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Of The House, For The House: DEPOLITICISE SPEAKER’s OFFICE, By Poonam I Kaushish, 13 February 2024 |
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Political Diary
New Delhi, 13
February 2024
Of The House, For The House
DEPOLITICISE SPEAKER’s OFFICE
By Poonam I Kaushish
It’s the season of Aya Ram Gaya Ram and prize catches. Specially in Maharashtra and Bihar where the political arena resembles a
Spanish bull-ring following three
Congress stalwarts ex- Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Milind Deora and Baba
Siddique dumping it. In Patna demise of JD(U)-RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan Government and resurrection of old BJP-JD(U) ties with “somersaulting”
Nitish again Chief Minister for ninth time.
Playing Matador to hilt, the new NDA Government enacted an emotion-filled
politico-drama Monday by removing Assembly Speaker RJD’s Chaudhary, who refused
to step down, via a no-confidence
motion prior to its trust vote. Reminiscent of 2022 when the Mahagathbandhan had got rid of BJP’s
Assembly Speaker. Justified by Speaker can be removed by an Assembly resolution
passed by majority.
Last
month too, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Narwekar took 18 months to rule Chief
Minister Shinde with 40 MLAs was the Shiv Sena and not Thackeray’s faction, but
refused to disqualify his 16 legislators, lobbing the ball back to Supreme
Court.
In 2020, Jyotiraditya
Scindia led 22 Congress MLAs sent their resignation to Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker who accepted their resignations only a
day before Supreme Court ordered a floor test which culminated in Kamal Nath’s
Government falling.
In July 2019 Karnataka Assembly
Speaker disqualified 11 Congress and three JD(S) MLAs leading to Kumaraswamy’s
Government collapse. In 2015-16
BJP had only 11 MLAs and support of 2 Independents in Arunachal but engineered
defections by winning over 21 of 47 Congress MLAs in the 60-Member Assembly.
The Speaker disqualified 14 MLAs, simultaneously BJP held an extraordinary
session wherein rebel Congress-BJP MLAs removed the Speaker. While Gauwhati
High Court upheld the disqualification, Supreme Court refused to give a verdict
on disqualification but restored Congress Government in July 2016.
Ditto
in Uttarakhand where Speaker disqualified 9 Congress rebel MLAs for voting against
the Appropriations Bill despite them not leaving Congress or
voting against it in the Assembly. The MLAs joined
BJP and upstaged Congress Government in 2016.
The issue is not whether the Speaker’s decision in
every case has politics written all over it or if he resigns or is removed. Nor
whether a political appointee should continue to be arbitrator in legislators’
defections? Neither that Parties have used Speaker’s post as lollipop to reward
and oblige a Party worker thus sounding another death knell of a Constitutional
institution. But why Speaker is so important in the Constitutional scheme of
things?
Primarily, as he represents the House, its dignity,
freedom and liberty. According to Erskine May, “The House has no Constitutional
existence without him.” He has to ensure Opposition has its say even as
Government has its way and is expected to be above Party politics and not Government’s
puppet.
If a Party splits, Speaker decides whether it is a
“split” or defection case. His ruling is binding. By this one act he can
“destroy” a Party and facilitate another’s rule. His casting vote can swing
balance either way. Recall, Chandra Shekhar’s famous split which led to VP
Singh’s Government fall.
Besides, his powers to use or misuse Anti-Defection Act
which bestows the power of deciding whether a representative has become subject
to disqualification, post their defection on the Speaker offering ample scope
to him to exercise discretion and play political favourites, ignoring the
letter and spirit of the Act.
Alas, its par for the course when MPs-MLAs-Speaker
roles are inter-changed at a drop of a hat. Whereby, ruling Party Ministers,
MPs and MLAs accept Speakership only to exploit the office for richer political
dividends. Whereby, it is increasingly difficult to keep track of Minister’s
becoming Speaker’s and vice versa.
From second Speaker Ayyangar who became Bihar Governor
on his term’s expiry to GS Dhillon and Manohar Joshi who switched roles from
Ministers to Speakers, Balram Jhakar never concealed his identity as
Congressman, Rabi Ray lived up to his Janata Party’s expectation and Shivraj
Patil who post Speakership, lost the re-election, but was nominated by Congress
to Rajya Sabha and anointed Home Minister. In UPA I Congress Minister Meira
Kumar became Lok Sabha Speaker in UPA II. Today eyebrows are not even raised.
The entirety of a Speaker’s decisions can also be an
inducement for abuse. Instances of suspension of over 149 Opposition MPs from
Parliament in the winter session, almost all DMK MLAs were evicted en masse from the Tamil Nadu Assembly in
2016 while protesting raise crucial questions about our democracy’s health and
its democratic character.
Bringing things to such a pass, whereby a Speaker has acquired
a larger-than-life image and role and has become the primus entre peri. A demi-God who can do no
wrong, and whose actions are unquestionable. Forgotten in the quintessential
position, is the Speaker who is essentially servant of the House has fast
become its master, thanks to rules of procedure. Highlighting, falling
standards in conducting legislative business in Parliament and Assemblies.
Undoubtedly, the Speaker’s position is paradoxical. He
contests Parliament or State Assembly election and subsequently for the post on
a Party ticket, and yet is expected to conduct himself in a non-partisan
manner, all the while being beholden to the Party for a ticket for the next
election. Confided a ex-Lok Sabha Speaker: “We are elected on Party tickets
with Party funds. How can we claim independence? Moreover, even if we resign on
becoming Speaker, we still have to go back to the Party for sponsoring our next
election.”
Against this background and in our Aaya Ram Gaya Ram political milieu the Speaker’s job has not only
become all important and demanding but is the cynosure of all eyes today as the issue of having an independent Speaker is
vital.
Where does one go from here? Time to look afresh at the
Speaker’s powers, depoliticize his office, promote
neutrality. One way is follow Britain’s Parliamentary democracy whereby a MP
resigns from his Party once elected Speaker and is re-elected unopposed in
subsequent elections. Two, Speaker must walk a tight rope, place himself in a
judge’s position, not become partisan so as to avoid unconscious bias for or
against a particular view thus inspiring confidence in all sections of the
House about his integrity and impartiality.
Towards that end he has to play fair and set healthy
and gracious conventions for the high Constitutional office he holds which
calls for fairness, uprightness and adherence to Constitutional values and
conventions.
Consequently, rules have to be drastically changed to
ensure the Speaker’s Constitutional post is respected as it is sacrosanct.
Legislators and Governments must desist from reducing his office in to a
Constitutional extension of Government. Thereby, converting the post in to a
monument like Taj Mahal or Qutab Minar. We know what pigeons do to them.
Remember, a Speaker is an honoured position, a free
position and should be occupied always by men of outstanding ability and
impartiality as what matters are not men but institutions. We must recognize a Speaker’s key role in our
democracy by adopting the British maxim: Once a Speaker always the Speaker.
Succinctly, the Speaker is of the House, by the
House and for the House. Remember,
what matters are not men but institutions. One can tit for an individual but
not tat on the State. It is imperative our democracy is put back on the rails.
----- INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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Railway Budget: SELF FUNDER, EARNS PROFITS, By Shivaji Sarkar, 12 February 2024 |
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Economic Highlights
New Delhi, 12 February 2024
Railway Budget
SELF FUNDER, EARNS PROFITS
By Shivaji Sarkar
Railways
is beyond speed. It connects India. It takes passengers to the farthest,
remotest and inaccessible area and immensely contributes to the growth of
hinterlands. Its contributions are not for getting lost amid glitz of the infra
push, the roads, solar or space achievements. It is much more than speed,
coaches and corridors. The Indian Railways remains the driver of the economy as
Covid-19 exemplified. The closure of the trains slowed down the economic
growth. It tumbled to minus 24 per cent.
While
Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti, which is a transformative approach for
economic growth and sustainable development, is a good target to make corridor
functioning more efficient. All the same it needs to stress on the trains that
connect every station of the country, once served by the trains like the Janata
Express. Rail travel still remains affordable, but the cost on the most
deprived is increasing. Logically correct, but the nation must take care of the
large number of the poor who have just come up the official poverty line, but
who as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, told in Rajya Sabha, need more care and
his free food dole for another five years is meant to tend them and handhold
them to the next better phase of life.
Railways
is self-funded and having profits too though emphasising less on commuters.
Somewhere it gets into oblivion that locally connecting trains are not only
needed in metro cities of Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru but also in
all other States whether Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, or southern states of
Andhra, Telangana, Odisha or the critical North East.
Various
metro projects have been allocated Rs 23931 crore and Rs 1300 crore for
electric buses. But it is observed that these do not cater to the poorer class,
even in cities like Delhi. They shun metro for its high fare affecting their
mobility. The Delhi-Meerut rapid transit metro runs parallel to Northern
Railway suburban-cum-local tracks. It has a high cost and proposed fare as
well. But it deprives the highest number of poorer travellers as they lack affordability.
The Chennai and Mumbai local trains are more efficiently run than the metros in
these cities. Overall losses of metro in all sections are being overlooked.
As per
official figures, 50 per cent of total railway passengers are suburban commuters
from the three major cities – Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. If other hubs all
over the country are included, they would form the major chunk of approximately
80 lakh passengers. They despite contributing substantially to the economy,
remain the most neglected. In pursuit of speed, the most productive people are
being ignored. Their contribution to rail profit is underestimated. Even the
running trains generate jobs for thousands of vendors.
Projects
such as the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) need a review. It has also
been observed that Kolkata metro of Indian Railways remain the best and most
profitable despite high cost of deep tunnelling under the river Hooghly. Unlike
most other metros it remains profitable and high ridership as is also the case
with the Kolkata suburban railway.
It is
often said that Railways is not making enough money. That’s incorrect. It has
earned Rs 2242 crore extra revenue denying concessions to them between March
2020 and March 2023. The financial year 2022-23 alone earned Rs 560 crore from
the change in norms making it the most profitable year, according to Centre for
Railway Information Systems (CRIS).
The
railways have earned Rs 2800 crore in the last seven years from child
travellers, who are made to full fare since April 21, 2016. Earlier, children
between 5 and 12 years were offered separate berths at half the travel fare.
Fares of suburban travel have also been revised.
The
budget has earmarked a capex of Rs 2.55 lakh crore for the Indian Railways,
which is just marginally higher than the Rs 2.4 lakh crore announced in last
year’s budget. The Railways needs a bigger push. It should not be for suddenly
changing 40,000 coaches to Vande Bharat type structure as this is not needed.
The officials have made the planners opt for an inappropriate step.
The
actual total receipt of Indian Railways was Rs 240,176.96 crore in 2022-23,
which was estimated to rise to Rs 265,000 crore in 2023-24 (BE) but was found
to be Rs 258,600 crore in 2023-24 (RE). As against this, total expenditure has
been on the rise, which were Rs 237,659.58 crore in 2022-23 (actual), Rs
262,790 crore in 2023-24 (BE), and Rs 256,600 crore in 2023-24 (RE). Now, the
interim budget 2024-25 has estimated it to rise to Rs 279,700 crore.
The
finance minister’s announced budgetary support of Rs 2.55 lakh crore is an
illusion. It only rechristens the railways own accounts in finance ministry
terms. In other words, it could be said that the Railways is not being given
any extra finance. Even its capex is generated by the railways itself. It has
one of the highest operating ratio up from 90 per cent in 2013 to 98 per cent
in 2025. This means that railways is to spend Rs 98 per every Rs 100 it earns.
It reflects in the share market too on the high demand of railway-related
company scrip.
In
pursuit of speed, it should neither slow down regular trains, nor cancel local
passenger trains or neglect the suburban sector. It is not wise to be left it
to be catered by metro or RRTS trains at huge costs. Each metro station
construction, security and avoidable paraphernalia costs much more than the
railways would have done.
Lack of
integrated rail-led passenger transport vision has added to tremendous cost of
less utilised metros as in Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Bengaluru and other such
cities. Metros should be replaced with elevated trams. Any average 150-year-old
rail stations serve far better. Rail stations need simple, beautiful and easy
access, not a designer one. Most demolitions of old efficient structures of
stations must be stopped. Along with that elevated trams with simple access to
platforms should be planned for efficient, inexpensive, comfortable city
commuting.
This calls
for reorientation and a falsified approach that the Indian Railways needs very
high speed. It has evolved with the best and with minimum efforts and
expenditure it should be made better. The rural, semi-urban and urban
travellers need the attention and the railways must orient it towards them. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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Nation’s Healthcare: ENGINEERING CAN BE A CURE, By Rajiv Gupta, 10 February 2024 |
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Spotlight
New Delhi, 10 February 2024
Nation’s Healthcare
ENGINEERING CAN BE A CURE
By Rajiv Gupta
In the recent interim budget, the Finance Minister
announced a marginal increase of Rs 3000-odd crore allocation for the health
sector, along with plans to set up new medical colleges, a new pharmaceutical programme to promote research and
innovation, etc. However, the field of healthcare is going through several challenges and the issues
need to be clearly understood if the desired end result is an improvement in
the availability and quality of healthcare to all Indians.
It is evident that the price of healthcare has gone up
significantly up, while the trust of people in healthcare has gone down due to a
variety of reasons. Some of the reasons may be medical negligence, the
corporate model of healthcare which puts profit above the needs of the
patients, as well as poorly planned systems which lead to unnecessary waste and
costs in the system. So, while there may be a perceived shortage of qualified
doctors, unless we view healthcare as a system with the patient as the primary
customer, we are likely to fall short of the goal of affordable, quality
healthcare.
It is ironic that hospitals, and healthcare
facilities, which are expected to cure people of whatever ails them, themselves
are in need of help from the malady of negligence, medical errors, and
healthcare acquired infections. A study conducted in the US and reported by the
Institute of Medicine publication “To Err Is Human,” estimated that at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as
98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors.
There have been other publications
including one by the British Medical Journal claiming a much higher figure of
deaths due to medical errors. Although some people have disputed the findings
of the BMJ study due to lacunae in the research methodology, it is commonly
accepted by medical professionals that medical errors, and the avoidable tragic
consequences thereof, need serious consideration and some sustainable solutions
found.
A recent Op Ed in a leading English daily mentioned
that one of the clauses in the new Bharat Nyay Samhita (BNS), the penalty for
death due to medical negligence is limited to a maximum of two years and a
fine, while the maximum penalty for death due to any other act of negligence is
five years and a fine. This merits some discussion, not so much on the penalty
for negligence, but on the act of negligence itself.
Quality in healthcare is an emerging
field with medical professionals striving to gain competence in systems and
technologies to improve the journey undertaken by patients as they go through a
healthcare facility. In the context of healthcare, quality would include the
consideration of medical errors, inefficiencies in procedures, wasteful
activities, and a lack of sensitivity to patient needs and concerns. The tools
and techniques that can be used come from very diverse areas such as flying
airplanes to the Toyota Production System, and the teachings of Dr. W. E.
Deming. While it is not possible to provide an extensive coverage of all the
tools that can be used to improve healthcare productivity and quality, a few
techniques will be discussed in this article.
First, a very simple and effective
approach used by aircraft pilots will be discussed. Before a pilot starts to
taxi and take off, he/she conducts several checks on various systems on the
aircraft to ensure that there is no malfunction. This reduces the possibility
of problems once the aircraft is airborne. Dr. Atul Gawande, a well-known
surgeon and author, has written a book “The Checklist Manifesto” where
he discusses the application of similar checklists in healthcare, especially
before starting a medical procedure or surgery.
Such checklists are being implemented
in several hospitals in India where the chief surgeon goes through a list of
people, tasks, medications, and supplies before starting the procedure or
surgery. This is done with the entire medical team in the operating theater and
if anyone feels that something is missing, they are encouraged to speak up so
that a costly error or problem may be averted once the procedure is started.
Dr. Gawande likens the role of a
surgeon to that of an airline pilot because both have the lives of people
dependent on them. Pilots deal with many complicated procedures and technology
and each aircraft may have different systems. Similarly, surgeons have to deal
with complicated procedures and also the individual patients have different
characteristics which may necessitate different approaches. Both the pilots and
surgeons cannot rely solely on their memory. Therefore, the checklists are very
useful in both cases.
Another very simple and effective way
to reduce errors in healthcare is 5S. 5S is part of the Toyota Production
System. It refers to 5 practices, each starting with the letter S (Sort, Set in
order, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain), which can help in improving systems
from car manufacturing, to healthcare. Although 5S does not involve any
complicated or expensive technology, it does require discipline to sustain the
benefits that come from the process. The first element of 5S (the first S)
suggests that an organisation do an assessment of all materials and equipment
that are present in the workplace. If there is anything that is in the system,
but should not be there, we should remove it from the system.
A common complaint of organisations is
the lack of sufficient space. However, what they do not realise is that useful
space is being occupied by things that should be removed. If we eliminate
unnecessary items from the workplace, not only is additional space created, but
the workplace is less cluttered, allowing workers to find things more easily.
Once we have eliminated unnecessary items, the necessary items should be organised
so that they are easy to identify and access. This reduces time to accomplish
tasks as well as reduces the possibility of errors.
An example of the application of 5S in
healthcare is the storage of medications which look alike, and also have
similar names. It is easy for individuals to make a mistake in such cases,
possibly resulting in serious harm to the patients. In such situations, 5S
suggests that the medications should be color coded, and also they should be
stored in different locations to minimise the possibility of a mix-up. There
was a case in 2006 involving the mistake of administering a wrong drug to a
cancer patient which resulted in her death. The probability of making such
mistakes could be significantly reduced by the application of 5S.
A third technique comes from the area
of Industrial Engineering. When industrial engineers design a facility, they
ensure that unnecessary waste in the form of walking or other actions of the
workers be eliminated. A similar approach can be taken in the design of a
healthcare facility. It has been estimated that nurses in hospitals spend about
30 per cent of available time in providing care to patients. The rest of the
time is spent in walking or performing other tasks such as searching for items.
An application of industrial engineering design principles can reduce walk
times and unnecessary tasks, freeing up more time for patient care. Also, if
healthcare facilities are designed to reduce walking and movement, it will also
reduce unnecessary movement of patients, which can be a major relief to them.
These are some of the approaches that
can help in improving the productivity of healthcare professionals, reduce the
instances of errors, and should lead to an overall improvement in the patient
experience. As Deming and other gurus of quality have always suggested, the
customer is the reason why an organisation exists. If an organisation can
improve the customer experience, the customer as well as the organisation will
benefit. Patients are the principal customers of healthcare. It is therefore
important to ensure that healthcare facilities focus on what is important for
the patients.---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature
Alliance)
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Domestic Election: IMPACT ON FOREIGN POLICY, By Prof. (Dr.) D.K. Giri, 9 February 2024 |
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Round The World
New Delhi, 9 February
2024
Domestic Election
IMPACT ON FOREIGN POLICY
By Prof. (Dr.) D.K. Giri
(Secretary General, Assn for
Democratic Socialism)
In developing countries, elections at home do not usually
have serious foreign policy issues. Only the big countries having international
market and influence make foreign policy an election issue at home. In the age
of globalisation as well as interdependence between countries, the trend may be
changing. Let us examine this assumption.
Interestingly, 64 countries in the world including seven
most populous countries are going to elections in 2024. No wonder, this year is
being called ‘world election year’. What would be the impact of these elections
on their respective foreign policies and on world politics at large? Remember
that a few countries that deeply matter to India have just had their elections
and are going to have another round.
Bhutan had its elections last year and the incumbent Prime
Minister got re-elected and was visiting India at the time of writing, 7th
of February. Bangladesh had Parliament elections and Sheikh Hasina got
re-elected. Her Foreign Minister is likely to come to Indian soon. Taiwan had
the general elections and the previous government got re-elected. The Government
of India congratulated the winners in Bhutan and Bangladesh. Since India does
not recognise Taiwan, New Delhi had a muted response to their elections. The
Foreign Ministry spokesman noted the developments in Taiwan while acknowledging
the growing people-to-people relations and the cultural and business exchanges
between the two countries.
Maldives also had its presidential election and tension
with India has begun since as a pro-China candidate became the President.
President Muizzu, in line with his election promise, has asked India to
withdraw its military presence from his country. Indians, if not the
government, have reacted strongly to cheap jibes made at Prime Minister
Narendra Modi by two of Maldivian ministers. The two ministers making such
gratuitous remarks have been suspended.
Also, countries where elections are going to be held this
year matter to India in their foreign policies. To start with, Pakistan went to
the polls on 8th of February. Imran Khan has been put in jail and is
barred from contesting. Nawaz Sharif is likely to win. New Delhi may hope for a
thaw in India-Pakistan tensions and revival of bilateralism. Modi had visited
Pakistan during Sharif’s tenure and the latter was in New Delhi at the former’s
swearing-in ceremony of in 2014.
Maldives, which had the presidential election, goes to
polls on 17th of March for Majlis, its Parliament. New Delhi would
hope that Majlis elections will check the ruling coalition’s power by boosting
the former PPM Party. Muizzu has been taking an anti-India stance, more so,
after his visit to Beijing. He has negotiated with India the withdrawal of
troops by 15 March just two days before the Majlis elections.
Sri Lanka is going to have both presidential and
parliamentary elections sometime this year. New Delhi would expect the ruling
dispensation in Colombo to win the elections. In any case, India will have the
cross-party support from Colombo as New Delhi has extended economic support to
the Island country during its crisis. Only recently, the Opposition leader from
Sri Lanka met the Foreign Minister and the National Security Advisor in New
Delhi.
Let us turn to P-5 countries, the big powers. Russia will
have its elections from 15-17 March to re-elect the powerful President Vladimir
Putin. In fact, Prime Minister Modi will be visiting Russia to attend the
expanded summit of BRICS, which became a ten-member group last year from the
original five. The whole world will be watching the bigger BRICS as it has the
economic heft.
In Europe, another powerful bloc, the European Union goes
to elections between 6 and 9 June. Although EU elections are not much talked
about here, the results would be important in terms of quite a few important
issues – EU support to Ukraine war, its policy towards Israel-Hamas war, immigration
policy, the trade negotiations including with India and so on.
Now on the big one, elections are to be held this year in
the United States. With some reservation, the US is the sole-super power today.
Washington views India to be the counterpoint to China. To be sure, New Delhi
is still not there, although it has the potential with right partnerships to
become an alternative hub for manufacturing etc to China. There is going to be
a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Some observers call it a contest
in gerontocracy as both Donald Trump and Biden, in their age, are much past
their prime.
Britain, the closet ally of the US will also have elections
later this year. The current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has to announce the
time for the election. Some observers liken Sunak biding time with the man who
was sentenced to death by the king. On his last wish, the man asked the king to
give him a year till he makes the royal horse talk. The wish was granted. When
asked on his queer wish of making the horse talk, the man said, within a year,
anything could happen, the king may die, I may kick the bucket, or the horse
may talk. That is how Sunak seems to buy his time. As per opinion polls, the
Labour Party is sure to come to power. However, New Delhi wishes to complete
the Free Trade Agreement with Britain before the elections, lest they should
start the negotiations all over again.
In the Global South, out of the countries which matter, Indonesia
is going to presidential elections on 14 February. Joko Widodo who has reached his
term limit is putting forward his son against Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto.
If any of them does not reach the majority mark, there will be a run-off on 26
June. Mexico has a single term presidency so it will have a new government by
June-end. South Africa, which is aligned with India’s position in BRICS and on
some other issues is going to have a hotly contested election, so New Delhi
will watch it carefully.
Finally, back home, India is going to have its Parliament
elections in April-May. There is lot of debate and some agitation on the
autonomy of the institutions, misuse of enforcement agencies, use or misuse of
EVMs etc. Notably, only four countries in the world use EVMs. The results of
elections in India will determine her foreign policy mainly towards its
neighbours.
As said before, domestic elections are drawing in foreign
policy issues. In the past, foreign policy used to be based on national
consensus. But this is no more the case. Many democracies are perceived to be
turning to autocracies. Hence, many observers are suggesting that world
democracy is on the ballot this year. Therefore, not only domestic politics, but
foreign policies and world politics are going to be impacted by the elections
this year. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature
Alliance)
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DEMOCRACY IS NOT A HARLOT, By Inder Jit, 8 February 2024 |
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REWIND
New Delhi, 8
February 2024
DEMOCRACY IS NOT A HARLOT
By Inder Jit
(Released on 18 September 1979)
Much of our medieval and modern history is beginning to
make sense at long last. The treachery of the Jai Chands and the Mir Jafars
always baffled and troubled me as a student, inspired by the freedom struggle
and brought up on Gandhiji's "Quit India" call. How could Jai Chand
sink so low as to invite Muhammad Ghori to India just to settle with Prithvi
Raj personal scores, howsoever hurtful and serious? Again, how could Mir Jafar
shamelessly join hands with the East India Company for the sake of private gain,
no matter how great, and thereby help the British in their calculated design to
colonise India. These and other black seeds no longer confound. Everything now
falls into a pattern against the backdrop of the recent political happenings.
Major issues have seldom counted. Personal gains and petty feuds have
invariably taken precedence over all else. A descendant of Mir Jafar remarked
to me in New York two years ago: "Mir Jafar was not a traitor. He was only
a defector."
The mid-term poll is hopefully expected to stem the
spreading political rot, help revive some values and promote healthy
polarisation. However, what we are witnessing so far is a continuation of what
has happened over the past decade and more: an unbroken exercise in double talk
and deception. All the parties are once again swearing by democracy, socialism
and secularism. They are also busy drawing up their party manifestoes for the
poll and, in advance, mouthing familiar platitudes and promises. Yet, the truth
is that almost all our leaders are motivated solely by considerations of
personal aggrandisement: who can get what, when, where and how. Most
politicians, like the members of the notorious French Foreign Legion, are only
too willing to join any new or old force which holds out promise of a bigger
share in the prospective loot. Options are, therefore, being carefully kept
open for any "good deal" any time. Nothing can be ruled out. Power
and wealth are all that matter.
Nothing symbolises the tragedy of the current situation
more than two experiences last week. In the first case, a prominent public man
visiting New Delhi sought my "advice" about the poll prospects since
we journalists are supposed to have special crystals. The reason? He had been
offered a ticket for the Lok Sabha by all the three main parties -- the Janata,
Congress (I) and the Congress-Janata(S) Alliance. "Which shall I
take?" he asked and added: "Remember I must get into Parliament this
time." Taken aback, I queried: "Is there really a choice?" Pat
came the answer: "But all the three stand for democracy." The second occurred
on Wednesday last at the Talkatora gardens, venue of the AICC(I) session.
Surprised to find a strong critic of Mrs Gandhi at the meeting as a special
invitee, I remarked: "I see you have made up your mind finally."
"Yes, my friend", he said, "Mrs Gandhi has, more or less, agreed
to give me a ticket. What is more, she has reaffirmed that she is all for
democracy and your Press freedom too. Didn't you hear her this morning?"
Regretfully, little has been done by the feuding
politicians or by the thinking people and the media to bring the parties down
from their airy generalities to meaningful specifics in regard to their
objectives and the means they propose to adopt to achieve the promised ends.
Every party no doubt stands for democracy, socialism and secularism. But, as
Nehru pointed out on more than one occasion, today's world faces a new crisis.
"We speak the same words", he said, "but they mean different
things to different people. In effect, we speak different languages." In
India, the three words have come to mean all things to all men. Several pointed
questions have still to be asked: What kind of a democracy do we want?
Democracy of the Free World or of the Socialist World? What kind of Socialism? Gandhian,
Soviet, Maoist, Fabian or Royist- or plain Post Office socialism, as John
Galbraith once described our economic system under Nehru. Again, what kind of
secularism? Pseudo or genuine?
Important at any time, these questions have become more
pertinent now in view of various claims and counter claims. The Janata, the
Congress (S) continue to denounce Mrs Gandhi and her Congress (I) as
authoritarian. But Mrs Gandhi asserts otherwise. In an interview to Mary C.
Carras last year as published in her book, Indira Gandhi: In the Crucible of
Leadership, the former Prime Minister made the following remarkable claim: am
committed to democracy. I do not think there is anybody who is less
authoritarian than I am." In Bombay last week, she told newsmen that there
had never been "lesser democracy in the country than during the last two
and a half years of Janata rule. What is even more interesting and, according
to many, "ominous" was her reference to democracy at the AICC (I)
meeting last Thursday. Democracy in India, she said, might “take a new
turn" after the elections. "Our people were fooled in 1977. Today
their eyes have been opened."
Mrs Gandhi shrewdly preferred not to spell out the
"new turn", she proposes to give to our democracy in case she is able
to win the poll. (Remember, the Emergency was designed to put democracy back on
the rails!) But this and certain other matters need to be clarified by Mrs
Gandhi. What is her basic concept of democracy? Does she want India to continue
as an open society? Or does she want it to switch over to a socialist
democracy? What about the Press? Does she accept the view that the freedom of
the Press is the cornerstone of our democracy, as appropriately stressed by Mr
L.K. Advani, and that it should be enshrined in the Constitution in specific
terms and made inviolable. Mrs Gandhi's remarks in Bombay on Press censorship
and her subsequent clarification in New Delhi have not removed doubts about her
basic outlook. This is indicated in her interview with Mary Carras whom she told:
"To say that newspapers which belong to a very narrow group, to a clique
you might say, that their voice being allowed is democratic, to me this makes
no sense."
The Congress (I) would, therefore, do well to spell out
in clear and unambiguous terms its attitude to the freedom of the Press through
a formal resolution of the Working Committee or an authoritative statement.
This should be done equally in regard to fundamental freedoms and the
independence of the judiciary if Mrs Gandhi and her party are to carry
conviction about their basic commitment to a healthy democracy and the rule of
law. Fresh doubts about her attitude to the judiciary have been created both by
her recent remarks on the Maruti report and the judgment by Justice Sinha in
her historic election case. The latter happened when a newsman in Bombay at a
"Meet the Press" session asked some inconvenient questions about her
election case. Visibly angered, she sarcastically quipped "what an
election case" and then reportedly added: "A petty judge sitting
somewhere had debarred a Prime Minister for six years on flimsy grounds. It was
a ridiculous judgment."
Likewise, three other issues need to be clarified by
each party to enable our people to make a correct choice: the concept and
content of socialism and secularism and of non-alignment. Early in the
seventies, some younger Congressmen tried to get their party's High Command to
set up a committee to define socialism. But Mrs Gandhi tactfully shot down the
proposal, leaving her Government free to act pragmatically, a formulation which
eventually enabled her to promote, so to say, the family sector, as disclosed
by the Maruti report, in addition to the public and private sectors. True,
every party vaguely stands for a mixed economy in which there is scope for both
public and private sectors. But Mr Charan Singh, Mr Jagjivan Ram, Mr Chavan and
Mr Bahuguna seem to differ in their respective concepts of socialism and
planning and the role of the public sector. The people would like to know quite
clearly the kind of socialism they are voting for and that, in the final
analysis, they are not opting for a mixed-up economy.
Secularism got off to a good start under Nehru. But
distortions crept in before long and one was even treated to the disgusting
spectacle in which Mahatma Gandhi came to be labelled as a Hindu. Things have
greatly deteriorated thereafter and our secularism has increasingly come to
acquire an unfortunate tilt. One is secular if one ignores all facts and
denounces, for instance the massacre of Muslims in Aligarh or Jamshedpur and in
the process even incites communalism. But one becomes "rabidly
communal" if he or she denounces the "butchery" of Hindus at
Sambhal in UP. Communalism, whether of the majority or the minority, needs to
be condemned by all parties and their views clearly stated. It has no place in
a genuinely secular state. Similarly, we need to be positive about the basic
concept of non-alignment, essentially a projection of India's sovereignty into
the world abroad. Who stands for a tilt towards Moscow or Washington and who for
genuine non-alignment?
Ultimately, we must be clear about the
true nature of a healthy and purposeful democracy and what it offers:
fundamental freedoms and the inalienable right to sack a corrupt and
incompetent Government. We can do no better
than recall Winston Churchill's famous words spelling out his concept of
democracy. Said he: "Democracy, I say, is not based on violence or
terrorism, but on reason, on fair play, on freedom, on respecting the rights of
other people. Democracy is not a harlot to be picked up in the street by a man
with a tommy gun. I trust the people, the mass of the people in almost any
country, but I like to make sure that it is the people and not a gang of
bandits from the mountains or from the countryside who think that by violence
they can overturn constituted authority, in some cases ancient Parliaments,
Governments and States." --- INFA.
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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