Democracy

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action-Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake." This is what Rabindranath Tagore envisioned for our nation, India. But is the democratic system now really living up to these expectations? I will discuss this controversial question later on. India gained independence from the British in 1947 along with a stagnant economy and a semi-feudal caste-ridden society. The constitution envisaged India as a 'democratic republic'. The democracy would not only be a political but also a social one. It was infused with the spirits of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. All the citizens above the age of 21 were given the right to vote. (Later lowered to 18 universal adult franchise) But is this all what democracy means? Democracy is a word with e long and rich history that is endowed with multiple meanings. Aristotle defined democracy as 'a state where the free men and the poor being in majority are invested with the power of the state'. To me, a follower of Abraham Lincoln, democracy means 'a government of the people, by the people and for the people'. It is the rule of many; unlike monarchy, which is the rule of one, or oligarchy, which is the rule of a few. Democracy, first attempted by the Greeks, is the government by the people. This system turned out to be so effective that it spread across the globe. Most countries are now democratic countries. Democracy is the best form of government but only for literate, responsible, disciplined, futuristic, self-reliant, politically awakened and vigilant people. Indian democracy is among the most successful democracies of the world. India has survived through the centuries and so has Indian democracy; despite of the fact that hardly any of the pre-requisites for the success of democracy are present in our country. A democracy can never be for just a state whose goal is to survive and maintain existence. Rather a democracy must always have the character of dynamic progress. Democracy is a way of life. I shall now like to answer the question I had raised in the beginning. As far as I know, our constitution guarantees all of us some fundamental rights. But I sometimes wonder whether we are really enjoying these rights? We have the right to equality, but isn't discrimination on the basis of caste, color and religion taking place every day? We have a right to constitutional remedies but do we ever find justice to even the simplest case before 5 years? The preamble begins with the lines: 'We the people of India... signifying that India starts with us, exists because of us and only for us. But what has our political leadership given us? Has it worked for the betterment of our nation? Certainly not.

Thirty percent of the nation still lives below the poverty line. They do not have enough money to feed themselves twice a day. The so-called politicians remember them only once in 5 years - when elections are round the corner and they make false promises that are forgotten as soon as the elections end. This is the condition of India, the largest democracy of the world. Politics has become a game of opportunism and corruption, ideology has been replaced by caste and religion and democracy has been reduced to rule by bigotry, hatred and fanaticism by caste based groups. Our democratic system may have short comings but it will be wrong to say that people have lost faith in it. True democracy will surely embrace India some day. A democracy where every child will go to school to chase his dreams, where every Indian will have a home and will not worry about where his next meal will come from, where everyone will speak without fear and no one will be prosecuted for the faith they follow. We have the instruments that will take us to the path of being a true democracy - our vibrant communities, our talented and enterprising youth, our rich traditions and our moral and secular values which our forefathers have instilled in us. I have no doubt in my mind that each day if we take a small step in the right direction, my land will truly be the Utopian land we all seek and that day I shall proudly say that I indeed live in a democratic land. So speak up whenever you get a chance. Resolve that you will definitely cast your vote in the elections without fear and will rise above caste, religion and regionalism and will vote for the person whom you judge to be of impeccable loyalty to the nation and the society. Democracy may have its own problems, yet it is the best form of governance.

With Rights Come Duties

Once there was a bird, several in fact. Word is that these creatures swung from trees unlike others of their kind. They grew from packs and gangs into groupings and assortments of bipedal gangs. They became more organized, flocking in herds and travelling. They were adventurers! Conquerors! Sometimes their group divided into bunches, and they enslaved each other. Their ability had become viewed as a right. After a while some of the biped looked around, saw what their friends were doing to other creatures and said, "Hey! I think we must stop doing that. You know, it is true; our pack of gangs come from the same waters, fields, and hills as those herds, flocks, schools and colonies. We can't treat them this way." To that, most everyone replied, "but it is our right!" the conscientious bipeds replied, "Ah yes, but these creatures have rights, too! And on their behalf we arrest that they have a right to dignity and good treatment." Another biped: "That argument is fishy! Our rights might have started out as mere abilities, but now they're here to stay. We have 'Biped Rights'! But you guys say that the things that fly, creep and crawl have 'Creature Rights'. No way. Their lack of rights is what furnishes us with our 'Creature Comforts'." Not being able to stand it any longer, all the creatures of herds flocked, standing up to say this: You gangs are all crazy, granting yourself and denying us our right. Its not really even an issue, not with us. Were not conscious, we cant make jokes, cant rabbit round the whole on our old left shoe. SO NO, we dont have rights, not like all of you. Your rights have grown out of history, based on the things you can perform and do, and with those rights come many things, many highs and many lows. Still, you gangs have earned and been granted something pretty special, a kind of package deal. With

rights come duties, and from our perspective we say go for it, take both and do your best and be honoured. Today, we continuously and increasingly fail to recognize our oneness which we are destroying. A link is formed between the existence of this ignorance and the question of rights (. . . the ability to move, spread, and enslave was their right!). Rights now seem to exist on the same plateau as politics or God, in the sense that they are part of a meta-societal ideology that evokes belief and, consequently, conflict. Why do we have a right to peace and order? Why do we have a right to free speech? Because its the law! These subjects have no real explanation in the minds of most. Its not that things like peace, order, and freedom of speech dont deserve to be rights. In fact they are given as rights because the process of legally formalizing rights closes them to debate but we must not forget that tights not only exist-they appear to transcend time and history in the sense that it is assumed that they have always been there. Our rights are constructed by us . . . humans . . . flawed humans with a vicious predisposition towards selfishness. Natural rights those that existed briefly at the start of the post are selfless but we dont have the honour of living in this ideal system. Rights have become a means of fueling our selfishness and validating our presupposed superiority, but they come with duties, that are, to also validate others superiority. You may decide that you have a right to play your music as loud as you like and ignore any complaints. Although I agree with your right to listen to loud music, I have an equal right to peace. Therefore, it is your duty to not disturb me. We cannot ask for rights without performing our duties. Imagine a politician or an officer taking salary without performing his duty. We call them corrupt, dont we? I know rights and duties, sounds more entertaining than duties and rights. But, to whom much has been given, much will be expected. Something similar was written by Franklin D Roosevelt in a speech he was going to deliver at the Jefferson Day Dinner in 1945; he died the day before: Today we have learned in the agony of war that great power involves great responsibility. Be it politicians or ordinary citizens, teachers or parents or even Spiderman! For everybody Rights Come With Duties.

Terrorism