to modernise, liberalise and reform our economy. There are elements of truth in all these claims but some questions have to be asked after looking at ourselves in the mirror. We are the largest democracy. We have held elections regularly which, in itself, is an achievement in a country with a billion people characterised by so much diversity. But does the electoral process create a power structure of true political representatives, committed to the service of the people? The answer has to be in the negative.

One unhesitatingly acknowledges that the membership of our present legislatures is more representative of ordinary Indians than was the case in the fifties, sixties or early seventies. The weaker sections of society have certainly been empowered. The point to be considered is whether those empowered really work for the people whom they claim to represent. Here again their performance over the last two decades leaves one in doubt. We have an independent judiciary but we will do well to remember that the backlog of cases pending with the judiciary is nearly 25 million.

About the economy, the important fact to take note of is that existing foreign investors are enmeshed in legal and procedural controversies with our Central and state governments. A number of important companies and banks have pulled out of India over the last 18 months. The permanent civil service of India, instead of being impartial advisers to the political government have become pawns in their hands. Should we not focus on the aberrations affecting our democracy? Would it not be more appropriate for MPs to focus on these problems instead of claiming higher emoluments for themselves? Should they not entrust decisions on this particular subject to an independent committee chaired by the speaker? Should not our political parties rise above partisan considerations to come to a consensus on issues like a uniform civil code, electoral reform, women’s representation and the restoration of the civil services to their independent advisory role?

Our political classes and governments would do well to remember the admonition of the French philosopher, Baltasar Gracian: ‘‘The sole advantage and purpose of power is that you can do more good for the people.’’ This motivation has to be consciously cultivated, otherwise our claims to be largest democracy are and will remain empty.

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