VALUING DEMOCRACY..

It was 26th  January,1950 when we adopted our Constitution i.e. we decided our way of life in Independent India.It was beginning of the journey ,realising the dream and ambition of Democracy.Equality,liberty & justice; all these terms may look easy and theoretic today but back then it was a dream that less people had faith in.We had started the process of transforming Indians from subjects to citizens &the process of breathing  free and realising political sovereignty.

                   To value democracy we have to understand briefly about the history of democracy.It was  in 1776 that the colonies in North America declared themselves independent from British and in 1787 they adopted a democratic Constitution.The pioneers of democracy had given the world its first Constitution.The time when back in India the Marathas were fighting with Tipu Sultan, Shah Alam II was the Mughal Emperor and Lord Cornwallis was trying to spread the legs of the English in India, democracy had taken birth in  far west. The 20th century saw the transition of Democracy.Popular struggles by people for democracy,writing and rewriting of Constitution,military coup’s led to the formation as well as shattering of democracies in countries all over the world.Europe was inspired by the French Revolution.A big push in democracy formation took place after 1980 i.e after disintegration of the Soviet Union, 15 parts of the Soviet Union turned into Independent Countries.The map of democracies in the world kept changing & by 2005 more than 140 countries of the world were Democracies & some pretending to be Democracies e.g our wonderful neighbour Pakistan,Nepal,Bhutan that can be called pseudo democracies but more importantly democracy has become the style and the symbol of modernity and liberalism in the world.

                    Indians often complain about democratic establishment in that case we should compare ourselves to these Pseudo Democracies where they like to call themselves democracies but don’t want to give the power to the people.Countries like  Mexico,Zimbabwe where only one party comes to power every time with dirty tactics or countries like China where a single party governs the country & people are not allowed to form organisation or political parties nor to express their opinions freely,how will that development serve the purpose if your people are not free.Democracy should allow citizens to oppose, express their views & provide condition where incumbent government has sufficient chance of losing.

                    I get astonished about the immaculate  value based Constitution that the Constituent Assembly blessed us with.A mature document with parts borrowed from all over the world but adopted in a way that suited India the best with balanced flexibility and rigidity but more importantly it was done in the period of huge political turmoil when the future did not look as secure as it looks today.We need to introspect and ask ourselves, are we moving in congruity with their vision and aspiration ?……

                 I have seen people cursing democracy and saying , “In Democracy there is no stability,its all about political competition and power play where morality is at stake, corruption, allegations & dirty electoral tactics is hampering progress & we will never become a superpower given   a democracy like ours;I wish we had a system like the Chinese or the Americans”. I would say grass always looks greener on the other side.Yes, all the above aspects are true but reforms need to be done & they are being done however their magnitude can be debated but these things are not to an extent that they don’t serve the entire purpose of Democracy. Our Democracy makes our government accountable,it might lead to delay in decisions but we are protected from rash and irresponsible decisions because of the consensus between representatives.Our democracy, the electoral competition works in the long run.Our Political leaders are compelled to raise issues of pubic concern as they know they should perform or they will perish.We have in fact raised the importance of democracy by voting a 130 year old party out of power & make it look like an underdog.By voting a Chai Wala as the PM we have shown the world what worlds largest democracy and one of the strongest Election Commission along with 90 Crore electorate can do.Our democracy deals with differences and conflicts also India is together due to its democracy & dignity of people are intact or it  is being fought for.It allows us to correct our mistakes.

                   Our fascination about democracy makes us think that it can address all socio-economic & political problems & if those are not met we blame the democracy.We have to understand its just a form of government and it just created opportunities and citizens have to take advantage & achieve their goals . We should break our stereotypes,our prejudice and make the most of this liberal atmosphere.

               Let us try that combination of our politics and our social,regional,linguistic & geographic divisions serves the purpose of representing all sections of the society and does not lead to factionalism and disintegration of our country.Secularism should always remain the driving force of our democracy.In this case,” सबका साथ सबका विकास “ becomes an impressive and necessary slogan.

                    Yes,our democracy & electoral politics are full of challenges but the mere definition of challenge is problem with an opportunity of progress.Democracy has been imbibed in our day to day life.When someone says,” Common Dad I can do whatever i want its a democracy”  but the importance of this world can be well understood with the above background.Internal democracy,dynastic succession,money and muscle power remain the main concerns in our electoral politics but our dreams being ever bigger,our potential will overcome these problems if we move together with the spirit of nationalism and zeal of patriotism.

                   All in all our Constitution has given us a platform & an idea, we have to realise,value,establish and propagate these ideas.The fate of democracy depends not just on what the rulers do but also what the citizens do to establish these democratic ideals and fulfil their aspirations.

                   COME LET US ALL PRESERVE AND STRENGTHEN THESE DEMOCRATIC IDEALS AND MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER AND MAKE INDIA A BETTER COUNTRY TO LIVE IN & MAKE OURSELVES PROUD…….

-always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

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chinmayud@gmail.com

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