By FabianLyngdoh
According to the Constitution of India, ultimate sovereignty in the State rests with the people as equal citizens, and not with the people in the Government. But in a young democratic society like India the citizens are sharply divided into a comparatively minority group of elites and a vast majority of common citizens including the poor and the marginalised. The Indian social system is in a fundamental disorder in spite of angelic virtues enumerated in the social norms of the society, or in the democratic constitution of the State because there are visibly wide spread injustices and inequalities in the distribution of social, political and economic resources among the people.
The idea of popular sovereignty appears only in visible manifestation of the right of the people to remove political representatives, and elect new ones in the election process every five years. But in reality however, judging from existing data and existing trend, it seems that people have little actual power even in removing the existing representatives in spite of the fact that there seems to be wide-spread dissatisfaction with their performances, as comparatively few existing representatives were removed and few new representatives got elected at the end of every five-year period. On the contrary, most of the existing representatives have been elected again and again for a fifth and sixth term to their comfortable chairs.The political destiny of the society is driven by the interests of the elite section of the society. But, since the determining factor in a democratic election is the number, the elites need the votes of the vast majority of the underprivileged poor to authenticate their choice of a government to run their affairs. So the masses are mobilised in various directions on the rhetoric of popular sovereignty; with humble appeals to the masses as the lords of the political system. All types of electioneering tactics are employed and respective supporters submerged heart and soul in the dust and steam of the ‘popular-sovereignty’ festival.
Though it seems that in Meghalaya, everyone is fed up with the existing MLAs and MDCs, who are mockingly being referred to, as ‘lei-san-snem’ (five-year-gods), and that everyone wants a change for the better, but supporters of every party who constitute the adult population are happy and hopeful for the success of their own parties when the existing ‘lei-san-snem’ get affiliated to their own respective parties. The Congress party, the BJP, the NPP, the HSPDP, the PDF, et al try to woo the existing MLAs and MDCs to come and contest from their own party tickets for a supposedly better change. If the existing representatives had for the past twenty five or thirty years in the chair could not bring about the required change how could they possibly bring that change only after the 2018 – elections? Should we ask the question whether there is a real need for change? If there is a real need for change, is there a real burning desire for it? Real change will come only when the people who are adversely affected by the status quo, move and act against the existing system under the leaders who identify themselves with the affected, not by leaders who make empty promises to convert everyone into a millionaire under the existing system. There is sufficient wealth in the world for every human being to have enough food, enough clothing and decent shelter; but there isn’t enough wealth in the whole world to make everybody a millionaire, unless someone can show us the way how to enter into profitable trading with the aliens from Mars.
There is no natural or biologically inherent ignorance, inferiority, lethargy, or docility in the vast majority of under-privileged people, but they are forced to become so, by social, political and economic situations prevailing in an unjust and repressive society. On the other hand, there are inherent courage, capabilities, and respectability in every human being. But when there are repressive external forces, these qualities recoil within; the individual accepts surrender and walks as an insignificant social being under the huge feet of colossuses. These respectable characteristics of the common people can be observed during the campaign period for the elections at the end of every five years. I would advise researchers on people’s political behaviour in underdeveloped democratic societies to seize the opportunity to undertake their field studies during these three months of campaign period before the election-2018 in Meghalaya. A person who was a Minister or a high bureaucrat with magnificent countenance and great pride yesterday, now appears as a small, humble and smiling human being with folded hands approaching the common people with extreme care and begging for their support to elect or re-elect him as ‘their humble servant,’ Or so he would say.
These lowly and humble characteristic expressions of the aspiring candidates embolden the common people and awaken their dormant respectability as equal human beings. We would observe that a poor, humble human being, who in the past, walked with fear under the feet of the greats, now raises his head high with a sense of respectability and greatness and expects the aspiring candidates to walk under his feet, to which they too comply. The lowly, humble and docile people, now for a fleeting period, appear great, intelligent, respectable, courageous, cunning and aggressive. They would even speak to the candidates in bold and aggressive tones, putting forward their bargain and demands with no sense of shyness or fear, and the candidates have to handle them with extreme care because they have become hyper-sensitive about their right as the ‘sovereign’ electors. It is a liberation period for them, however brief it might be.
But as soon as the elections are over and the results declared, the glow from the faces of the people would disappear; the sovereignty which was in the hands of the electors would instantly shift to the hands of the elected, and they who thought that the fate of the victor rested in their hands, now find that the victory of the victor rests on himself. He is flying up, up, and away! They become ignorant, small, humble and docile again, and ever willing to walk in expectation and fear under his feet as inferiors.
This situational behaviour of the people should enlighten us on the inherent respectability of every human being, and should instil in us a faith in the natural equality of human persons, which a lopsided society had unjustly transformed their realm into stratifications of caste and class. In a situation of discrimination and injustice, every one has the right to speak, to complain and demand, especially those who are discriminated and marginalised. But we usually observe that the millions of marginalised are expected to keep silent and listen attentively like docile sheep to the flowery speeches of those who have more than enough to eat and much more to waste.
Democracy in India in the academic and intellectual discourse is at par with the rest of the world, but democracy at the grassroots is still a dream; it is still under experiment; but it is a costly experiment in which thoughtful and worthy people are cautious to volunteer. It is the time now for the experiment to draw conclusions or to begin anew with fresh variables. More avenues should be opened for the masses to exercise and express their sovereignty if we ever dream of constituting India into a genuine Democratic Republic not only in letter but also in spirit. People are capable of growing into fully democratic beings with courage and respectability if there are ways which can liberate them from the burdening social oppressions.
People should exercise their sovereignty not only once in five years during election time, but they should be able to do so from day to day. A new democratic variable, like the process of recall might be useful to be introduced, so that non-performing or corrupt representatives may be recalled, and fresh ones may be elected.We have also witnessed that in the existing system a person was elected even by securing less than thirty per cent of the total votes. Those who did not elect him/her constitute more than seventy percent. Hence, he/she is not mandated to represent them.
People seem ignorant, poor, indifferent, docile and lethargic because their sovereignty in a democratic system is only a myth, which manifests only in a ‘once-in-a-five-year’ street cultural festival.It is encouraging that a Social Audit Council was constituted in the State of Meghalaya so as to provide more opportunities for the people to exercise their sovereignty over the activities of the Government and the political representatives. With a capable and sincere person like Mr Toki Blah as the Chairman of the Council, we hope that Social Audit establishment would not be a Government agency to gloss itself, but a people’s agency for exercising sovereignty.