By Toki Blah
Election of people’s representatives to Parliament or State Assemblies is considered the main prop that sustains the basic democratic tenet of By the People, For the People and Of the People. The people of India have chosen a democratic way of life to ensure for themselves Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. There is no ambiguity over the choice. It has been so simply and eloquently expressed through the Preamble of our constitution that it leaves little or no room for doubt. There should be neither hesitation nor uncertainty over the fact that democracy through equitable representation is the best method of ensuring good governance.
Elected representatives that enter the portals of the Legislature through a fair, free and impartial process of electioneering are therefore deemed to be the stewards, custodians and upholders of our Constitution and the democratic way of life it promises the people of this country. In a country like India and a state like Meghalaya; for a society polarised by illiteracy, caste, ethnicity, gender inequality and poverty, equitable political representation, is the one and only solution that can keep us together as a viable democratic entity. Question then is do we have equitable representation in our political system?
The political system that we speak of suffers from a flaw. A major flaw that ironically stems from the Constitution itself. The Constitution of India has been candid, clear and forthright with the concepts and values of what constitutes true democracy. It has gone into great details elaborating fundamental rights for its citizens. There is also no ambiguity about fundamental duties and Directive Principles that are central to the governance of this country, so much so that the 73rd and 74th Amendments are the outcome of this constitutional openness. Democratic Principles, tenets and ethics as such are not an issue for debate. India’s democratic problems emanate instead from a preference of our constitution to remain completely silent and ambiguous on the professional ability of those who are supposed to implement and enforce democratic practices in our country. Qualifications for membership to Parliament and State Assemblies is almost nonexistent, constrained only by issues of citizenship, conviction in crime, age and insanity. This lacunae has been exploited to the maximum and to the detriment of us all.
If the Constitution is to be faulted it is for its naivety; in presuming that all those who choose to become Peoples Representatives, do so with total commitment to the interest of the electorate. The constitutional reluctance to clearly specify the qualifications, prerequisites and restrictions to be applied on those who desire to lead our democracy has played havoc with the quality of political representation. This has proven to be the Achilles Heel of Indian democracy and prevented the emergence and growth of Equitable Political Representation and capable leadership.
We need to define Equitable Political Representation. The dictionary defines Equitable as being – fair, even handed, reasonable, just, balanced, open minded, rational and impartial. A closer look will then reveal that these are human qualities we closely associate with persons who command high social respect. We expect such qualities from judges who are mandated to dispense Justice. We expect them from teachers, professors and scholars, those with the responsibility to educate us and our children. We demand it from doctors and health practitioners who ensure our physical wellbeing. We ask of it from our administrators and we look for such qualities from our sages and spiritual gurus. They are attributes of character that society identifies with qualities of good leadership. We all know these are qualities that need to be cultivated, nurtured and developed. They don’t come easily; they don’t come cheap and they seldom are inborn assets.
Quality time and money needs to be invested to acquire the academic and intellectual rationality that good leadership demands. The problem with Indian Democracy is that it has waived off these prerequisites of good leadership from those we elect to lead. Somehow from some garbage dump the belief was picked up that once a person has donned the garb of a political candidate; once he stands for elections; once he is elected, irrespective of his background, all the above required qualities of leadership will automatically become his. It is a flawed belief that has led us to the brink of disaster, time and again. Inexplicably we continue to hand over the reins of leadership and power to those least qualified to do so. Equitable Political Representation to bring in a transformation in society simply does not exist in our political system least of all in the electoral process.
There will be many, with Meghalaya only one and half months away from Assembly elections, who will vehemently disagree with the contention of this article. The contention is that there are far too many candidates who are unfit and ill-equipped to deal with the challenges that confront Meghalaya and its people. Sadly the concern of our political system and its electoral process is not how the country or the state is to be governed. The concern instead is how to win an election. There is this weird political belief that winning an election will set everything right. That nothing of the sort has happened in the last 41 years nor is it likely to happen for the next 10000 years has not opened our eyes. The contention therefore is that the whole electoral process is flawed and designed to bring in the worst type of political representation. The contention is that money power or winnability will bring out the worst not the best in our representatives. The contention is that 2013 is unlikely to bring in change for the better.
For the political class, winnability continues to remain the objective of an election and the choice of candidates has accordingly been manipulated towards this objective. That the Legislature might subsequently be composed of illiterates, school dropouts, environmental criminals, business opportunists; with people who generally distance themselves away from good governance, appears to be of little importance. That 70% of our legislators never open their mouths nor contribute to the Assembly proceedings is now an accepted disgrace. They yawn; they sleep and simply raise their hands when required, and that is all that is expected from such winnable leaders. The tragedy of Meghalaya is on such idiotic notions are the concepts of Equitable Political Representation based. The issue of good governance; enforcing rule of law; legislating on burning issues of the state have long since been bartered away for the sake of winnanility. All that matters is how to grab power. Why and wherefore remains unclear.
There is a school of thought that refuses to place the entire blame on our politicians alone and rightly so. The argument is that Politicians have not descended from outer space. They are part and parcel of the society we belong to and it is society therefore that is responsible for producing either good or bad politicians. Touché! And taken from this perspective the paradox is that it is this same society that is continuously critical of politicians and their failure to deliver. So where’s the catch? If Equitable Political Representation continues to elude us; if we continue to degenerate politically, there must be something wrong somewhere. People have challenged politicians; they have challenged political parties; political manifestoes have been trashed but the electoral system that promotes incompetent leadership has never been questioned. We take for granted that the political system, copied, cut and pasted from White Hall is the best there is. Is it? Or is it blasphemous to ask such a question?
The competence and social compatibility of candidates who stand for elections needs to be reviewed. We need a screening process so that the propensity of duds as elected political representatives is minimised. There is nothing in the constitution that prevents the electorate from setting up such a screening process. We should no longer be tricked into believing that the party exists to spearhead the core vital interests of the state and the people. It’s sheer hogwash. Nothing can be further from the truth. The party exists only to grab power. Period! After that it will simply sit on its laurels and to hell with everyone else. As an electorate we can no longer accept that winnability will translate into the ability to deliver. Winnability today is simply a polite term for the ability to purchase votes. It is a short sighted pro party stratagem to come to power by any means. Its stupid! In the long term it is an anti people policy that strengthens oligarchy at the cost of democracy. In accepting such a concept, we are accepting the fact that we are purchasable commodities. Why should an electioneering process meant to bring out the best in us debase us instead to the level of slaves or animals that can be purchased for a price? Why is it that now only the rich can contest an election? Power hungry perverts have now made the constitution stand on its head. Should we allow it?
(The author is President of ICARE, an organisation that focuses on issues of good governance. He can be contacted at [email protected])