LEARN ANGER MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

 IS INDIA A FLAWED DEMOCRACY? 

The reality shows otherwise

For generations, the involvement of the media has always been considered the 4th pillar of democracy but these days it is behaving not as a pillar rather it is becoming the best tool for partisan propaganda. These days every newsprint or electronic channel supports one or the other political entity in some way, whether it be twisting or manipulating facts or not showing the factual reality of a particular situation.

It is not known whether NDTV's journalist Ravish Kumar institutionalized the term ‘Godi media’ who works blindly for the ruling dispensation but according to me, it is more about ideology, some of them may like Modi’s way, and some do not. In a democracy where everyone is free to choose one’s views what s/he likes and whatnot. Many electronic media anchors are always known as Modi baiters', disowning his every decision, even if they will help to maintain peace, boost the country’s economy, get more diplomatic powers in the Committee of World Nations, etc. 

Weeks passed, and I had a virtual interaction with the well-known author and narrative content creator Ms. Anu Lal in the context of some recent hue-and-cry in a few quarters over the predictive assumption of a serious decline of democracy in India now. Well, every citizen in the country enjoys the constitutionally guaranteed liberty to freely pre-empt their individual or collective opinion as they believe. 

Notwithstanding the vociferous name-calling of ruling leaders from the rostrum of 24 x 7 India haters under the moral blessings of Western media which is again a well-synchronized gang of cronies like Soros and Pitrodas. Here, I’m feeling morally duty-bound as a humble citizen of the country to pass on a few contemporary facts and figures about the present democratic status of India in comparison with that of Britain, one of those most reckoned democratic Western countries, and India’s last ruler for over 200 years preceding independence.  

Britain’s incumbent King Charles III was crowned at a recent coronation ceremony spending about USD 125 Million i.e., a little over INR 1000 crore treasury money. Curiously, Britain is called a full democracy with a world ranking of 18 and a score of 8.10,  while India, popularly understood as the world’s largest democracy on paper with a staggering population of over 1.44 billion, strangely is called a flawed democracy with the rank of 46, and a score of 6.19 only. 

We, the self-respectful Indians should dare to question these obnoxious rankings for the following five impressive logical reasons: 

1) That the idea of having a Supreme Ruller, a Monarch, a King, or a Queen is against the basic democratic norm and is regarded as fundamentally undemocratic. A person in Government who gets the top job simply by inheritance, royal blood, or heredity is not at all democratic by any civilized standard.

2) The ‘British Royals’ are always treated above the law. They are exempted from having a driving licence, or a passport, following the speed limit while driving, paying taxes, or even disclosing the quantum of income or even the source of it. Whereas Indian democracy has no such concept of royal blood. Even a Chaywala i.e., a tea vendor can be the prime minister, a tribal-born can be the President, and so on. Thus evidently India enjoys what is called a grass-roots democracy. 

3) The majority of the British parliamentarians are coming as unelected. Let that sink in. There are two Houses of Parliament, one is the Upper House of Lords and the Lower House of Commons with strengths of 800 and 650 members respectively. None of these 800 members are elected in the House of Lords. They are either appointed or qualified as inheritance as sons and daughters of Earl, Duke, Baron, etc., having noble blue blood from aristocratic, wealthy, and powerful British families. These appointments are for life and they are without any retirement. Talk of privilege by birth is institutionalized by the government. None can even dream of such arrangements in the Indian context.

4) Acceptance of religious practices into the British parliament is a norm. As many as 26 Bishops from the Church of England are nominated as ‘Spiritual Lords’ of the Parliament. They sit on the right side of the throne in distinguished chairs with unique superior status. These ‘Spiritual Lords’ are allowed to freely vote on legislation, make interventions in debates, and perform everyday parliamentary activities with introductory prayers. How these religious privileges being exercised inside the parliament are accepted as secular or democratic? It is absurd in the Indian parliament. 

5) The use of religious symbolism inside the British parliament is quite rampant. Though the coronation of the Monarch is held inside a church with holy oil sprinkled on it, the rituals aftermath have many religious practices besides the utterance of God, Lord, Faith, Gospel, and Jesus Christ repeated after every few sentences in the parliamentary procedures. Remembering God, none will have any problem in it! But imagine if these were happening in India, we would have been even erased from the list of Democracy in one stroke. 

It is an appeal to the Western Powers and those partisan media to stop policing India, and the gullible 3rd World countries, and look inside instead. And now for the rest of us, it is time to push back, time to question rankings and it is the time to decolonize our mindset afresh.

[The views expressed by the author are personal]

    By Prof. (Dr.) Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya

 (The writer is an Emeritus Professor of Management Studies and a Political analyst)