Democracy, literally, rule by the people. The term democracy is being derived from a Greek word dēmokratia, which was coined from demos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”) in the middle of the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens.
Democracy in India, as every where else, is not just about periodic elections, nor about voter turnouts, nor about oratory. The central objective of democracy is to enable every person to have a say in deciding about the greater collective social worth. In an age given to specious and facile soundbites, Indian Democracy: Meanings and Practices edited by Rajendra Vora and Suhas Palshikar is a perceptive anthology of sixteen essays that address, broads and elaborate upon the substance and vibrancy of Indian democracy with rare academic depth and significance. Democracy, like so many other important notions like independence, socialism, secularism, constitutionalism, equality, liberalization, was thrust upon the Indian masses by their enlightened aristocrats. Thereafter inertia has seen to it that it continues. How has Indian democracy lasted and how is it likely to proceed in future amid the enveloping militarized environment nurtured by a corporatized economy under the ruinous shadow of communalism.
How and why are we in such a sorry state?
The authors indicate that this was reached as a consequence of the determined failure by the ruling elites to solve economic problems (or the greater common worth) which severely reveals their claim to legitimacy. When the elites realized that the economic problems could not be solved without jeopardizing their own established interests, they resorted to the politicization of economic causes and took shelter in radical oratory to conceal their incapability or unwillingness to undertake drastic administrative and economic measures which might distress the established interests. Indian socialism was a concept that was neither planned nor implemented with the required capacity or skill.
It was propagated for sometime before it became a byword for the hypocrisy politicians. What has happened in India is that it remained socialist in intention, but remained capitalist by inertia and default. This closet capitalism has set in motion socio-structural changes on a large scale in an insidious manner, which has been animated and showed by the neo-market forces, which has catalysed the dichotomy of the existing pluralities, like Brahmin versus Non-Brahmins, Hindu versus Muslims, Sikh versus Hindu, Rich versus Poor, North versus South and so on.
Insurgencies and terrorist movements are the symptoms of a society abrade to substantialize democracy and give every poor man a say in the common national destiny. This has the real potential of cracking the political system and in giving neo-fascist movements a legitimacy that they would otherwise lack. The singular success of secularism in religion-soaked India unto the 1990s was a miracle. This miracle is now giving way to religious exclusivism and aspirations. How do we restore this miracle? the answer to it is substantializing of democracy. Further, it also point out that a key cause for the present crisis of secularism is the fact that those who are convinced of its benefits write for each other and never for those who are not convinced. Silence in times of this community sound and rage is unwise.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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