Indian Democracy on Crossroad
Transcript of Indian Democracy on Crossroad
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Indian Political Science ssociation
INDIAN DEMOCRACY AT CROSSROADSAuthor(s): J. P. SudaSource: The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 29, No. 2 (April-June 1968), pp. 173-182Published by: Indian Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41854266.
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INDIAN
DEMOCRACY AT
CROSSROADS
By
J,
P.
Suda
During
the
fifties
he
belief was
widely
held
that
ndia would
be for
the twentiethenturyAsia what Athenswas for ancientGreece namely,
a
school for
fostering
nd
promoting
emocracy.
There
was sufficient
usti-
ficationfor the
belief
the
institutions
f
parliamentary
emocracy
were
being
worked with
greater
uccess in
our
country
han
elsewhere
n
Asia.
The
general
elections
held
in
1952 and 1957 were
free,
fair and
peaceful
and
at
the
Centre
nd in
the
States we had
stable
governments.
The
work
of
promoting
he
welfare
of the masses was
being
eagerly
pursued,
and
democratic
lanning
had
been introduced
with
a
view
to
increasing roduc-
tion and
a
more
equitable
distributionf national wealth. All this
stood
in
sharp
contrast
to
the
way
in which
the
spirit
of
democracy
had been
smothered
n
China,
in Indonesia and
Pakistan,
and
elsewhere.
In
China
parliamentary
nstitutions
ad failed
to
give
satisfaction
o the
people
under
the
corrupt
nd inefficient
egime
of
Chiang-ki-Shek,
nd at a later date
they
were
completely wept
away
by
the
onrushing
ide
of
Communism.
In
Indonesia
President okarno
gave
a short
hrift
o
democracy
y
establishing
what
he
euphemistically
alled Guided
Democracy.
In
the
same
way
it
was
replaced
by
what
President
Ayub
Khan has been
pleased
to
designate
as Basic
Democracy
n
Pakistan.
In
Burma
the President
f
the
Revolu-
tionary
Council
has
established
virtual
dictatorship.
In
many
countries
of South East and WesternAsia monarchicalrule prevails in which the
king
is more than
a
constitutional
ead of
the
state. The
impression
hat
democracy
found
a
congenial
soil
in India had
thus
sufficient
rounds
to
rest
upon.
But
even
before
the close
of the fifties
iscerning yes
could
detect
cracks
in
the
democratic tructure
n
our
country
tendencies
nfavourable
to
the
smooth and
successful
working
f democratic nstitutions
ad made
their
ppearance.
The attitude
f mind
conducive
to
the
growth
f
demo-
cracy
was
being
gradually
replaced by
ideas
and
ways
of
thinking
nd
acting
nimical to
it.
As
time
sped by,
the
latter
gained
in
strength
nd
volume
and
the
former
grew
weaker. The end-result f this two-faced
process
s that
to-day
democracy
tands
n
great
peril
in our
country.
Its
inner
spirit
s
fast
disappearing
and what we are left with is
merely
ts
shell
or
external
framework.
The facts that as
many
as
fourteen
overn-
ments
fell
in various
States
during
the last
one
year
and
President's
ule
was
clamped
in
some
of them and
is
likely
to
be
imposed
n
some others
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174
THE
NDIAN
OURNAL
F
POLITICAL
CIENCE
indicate the
direction n
which
the
wind
is
blowing.
With
frequent
efec-
tions from
one
party
pr
faction
to
another
for
no
belter
reason
than lust
for power and the promise of being rewardedwith a ministerialpost,
increasing
isrespect
hown, o the Heads
of the
States
as revealed
n
walk-
outs
from
legislative
bodies
whenever addressed
by
them
and
in the
occasional demand
for their
recall,
and
with the
wide
prevalence
of
the
temper
of
violence and
the
growing tendency
to
seek
the
solution
of
problems facing
the
nation
in the streets
rather
than
in
our
legislative
chambers,
the
atmosphere
seems
to
be
heavily
charged
with
poisonous
elements
which
are
likely
o
prove
fatal
to
the
cause of
democracy.
In what
follows n
attempt
s made
to
diagnose
the
ills from
which our
body-politic
is
suffering,
nd to
suggest
emedies
for
them.
It
is in
110
pirit
of
carping
criticism r
with
a
motiveof
fault-finding
hat
venture
pon
this
project;
my
desire s
just
to
draw the
attention f
my
countrymen
o the
dangers
hat
lie ahead and
to
give
them some
sort
of
warning
o
that
they
may
adopt
necessary
emedialmeasures.
Before
proceeding
with
my analysis
of the
current
ituation
would
like
to
add
a
few
words about
the
point
of
view from
which
t
is
offered.
There are two
divergent
iews
currently
eld
about the
relationship
etween
man and
the
external nvironment.
One
view,
which
ooks
upon
man as a
body-mind
omplex
regards
he
economic
conditions f
life
and
the relations
of production revailingn thecommunitys themain determinantsf our
social
and
political
institutions
nd of
the
philosophical
and
cultural
superstructure
eared
upon
them. It
compares
the
human mind to a
piece
of
soft wax
upon
which the
material
conditions
f
life
leave their
ndelible
impression
nd
give
t a
specific
hape
and form.
Those
who
subscribe
o
this
doctrine evote all
their
ttention
nd
energy
o
effecting
n
improvement
n
the external onditions f
life
they
feel
convinced
hat
the
greatest
bstacle
in
the smooth
aod
successful
working
f
democratic
nstitutions
s
the
divi-
sion of the
community
nto
two
classes,
one
that of
the
rich
who own
and
control the
material
means of
production,
nd
the other
consisting
f
the
propertyless roletariatwhomthe former xploitfor their own advantage.
They
therefore
dvocate
the
ushering
n
of a
new
social
organisation
n
which
private
ownership
f
land and
capital
would
be
replaced
by
social
ownership
nd control
whereby
he
exploitation
of
the
poor
by
the
rich
would
come
to
an
end. In
the
new
society
here
would
be
a
more
equitable
distributionf national
wealth
and one
would not
find
offending
uxury
nd
degradingpoverty
xisting
ide
by
side.
They
want
to
establish
the
new
social
order
either
by
a violent
seizure
of
political
power
and
a
forcible
expropriation
f
the
capitalist
nd
landowning
lasses,
or
by
means of
demo-
craticplanning nd social legislation. While not fora moment upporting
the current
laring
nequalities
n the
distribution f
national
wealth
and
earnestly
wishing
or
a
speedy
ending
of the
exploitation
f
the
poor
by
the
rich,
differ
hole-heartedly
rom
his
point
of view
and
the
programme
f
action built
upon
it.
I
regard
the human
mind,
or better
till,
the
human
spirit,
s
the dominant
factor
n
the
make-up
of
man,
and hold
that
it
is*
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INDIAN
EMOCRACY
T
CROSSROADS 175
far
more
powerful
nd
potent
n
shaping
nd
moulding
he external nviron-
ment
to suit its
own
requirements
han
s
usually
conceded. The
nature nd
vitality f economic nstitutionsre determinedby the spiritof man. Our
character nd our social
institutions
re determined
y
our
ideas,
aspirations
and ideals. As someone has
very
bautifully
aid
:
Would
you
scale the
highest
heaven,
Would
you pierce
the
lowest
hell
Think
in
thoughts
f
deepest
beauty,
Or in
basest
thinking
well.
I
therefore
ttach
far
more
importance
o
the
moral
and
spiritual
founda-
tions of
democracy
than
to
the economic
organisation
of
social
life,
and hold with Lord
Bryce
that
popular government
lourishes r
declines
with
the
moral and
spiritual rowth
r
regression
f
society. My
complaint
is that
those
.who
were
responsible
for
shaping
the destinies
of
the nation
after
the attainment
f
independence
oncentrated heir
ttention
pon
and
devoted
their
energies
to
effecting
mprovement
n
the outer
conditions
of
life and
almost
completelyneglected
he
moral
and
spiritual spect
of
life.
They gave
us
adult
franchise,
epresentative
nstitutions,
esponsiblegovern-
ment,
democratic socialism and
planning,
communitydevelopment
pro-
grammes
nd
punchayati aj.
Their
intentionswere sound and
nble,
and
they
strove
hard
to realise them. But
their
chievements ave been
below
expectations ecause theyfailed to pay requisiteattentions o the develop-
ment
of the
type
of
character
eeded
to
work
them
properly.
Men of
sound
character nd
pure
motives
an attain
good
results ven
when made
to
work
with
clumsy
tools
.while
even
the best institutions
ould
not
yield
good
results
f
they
re
manned
by persons
of
small
vision,
narrow
minds
nd
low
character.
The
great
tragedy
f
post-Independence
ndia has been
that she
lost
sight
of the lesson
men
like Swami
Dayananda,
Swami
Vivekananda,
Gopal
Krishna Gokhale and
Mahatma Gandhi
taught
o the nation
namely
that the
greatest
wealth
f
the
nation
consists
of men of
dependable
and
sterling
haracter.
Under the influence of
Marxism
some of
our
great
national leaders did not allow theirminds to be ruffled y the increasing
volume of
corruption, ribery,
epotism
nd
favouritism;
hese and
other
evils
were tolerated as the
unavoidable
accompaniments
of
an
under-
developed economy.
The
result
was
that
the
moral
stature
of
the nation
which had increased s a
resultof
its
passing through
he
crucibleof suffer-
ing
and sacrifice
uring
he various
movements
r
non-cooperation
nd
civil
disobedience
registered
steep
decline
after
ndependence.
We
no
longer
bear in mind the
great
truth
on which
Gandhiji
laid
stress
namely,
the
means must
be as
pure
as the end
itself. On
the
contrary,
e
preach
and
act on the oppositeprinciple hatthe end justifies hemeans. We also do
not seem to believe that
righteousness
xalts
a
nation
as well
as an
indivi-
dual
;
we are too
ready
and
willing
to
employ
underhand
means
for
the
attainment
f
political
ends.
This low
regard
paid
to
moral
values
is
responsible
or the undue dominance
of
narrow,
personal
ends in
our livs
and for
the
subordination
f
public
interests
o
them.
To-day
we
enter
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176
THE NDIAN OURNAL
F
POLITICALCIENCE
local bodies and
legislative
ssemblies
not
with
a
view
to
social servicebut
>vith
he
object
of
getting
hat we
can
out
of
them o
promote
ur own
ends.
Democracyis failing n our country ecause of the greatdecline in civic
virtues.
My
submission
s
that the
only way
to rescue
it and
place
it on
stronger
oundations nd
to
usher
n
a
new
order
based 011
Socialism
is to
let
a
great
stream
of
moral
and
spiritual nergy
low
nto
the
lives of
the
people.
It
is
futile
to
expect
that
socialistic
pattern
of
society
can
be
brought
nto
being merely by extending
he
public
sector
and
bringing
insurance,
anking,
tc.,
under social control.
What
is needed s
to
socialise
the
minds
of
the
people
by
giving
hem
the
right
ype
of
education,
nd
to
loosen
the hold of
the
possessive
and
acquisitive
nstincts
y
impregnating
theirmindswith the fundamentalruth ontained n the first erse of the
Isopanishad
that
the
best
way
to
enjoyment
s
through
enunciaction,
nd
the truth
porpounded
n
the Gita
that
the
person
who
spends
all
that he
earns without
haring
t
with
others
s a
thief.
Vinobaji's
approach
to
socia-
lism is far more
sound and
effective
han that of
Marxian
socialists.
In,
other
words,
the
best
way
to make
socialism
acceptable
to
the
Indian
mind
is
to
give
it
a
religious
r
spiritual inge
by connecting
t
with
the
teachings
of
the
Upanishads
and
the
Gita
and
the
Ramayana
Mrs.
Annie
Besant
ennunciated
great
truthwhen
she
pointed
out
long
ago
that
the
Indian
mind
begins
to
vibrate nd
respondonly
when the
religious
hord within
t
is touchedor stimulated.Tilak and Gandhiji could make a tremendous
appeal
to
the
Indian
masses because
they
approached
the
political
problem
from
he
religious
ide.
But our
serious
misconception
bout
the
true
nature
and
meaning
f secularismwhich s
regarded
y
no
less a
person
than
Pundit
Jawahar
Lai Nehru
as
most
vital to
the
future
f
democracy
n
India makes
it
exceedingly
ifficult
or
us
to
broadbase
democracy
n
the
religion
f
the
spirit.
A few
words
about
the
true nature
and
meaning
of
secularism
re
therefore
ecessary
here.
Pundit
Jawahar
Lai
Nehru,
he
first
rime
Minister
f free
ndia,
was
whollydedicatedto the conceptof secular India. In a press conference
held
at
New Delhi
in
October
1947 he
declared as
follows
'So far as
India
is
concernedwe have
very
clearly
stated
both
as
Government nd
otherwise hat
we cannot think f
any
state
which
can be
called
a
commu-
nal
or
religious
state. We can think
only
of a
secular,
non-communal
democratic
state
in which
every
ndividual,
o whatever
religion
he
may
belong,
has
equal rights
nd
opportunities.'
This
is
a
perfectly
ound
and
rational
proposition
India,
inhabited
by
followers
of
almost
all
the
principal
religions
n
the
world as
she
is,
cannot
be
a Hindu
state
governed
in
accordance
with
the dictates of
Hindu
law
and
theology.
Our
State
mustbe secular in the sense thatno religious ommunityan be assigned
a
privileged
osition
n it
it
must
accord a
status
of
equality
o
all
religious
groups
so far
as
the
enjoyment
f
civic
and
political
rights
s
concerned.
Every
citizen
must
have
equal opportunities
o
rise
to the
highest
fficesn
the
State
irrespective
f
his or
her
religious
faith
nd
creed,
race,
language,
ftnd
olour
of
the
skin.
It
woiild
be
most foolish
and
suicidal
to
imitate
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INDIAN
EMOCRACY
T
CROSSROADS
177
Pakistanand
make India a
Hindu State.
This
is
an
unthinkable
roposition
in
the
third
uarter
f
the
twentieth
entury.
But a sizable sectionof our intelligentsias not contentwithmaking
India
a
secular state
in
the
sense
of
making
the
Government
eutral
n
matters f
religion,
nd
dealing
with
the
individual
citizens as
individuals
irrespective
f their
religion,
aste,
creed,
etc.
They
go
a
step
further
nd
want
ndians
to
adopt
secularism
s
a
way
of
life. Their
contention
s
that
casteism
and communalism
xercise a
profound
role
in
our social
and
political
life and constitute
serious
obstacle
in the
way
of successful
functioning
f democratic
nstitutions.
Briefly ut, they
view casteismand
communalism
s
anti-democraticnd
maintain
that
the
only
way
to eli-
minatetheirbaneful nfluences the acceptanceon a nation-wide cale of
the secular
way
of
life.
They
regard
hat
way
of life as secular
from
which
region
s excluded
from
all
the
significant
reas
of
life,
and wherein
belief
in
God,
soul and future
ife is
branded
as
irrational
nd
unscientific.
n
a
secular
philosophy
f
life
there
s no
room
for
uch beliefs.
Secularism
ests
on
the
assumption
hat
material
means alone
can
advance mankind
that
belief
n
God, etc.,
retard ndividual nd social
progress.
Such
people
view
the
presence
of
the
religious pirit
s anti-secular nd
therefore
nti-demo-
cratic.
They
go
to
the
extent
f
taking
erious
objection
o
the President
f
the
Indian
Republic
publicly associating
himselfwith
religious
ceremonies
like the installation f the yotilingamn therenovated omnath emple nd
taking
dip
in
the
holy
Ganges
at Hardwar.
They
recommend
n
all
earnest-
ness
that
a
convention hould be
developed
n
our
country
hat
no
minister
or official
hould
publicly
associate
himself
with
any
function
elated
to
religion.
*
(Vide
footnote
n
page
90,
Studies
n Indian
Democracy
edited
by
S. P.
Aiyar
and R. Srinivasan. An
Allied
publication.)
Though
we would
be
exceedingly
lad
to see
the role
of
casteism
nd
communalism
ntirely
liminated rom
ur
social
and
political
ife,
we
reject
with
ll
the
emphasis
t
our commandthe
suggestion
hat
God
and
religion
should be completely stracisedfrom ife. To exclude God and religion
from
ife
completely
would be to
deny
ourselves
the
inestimable
elp they
render
n
the
formation
f
character.
History
s
a
witness
o
the
great
role
played
by
religion
n
the
development
f
civilization. The habits
of
thought
and
behaviour
ncouraged
nd sustained
by
belief n God and
religion
have
usually
been of
great
stabilising
value.
Religion
enables us
to
see
life
steadily
and
see
it
as a
whole,
and
therefore
o
plan
it
in the
best
way
possible.
Religion
turns
out to
be
a
force
leading
to
decay
and decline
only
when
people
forget
he
real
spirit
behind its
various institutions
nd
injunctions
nd
become
content
with the
performance
f
empty
rites and
rituals. Our own convictions thatour declinebegan when we forgot he
sublime
truths
f the
Upanishads
and
lost
sight
of
the
spiritual
ide
of life
and
got
immersed n
the
pursuit
of
wealth,
fame and
power
without
ny
reference o Dharma.
Without
elaborating
the
point
further
we
would
conclude
our
observations
n
the
necessity
f
preserving
nd
strengthening
the role of
true
religion
n
life
with
the
following
words
uttered
y
Swami
11
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INDIAN
EMOCRACYT
CROSSROADS 179
could
not
escape
contamination.
There
began
a
struggle
or
power
in the
States between eaders
of
various
groups
n
the
Congress,
nd
the
spirit
of
factionalismmade its appearance. The failure of the Congresspartyto
secure
an absolute
majority
n
several
States was
the
result
of this
spirit
f
factionalism.
The
present
writer an
say
on
the
basis
of
personal
knowledge
that
the
Congress
lost
several
seats
in the Meerut
districtbecause some
leading
Congressmen
actively
worked
against
other
Congressmen
who
belonged
o a
rival
group
within
t. What
was
true
of the
Meerut District
was also
true
of other
districts
nd
also
of
several
States.
The
Congress
fared
ll
in the
last
general
lections
because
of
the
presence
f
innerdisses-
sions and
wrangling
or
power
between
various factions
it
entered
hem
s
a house dividedagainst tself.
The
absence
of
a
large
and
secure
Congress
majority
n
some
of
the
State
Legislative
Assemblies
gave
some
highly
ambitious
men the
oppor-
tunity
or
which
they
had been
waiting
or
ong
for
rising
o chief
minister-
ship.
They
made
common
cause
with
anti-Congress
orces,
defected
from
the
party
on
whose
ticket
they
were elected
without
resigning
rom
the
Assembly
nd
seeking
he
approval
of
the
electorate
or their
onduct,
ome
became
chief
ministers nd other
ministers n
many
States.
Nothing
ha
given
more
serious
blow to
democracy
n
our
country
han
this
crossing
f
floor for
purely personal
and
selfish
reasons.
The
only way
to
stop
this
evil practice s to revivethe higherand moral values of life whichhave
been
greatly
clipsed by
the
rise of
the
secular
or
Godless
philosophy
f
life. We
must realise
that
man does
not
live
by
bread
alone,
that
there
re
higher
nd nobler
ends
for which
we
should
live
than
for
wealth,
fame and
power.
As
Longfellow ays
:
'Tis
not
enjoyment
nd
not
sorrow
That
is our destined
nd
or
way,
But
to
act
that
each
tomorrow
Finds
us
further
han
today.
Factionalism
within
he
Congress
eft
t
weak
in several States.
The various
parties
n
opposition
which
had
nothing
n common save
their
hatred
for
the
Congress
got
their chance. Under the
influence f
their
over-bearing
desire
to
keep
the
Congress
out
of
power they
combined
their
forces and
formedUnited
Front
Governments.
There
is
nothing
wrong
or bad about
the
formation
f
such coalition
governments; hey
should be welcome
if
they
provide
n
alternative o
Congress
rule.
But
unfortunately
he
experi-
ment
with United
Front
Governments
as
not
been
happy
or fortunate.
From
their
ery
nature,
hey
have been
weak,
unstable nd
inefficient.
hey
have sufferedrom hesedraw-backs ecause common ntipathyowards he
Congressproved
to be an
unsufficiently
ohesive
force. The various
groups
forming
he
coalition
in
every
State were more
keen
on
improving
heir
chances
in
the
next
general
elections
than
on
giving
the
people
efficient
administrationnd
rooting
ut
corruption.
The
governments
ere
engaged
in
political
manoeuvres.
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180
THE
NDIAN
OURNALF
POLITICAL
CIENCE
Mention
may
be
made
of
some otherfactorswhichhave
subjected
he
democratic nstitutionsn our
country
o
a
very
heavy
strain. If
the
pres-
sure of theseforces s not liftedor appreciably educed n the near future
the
prospects
f
democracy
o not
appear
to
be
rosy.
One
of them
s
the
growing tendency
f the
various
elements n
our social
life
to
resort
to
violence
for
the
achievement
f
political
ends.
Past
experience
has
taught
them
that
organised
violence
is
the easiest
way
to
force
Government
o
yield
to their
demands.
The
people
of Andhra achieved their
objective
of a
separate
Andhra
Pradesh
by
attacking
rains,
urning
uses
and
destroy-
ing
public
property.
The
people
of
Maharashtra
also
got
a
unilingual
Maharashtra
with
Bombay
as its
capital
by
resort
o
violence. Our
students
have been quick to learn this lesson fromtheirelders and have indulged
in riotous
behaviour
in their
anti-Hindi
or
anti-English gitation.
Some
political
parties encourage
rowdyism
nd
hooliganism
because
they
hope
to
achieve their
bjectiveby
bringing
bout
chaotic
conditions
n
the
country.
Obviously,
the
spirit
of
democracy
annot
thrive nd flourish n
a
climate
of
violence.
The demon
of
linguistic
egionalism
has
been
pursuing
our
demo-
cracy
from
ts
very
birth
it
has
rent
sunder
he
unity
f the
country
which
Lwas
ne
of
the
greatest
chievements f
British
rule.
So
long
as
we
were
engaged
in
fighting
or
national
freedom
against
foreign mperialism,
we
sworeby nationalunity;we acted as Indiansfirstnd Indians last, and did
not allow local
and
regional
oyalties
o
get
the better f
our
devotion to
the
national
cause. But
within
ess than
two decades of
self-government
that
sentiment
f
national
unity
has
been
thrown
verboard;
we are
more
conscious
of
being
Tamilians,
Bengalees,
Assamese,Maharashtrians,
ujratis
and
Punjabis
than
as
being
ndian
and do not
hesitate
o
insultthe national
flag
and
the
national
song.
We
now
claim
Assam
forthe
Assamese,
Madras
for
the
Tamilians,
nd
Maharashtra
or
the
Maharashtrians,
nd
so
on. The
organisation
of
Shiva
Sena
in
Maharashtra,
Gopal
Sena
in
Kerala,
and
Lachit Sena in Assam bodes ill forthecountry. The conception f Indian
citizenship
s
losing
its
significance,
nd
narrow
provincialism
nd
lingulsm
are
taking
possession
of
our minds
and hearts.
The
country
s
moving
n
the
direction
of
a
serious
split
between the North and
the
South,
if
not
between
Assamese,
Bengalis,
Biharis,
Punjabis,
etc.
Theory
and
practice
lways
go
together
n life. Ideas
and
concepts
which fail
to issue
into
action
are
dangerous;
hey
make
men fanatics.
On
the other
hand,
practice
has to
be illumined
by
a
rational
nsight
nto
the
meaning
and
importance
f
principles
nd
postulates
on which
t
is
based.
For
example,
democracy
rests
upon
liberty,
quality
and
fraternity.
n
orderto grow ntotruedemocratswe mustunderstandwhat iberty,quality
and
fraternity
ean.
Unfortunately,
ndependent
ndia has
not
made
any
Serious
ttempt
o
teach
the
people
the
significance
nd
implications
f
these
lofty
deals.
Liberty
tends to
be confused with
license
else
university
students
would
not
have
resorted o
stoning
uses,
stopping
ailway
trains,
and
setting
ire
to
public
and
private
property,
nd
indulged
n anti-social
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INDIAN EMOCRACYT
CROSSROADS
I
SI
activities n the
name of students'
unity.
Some
political
parties
excite
unthinking
nd
gullible
masses
to
take
forcible
possession
of
government
land in thenameof equality. Even our legislatorshowa poorunderstand-
ing
of the
true nature and role of
Opposition.
They
do
not realise
the
serious
damage they
have done
to
the
working
f
representative
nstitutions
by
their
ll-timed,
ll-conceived nd
badly
executed airties
n the
legislative
assemblies;
e.g., boycott
of
Governor's
address,
frivolous
motions
of
no-
confidence,
djournment
motions,
disrespect
o
the
chair,
rowdy
scenes
on
the floorof the House.
Behaviour of this
type
can have
only
one
effect
namely,
o undermine
he
prestige
f the
legislative
bodies
and
the
office
of the Governor.
Perhaps
the worst
thing
ver
done
in our
country
which
made us a laughing tock before the worldwas the defianceby two U.P.
ministers f the
prohibitory
rder
promulgated
y
the
government
n New
Delhi.
It
is idle
to
expect
that senseless
and
purile
activities
of
this
nature
an make
for
the
success of
democracy.
And
many
of
the
Opposition
membershad the cheek
to
defendthis most
anti-democratic
ctivity
f the
two
ministers nd condemn
he
Government
or
arresting
hem.
It would not be out
of
place
to
refer
here
to
the
rather ad and
depressing
act that our intellectuals o not
exert
any
influence
worth
the
Jname
n
public
affairs. Our
society
s dominated
nd
controlled
y politi-
cians who are
generally
elfish
and
corrupt.
Nothing
affords
better
illustration f this unfortunateact than the choice of active partypoliti-
cians
to
deliver convocation
addresses
by
academic
bodies. In
countries
like the United States
and Great
Britain
the Government
onsults
econo-
mists,
sociologists,
olitical
scientists,
tc.,
who have
achieved
distinction
jn
their
respective
ieldsabout the
various
problems
they
are
called
upon
to solve
but in
India the
practice
has
yet
to
develop.
Our
intellectuals
o
hot
care
to contribute
heir
mite towards the formation
f
public
opinion.
Some
Presidents
of the Indian
Political Science
Association
complained
against
the
indifferencef
the Government
o
their
opinions.
Another easonwhydemocracy as not been able to
strike
eep
roots
in our
country
s
the
failure
of the authorities
oncerned o
explain
to the
people
the
nature,
meaning,
implications
and
importance
of economic
planning,
community
evelopment,
unchayati
raj
and other
democratic
institutions
hey
have
introduced
or the
good
of
the
people.
Instead
of
piaking
for a
more
equitable
distribution
f national wealth
which
was its
desired
objective,
conomic
planning
has
helped
the rich to become
richer
and the
poor,
poorer.
This
has
happened
because the
system
f licenses
and
permits
without
which
the
Government
ould
not
exercise
any
control
over
industry
as
enabled
the
unscrupulous
o amass wealth
at
the cost
of
thepoor. Whatwas devisedas a remedyhas onlyserved to aggravate he
jnalady.
Instead
of
being
utilised
for the
promotion
f
common
welfare
village
punchayats
have
intensified
aste and
communal
bickerings
mong
the
villagers
nd
sowed
seeds
of
discord
among
them.
This
lends
support
to
the
point
we
have
been
trying
o
drive
home in the
preceding
iscussion
that
democracy
prospers
or
declines
according
as
the
moral
health and
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152
THE
INDIAN
OURNAL
F
POLITICAL
CIENCE
intelligence
f
the
people
increaseor decrease.
Proper
social,
economic
nd
political
institutions
re
indeed
necessary
for
the
successful
working
f
democracy,but a high moral standardand a high degree of intelligence
purified
y
sympathy
nd
elevated
by
the
sense
of
honour are
even more
necessary. Unfortunately,
he
Government
nd the
people
have
not
paid
sufficientttention
t>
this
aspect.
The
situation
s
made worse
by
the
current
wrong
notions about the
implications
f
secular state. We
wish
to
pinpoint
our
position.
The
concept
of
secular
state
s
an
absolutely
must'
for us.
We cannot fford
o
make India
a
Hindui
tate and
reduce
Muslims,
Christians,
arsis
and
other
ommunities o a
status
of lower
and
secondary
citizenship.
Every
citizen
of
India
must
be
made
to
feel
secure n
the
enjoy-
ment of his civic and
politicalrights
n
a
level
of
equality
with
others,
nd
every
ommunity
must
have the
fullest
pportunities
o
develop
ts
language,
religion
nd
culture.
But
we
must not
embrace
the idea
of secular
society
or
adopt
the
secular
civilization f
the
West.
We must
not commit
the
mistake of
making
the
earning
of wealth and
the
enjoyment
f
sensuous
pleasures
he
be-all
and
end-all
of
life
we
must
remember
hat
the
summum
bonum of life
s
the
attainment
f the
highest
egree
of moral and
spiritual
perfection
or
which
the
religion
of
the
spirit
provides
the
best
and
safest
foundation. The crisis
through
whichwe
and
the world at
large
are
passing
is the
crisis
of character
nd not an
economic,
population
or
any
other
ype
of crisis. Our motto houldbe wealthbut notcontraryo Dharma enjoy-
tment
ut
not
contrary
o
Dharma. The
whole of
life should
revolve
round
Dharma. It
is
high
time
we turned o Manu
and
Gandhi
and
away
from
Marx.
*
(*
For
a detailed ccount
f
these
ital
gents
f
social
change,
he
attention
of the readers s
drawn o
author's
Manu,
Marx
Gandhi,
M/s
Jai Prakash
Nath
Co.,
Meerut,
967.)