Preserving democratic values

Democracy is the worst form of Government except all the others that have been tried.” These famous words from Sir Winston Churchill, perhaps, sum it all. As we leave behind the memories of June 26, the day Emergency was clamped 40 years ago in 1975, some issues haunt our minds. First and foremost is the apprehension of elderly Indian statesman lK Advani expressed recently on the darkest era of Indian polity.

A quote from the obituary column of a leading national English daily published on June 27, 1975, may be worth recapitulating: “D’Ocracy beloved husband of T Ruth, loving father of lIBertie, expired on June 26.” Yes, democracy survived and its roots are rather strong in India. Yes, our system has the resilience. And yes, our institutions have withstood the test of time. But this was true in 1975, too. The Government led by Indira Gandhi was a duly elected one, a representative Government in every sense of the term. What went wrongIJ Nothing with the system. What went wrong was the thought process of the leader on perceiving a threat to his or her position. 

This is what Elgin Hushbeck has tried to talk about in his 2010 book Preserving Democracy. Of course, he is talking in American context. But contexts notwithstanding, the basic nature of democracies do not vary much. Hushbeck talks about the democracy itself crumbling like an aging monument as an ever increasing Government threatens both freedom and financial welfare. Well, he talks about institutions and other systemic weaknesses. It may be based on individual perception or experience, but what he is talking about can be discussed and debated. Not because of any threat or fear, but to strengthen the roots of democracy further. Particularly, because India has been one of the ancient democracies with a glorious history. It has seen some of the best Republics as described in the Mahabharata. Republics like the Madra, lichchavi, Kalinga, Kamboja, Panchala etc. 

In fact, in Mahabharata there is the mention of even arashtras (countries without king) that ran on some self-organised system of governance. What is needed to preserve democracy is to understand the basic reality that it is important to focus on specific ideas rather than personalities and being ideologically sharp yet non-partisan in tone. 

It is necessary to understand the difference between a democracy and a republic. Democracy is a form of Government where governance is carried out by elected representatives. But there is a need to remember that representatives alone do not ensure democratic spirit. What ensures it is the representativeness. If the representatives do not represent the will of the people, the system breaks down. This was what happened in 1975.

Representativeness can be ensured by making the democracy a republic, where Government delivers governance by abiding by predefined rules, that is the Constitution. The hallmark thus is the rule of law. It is this rule of law that must prevail in order that the democracy thrives. Barring those two years of Emergency, Indian democracy has withstood all tests. There were challenges but a vigilant public ensured that the spirit of the republic is not endangered. The precondition for preserving democracy is public vigilantism. And we have a proud history of that. But we must remember the essence of Patric Henry’s famous Virginia speech: “Give me liberty or give me death.”

The writer is a professor, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (Jharkhand). He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com