Whither democracy?

These are real testing times for the Indian polity. Democracy which is an institution to serve the people's welfare is subverted to usurp power to feed the watershed of corruption and criminality. A country cannot be governed* for people's welfare in an eternal state of scams emanating one after the another, making people lose faith over the institution of democracy: as seen from the bitter resentment in the comments poured by the people in the various media.

There are inbuilt defense mechanisms, like the CBI which evince attention for its purported stance of taking people to task. But then the usurpers of power are nonchalant when pointed about the might of the CBI. The politican want to plunder the country and its resources to fill his coffers at any cost and the disturbing trend here is the brazen attitude and the rapaciousness with which he/she defends his misdeeds by obfuscating the facts put forward in the accusal.

It is too premature and sans logic to conclude that democracy has failed, though a section of the population is assertive of the fact and continue to disobey the law- either actively or passively. The one who pays the bribe is equally guilty to the one who is demanding. The attitude of the people is disheartening. They have accepted corruption and bribery to be the norm of the day (and days to come). Ordinary people of the country are too much indulgent in the race to make their day fruitful to pecuniary results. How much of persistent advocating can bring up a change in the thinking of the common man is indeed tentative.

Democracy in itself owes its existence to the collective conscience of the people. Thus when the individual gains more importance over the group or society, the State where such muddiness and instigated turbidity prevails no longer can be called a democracy.

Today, corruption, nepotism, favoritism are the informal rules of governing. What applies to the grassroots, is applied to the higher orders. This canker is feeding to the societal inequality. Surprisingly, it is the very resilient feature of the democratic attributes(like dialogue, accomodation of dissent) that which further adds to the tools of the perpetrators. Thus when charged with corruption, the politician evades immediate action in the name of commissions and enquiry.

It takes a moment to point an error. The resolution of it is the real issue. The foremost of all is to make people aware. Aware of what is happening in this country- the facts as sharp as they actually are. This coupled with making people enlightened about their stake- which a high degree of education can only give. And media do has a positive role to play here. Media should be kept free of the same political culture which is ruining the country.

Indians are so generous that they lift political icons into dynastic appeal. Had congress resorted to democracy in their polity, it would have gotten itself a merit list for a able administrator. And the main opposition would cling on to democratic platform to fight the battle, rather than appealing to mass sentiments.

The classic case of left vs right(communists vs capitalists) is obsolete, and the political dichotomy is now only over the degree of liberalization. Then it is no more a dichotomy, and hence the inherent dissident is now extinct. Thus when group is advocating bad capitalism, and it lands in a quagmire as a consequence, the government has to bail it out. And then the same citigroup later does business sound and healthy, doing a decent burial to any lessons that has to be learnt. We live in turbulent times.


*Governing is a better word than ruling