indian democracy on crossroad

8/11/2019 Indian Democracy on Crossroad

1/11

Indian Political Science ssociation

INDIAN DEMOCRACY AT CROSSROADSAuthor(s): J. P. SudaSource: The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 29, No. 2 (April-June 1968), pp. 173-182Published by: Indian Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41854266.

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2/11

INDIAN

DEMOCRACY AT

CROSSROADS

By

J,

P.

Suda

During

the

fifties

he

belief was

widely

held

that

ndia would

be for

the twentiethenturyAsia what Athenswas for ancientGreece namely,

a

school for

fostering

nd

promoting

emocracy.

There

was sufficient

usti-

ficationfor the

belief

the

institutions

f

parliamentary

emocracy

were

being

worked with

greater

uccess in

our

country

han

elsewhere

n

Asia.

The

general

elections

held

in

1952 and 1957 were

free,

fair and

peaceful

and

at

the

Centre

nd in

the

States we had

stable

governments.

The

work

of

promoting

he

welfare

of the masses was

being

eagerly

pursued,

and

democratic

lanning

had

been introduced

with

a

view

to

increasing roduc-

tion and

a

more

equitable

distributionf national wealth. All this

stood

in

sharp

contrast

to

the

way

in which

the

spirit

of

democracy

had been

smothered

n

China,

in Indonesia and

Pakistan,

and

elsewhere.

In

China

parliamentary

nstitutions

ad failed

to

give

satisfaction

o the

people

under

the

corrupt

nd inefficient

egime

of

Chiang-ki-Shek,

nd at a later date

they

were

completely wept

away

by

the

onrushing

ide

of

Communism.

In

Indonesia

President okarno

gave

a short

hrift

o

democracy

y

establishing

what

he

euphemistically

alled Guided

Democracy.

In

the

same

way

it

was

replaced

by

what

President

Ayub

Khan has been

pleased

to

designate

as Basic

Democracy

n

Pakistan.

In

Burma

the President

f

the

Revolu-

tionary

Council

has

established

virtual

dictatorship.

In

many

countries

of South East and WesternAsia monarchicalrule prevails in which the

king

is more than

a

constitutional

ead of

the

state. The

impression

hat

democracy

found

a

congenial

soil

in India had

thus

sufficient

rounds

to

rest

upon.

But

even

before

the close

of the fifties

iscerning yes

could

detect

cracks

in

the

democratic tructure

n

our

country

tendencies

nfavourable

to

the

smooth and

successful

working

f democratic nstitutions

ad made

their

ppearance.

The attitude

f mind

conducive

to

the

growth

f

demo-

cracy

was

being

gradually

replaced by

ideas

and

ways

of

thinking

nd

acting

nimical to

it.

As

time

sped by,

the

latter

gained

in

strength

nd

volume

and

the

former

grew

weaker. The end-result f this two-faced

process

s that

to-day

democracy

tands

n

great

peril

in our

country.

Its

inner

spirit

s

fast

disappearing

and what we are left with is

merely

ts

shell

or

external

framework.

The facts that as

many

as

fourteen

overn-

ments

fell

in various

States

during

the last

one

year

and

President's

ule

was

clamped

in

some

of them and

is

likely

to

be

imposed

n

some others

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3/11

174

THE

NDIAN

OURNAL

F

POLITICAL

CIENCE

indicate the

direction n

which

the

wind

is

blowing.

With

frequent

efec-

tions from

one

party

pr

faction

to

another

for

no

belter

reason

than lust

for power and the promise of being rewardedwith a ministerialpost,

increasing

isrespect

hown, o the Heads

of the

States

as revealed

n

walk-

outs

from

legislative

bodies

whenever addressed

by

them

and

in the

occasional demand

for their

recall,

and

with the

wide

prevalence

of

the

temper

of

violence and

the

growing tendency

to

seek

the

solution

of

problems facing

the

nation

in the streets

rather

than

in

our

legislative

chambers,

the

atmosphere

seems

to

be

heavily

charged

with

poisonous

elements

which

are

likely

o

prove

fatal

to

the

cause of

democracy.

In what

follows n

attempt

s made

to

diagnose

the

ills from

which our

body-politic

is

suffering,

nd to

suggest

emedies

for

them.

It

is in

110

pirit

of

carping

criticism r

with

a

motiveof

fault-finding

hat

venture

pon

this

project;

my

desire s

just

to

draw the

attention f

my

countrymen

o the

dangers

hat

lie ahead and

to

give

them some

sort

of

warning

o

that

they

may

adopt

necessary

emedialmeasures.

Before

proceeding

with

my analysis

of the

current

ituation

would

like

to

add

a

few

words about

the

point

of

view from

which

t

is

offered.

There are two

divergent

iews

currently

eld

about the

relationship

etween

man and

the

external nvironment.

One

view,

which

ooks

upon

man as a

body-mind

omplex

regards

he

economic

conditions f

life

and

the relations

of production revailingn thecommunitys themain determinantsf our

social

and

political

institutions

nd of

the

philosophical

and

cultural

superstructure

eared

upon

them. It

compares

the

human mind to a

piece

of

soft wax

upon

which the

material

conditions

f

life

leave their

ndelible

impression

nd

give

t a

specific

hape

and form.

Those

who

subscribe

o

this

doctrine evote all

their

ttention

nd

energy

o

effecting

n

improvement

n

the external onditions f

life

they

feel

convinced

hat

the

greatest

bstacle

in

the smooth

aod

successful

working

f

democratic

nstitutions

s

the

divi-

sion of the

community

nto

two

classes,

one

that of

the

rich

who own

and

control the

material

means of

production,

nd

the other

consisting

f

the

propertyless roletariatwhomthe former xploitfor their own advantage.

They

therefore

dvocate

the

ushering

n

of a

new

social

organisation

n

which

private

ownership

f

land and

capital

would

be

replaced

by

social

ownership

nd control

whereby

he

exploitation

of

the

poor

by

the

rich

would

come

to

an

end. In

the

new

society

here

would

be

a

more

equitable

distributionf national

wealth

and one

would not

find

offending

uxury

nd

degradingpoverty

xisting

ide

by

side.

They

want

to

establish

the

new

social

order

either

by

a violent

seizure

of

political

power

and

a

forcible

expropriation

f

the

capitalist

nd

landowning

lasses,

or

by

means of

demo-

craticplanning nd social legislation. While not fora moment upporting

the current

laring

nequalities

n the

distribution f

national

wealth

and

earnestly

wishing

or

a

speedy

ending

of the

exploitation

f

the

poor

by

the

rich,

differ

hole-heartedly

rom

his

point

of view

and

the

programme

f

action built

upon

it.

I

regard

the human

mind,

or better

till,

the

human

spirit,

s

the dominant

factor

n

the

make-up

of

man,

and hold

that

it

is*



4/11

INDIAN

EMOCRACY

T

CROSSROADS 175

far

more

powerful

nd

potent

n

shaping

nd

moulding

he external nviron-

ment

to suit its

own

requirements

han

s

usually

conceded. The

nature nd

vitality f economic nstitutionsre determinedby the spiritof man. Our

character nd our social

institutions

re determined

y

our

ideas,

aspirations

and ideals. As someone has

very

bautifully

aid

:

Would

you

scale the

highest

heaven,

Would

you pierce

the

lowest

hell

Think

in

thoughts

f

deepest

beauty,

Or in

basest

thinking

well.

I

therefore

ttach

far

more

importance

o

the

moral

and

spiritual

founda-

tions of

democracy

than

to

the economic

organisation

of

social

life,

and hold with Lord

Bryce

that

popular government

lourishes r

declines

with

the

moral and

spiritual rowth

r

regression

f

society. My

complaint

is that

those

.who

were

responsible

for

shaping

the destinies

of

the nation

after

the attainment

f

independence

oncentrated heir

ttention

pon

and

devoted

their

energies

to

effecting

mprovement

n

the outer

conditions

of

life and

almost

completelyneglected

he

moral

and

spiritual spect

of

life.

They gave

us

adult

franchise,

epresentative

nstitutions,

esponsiblegovern-

ment,

democratic socialism and

planning,

communitydevelopment

pro-

grammes

nd

punchayati aj.

Their

intentionswere sound and

nble,

and

they

strove

hard

to realise them. But

their

chievements ave been

below

expectations ecause theyfailed to pay requisiteattentions o the develop-

ment

of the

type

of

character

eeded

to

work

them

properly.

Men of

sound

character nd

pure

motives

an attain

good

results ven

when made

to

work

with

clumsy

tools

.while

even

the best institutions

ould

not

yield

good

results

f

they

re

manned

by persons

of

small

vision,

narrow

minds

nd

low

character.

The

great

tragedy

f

post-Independence

ndia has been

that she

lost

sight

of the lesson

men

like Swami

Dayananda,

Swami

Vivekananda,

Gopal

Krishna Gokhale and

Mahatma Gandhi

taught

o the nation

namely

that the

greatest

wealth

f

the

nation

consists

of men of

dependable

and

sterling

haracter.

Under the influence of

Marxism

some of

our

great

national leaders did not allow theirminds to be ruffled y the increasing

volume of

corruption, ribery,

epotism

nd

favouritism;

hese and

other

evils

were tolerated as the

unavoidable

accompaniments

of

an

under-

developed economy.

The

result

was

that

the

moral

stature

of

the nation

which had increased s a

resultof

its

passing through

he

crucibleof suffer-

ing

and sacrifice

uring

he various

movements

r

non-cooperation

nd

civil

disobedience

registered

steep

decline

after

ndependence.

We

no

longer

bear in mind the

great

truth

on which

Gandhiji

laid

stress

namely,

the

means must

be as

pure

as the end

itself. On

the

contrary,

e

preach

and

act on the oppositeprinciple hatthe end justifies hemeans. We also do

not seem to believe that

righteousness

xalts

a

nation

as well

as an

indivi-

dual

;

we are too

ready

and

willing

to

employ

underhand

means

for

the

attainment

f

political

ends.

This low

regard

paid

to

moral

values

is

responsible

or the undue dominance

of

narrow,

personal

ends in

our livs

and for

the

subordination

f

public

interests

o

them.

To-day

we

enter



5/11

176

THE NDIAN OURNAL

F

POLITICALCIENCE

local bodies and

legislative

ssemblies

not

with

a

view

to

social servicebut

>vith

he

object

of

getting

hat we

can

out

of

them o

promote

ur own

ends.

Democracyis failing n our country ecause of the greatdecline in civic

virtues.

My

submission

s

that the

only way

to rescue

it and

place

it on

stronger

oundations nd

to

usher

n

a

new

order

based 011

Socialism

is to

let

a

great

stream

of

moral

and

spiritual nergy

low

nto

the

lives of

the

people.

It

is

futile

to

expect

that

socialistic

pattern

of

society

can

be

brought

nto

being merely by extending

he

public

sector

and

bringing

insurance,

anking,

tc.,

under social control.

What

is needed s

to

socialise

the

minds

of

the

people

by

giving

hem

the

right

ype

of

education,

nd

to

loosen

the hold of

the

possessive

and

acquisitive

nstincts

y

impregnating

theirmindswith the fundamentalruth ontained n the first erse of the

Isopanishad

that

the

best

way

to

enjoyment

s

through

enunciaction,

nd

the truth

porpounded

n

the Gita

that

the

person

who

spends

all

that he

earns without

haring

t

with

others

s a

thief.

Vinobaji's

approach

to

socia-

lism is far more

sound and

effective

han that of

Marxian

socialists.

In,

other

words,

the

best

way

to make

socialism

acceptable

to

the

Indian

mind

is

to

give

it

a

religious

r

spiritual inge

by connecting

t

with

the

teachings

of

the

Upanishads

and

the

Gita

and

the

Ramayana

Mrs.

Annie

Besant

ennunciated

great

truthwhen

she

pointed

out

long

ago

that

the

Indian

mind

begins

to

vibrate nd

respondonly

when the

religious

hord within

t

is touchedor stimulated.Tilak and Gandhiji could make a tremendous

appeal

to

the

Indian

masses because

they

approached

the

political

problem

from

he

religious

ide.

But our

serious

misconception

bout

the

true

nature

and

meaning

f secularismwhich s

regarded

y

no

less a

person

than

Pundit

Jawahar

Lai Nehru

as

most

vital to

the

future

f

democracy

n

India makes

it

exceedingly

ifficult

or

us

to

broadbase

democracy

n

the

religion

f

the

spirit.

A few

words

about

the

true nature

and

meaning

of

secularism

re

therefore

ecessary

here.

Pundit

Jawahar

Lai

Nehru,

he

first

rime

Minister

f free

ndia,

was

whollydedicatedto the conceptof secular India. In a press conference

held

at

New Delhi

in

October

1947 he

declared as

follows

'So far as

India

is

concernedwe have

very

clearly

stated

both

as

Government nd

otherwise hat

we cannot think f

any

state

which

can be

called

a

commu-

nal

or

religious

state. We can think

only

of a

secular,

non-communal

democratic

state

in which

every

ndividual,

o whatever

religion

he

may

belong,

has

equal rights

nd

opportunities.'

This

is

a

perfectly

ound

and

rational

proposition

India,

inhabited

by

followers

of

almost

all

the

principal

religions

n

the

world as

she

is,

cannot

be

a Hindu

state

governed

in

accordance

with

the dictates of

Hindu

law

and

theology.

Our

State

mustbe secular in the sense thatno religious ommunityan be assigned

a

privileged

osition

n it

it

must

accord a

status

of

equality

o

all

religious

groups

so far

as

the

enjoyment

f

civic

and

political

rights

s

concerned.

Every

citizen

must

have

equal opportunities

o

rise

to the

highest

fficesn

the

State

irrespective

f

his or

her

religious

faith

nd

creed,

race,

language,

ftnd

olour

of

the

skin.

It

woiild

be

most foolish

and

suicidal

to

imitate



6/11

INDIAN

EMOCRACY

T

CROSSROADS

177

Pakistanand

make India a

Hindu State.

This

is

an

unthinkable

roposition

in

the

third

uarter

f

the

twentieth

entury.

But a sizable sectionof our intelligentsias not contentwithmaking

India

a

secular state

in

the

sense

of

making

the

Government

eutral

n

matters f

religion,

nd

dealing

with

the

individual

citizens as

individuals

irrespective

f their

religion,

aste,

creed,

etc.

They

go

a

step

further

nd

want

ndians

to

adopt

secularism

s

a

way

of

life. Their

contention

s

that

casteism

and communalism

xercise a

profound

role

in

our social

and

political

life and constitute

serious

obstacle

in the

way

of successful

functioning

f democratic

nstitutions.

Briefly ut, they

view casteismand

communalism

s

anti-democraticnd

maintain

that

the

only

way

to eli-

minatetheirbaneful nfluences the acceptanceon a nation-wide cale of

the secular

way

of

life.

They

regard

hat

way

of life as secular

from

which

region

s excluded

from

all

the

significant

reas

of

life,

and wherein

belief

in

God,

soul and future

ife is

branded

as

irrational

nd

unscientific.

n

a

secular

philosophy

f

life

there

s no

room

for

uch beliefs.

Secularism

ests

on

the

assumption

hat

material

means alone

can

advance mankind

that

belief

n

God, etc.,

retard ndividual nd social

progress.

Such

people

view

the

presence

of

the

religious pirit

s anti-secular nd

therefore

nti-demo-

cratic.

They

go

to

the

extent

f

taking

erious

objection

o

the President

f

the

Indian

Republic

publicly associating

himselfwith

religious

ceremonies

like the installation f the yotilingamn therenovated omnath emple nd

taking

dip

in

the

holy

Ganges

at Hardwar.

They

recommend

n

all

earnest-

ness

that

a

convention hould be

developed

n

our

country

hat

no

minister

or official

hould

publicly

associate

himself

with

any

function

elated

to

religion.

*

(Vide

footnote

n

page

90,

Studies

n Indian

Democracy

edited

by

S. P.

Aiyar

and R. Srinivasan. An

Allied

publication.)

Though

we would

be

exceedingly

lad

to see

the role

of

casteism

nd

communalism

ntirely

liminated rom

ur

social

and

political

ife,

we

reject

with

ll

the

emphasis

t

our commandthe

suggestion

hat

God

and

religion

should be completely stracisedfrom ife. To exclude God and religion

from

ife

completely

would be to

deny

ourselves

the

inestimable

elp they

render

n

the

formation

f

character.

History

s

a

witness

o

the

great

role

played

by

religion

n

the

development

f

civilization. The habits

of

thought

and

behaviour

ncouraged

nd sustained

by

belief n God and

religion

have

usually

been of

great

stabilising

value.

Religion

enables us

to

see

life

steadily

and

see

it

as a

whole,

and

therefore

o

plan

it

in the

best

way

possible.

Religion

turns

out to

be

a

force

leading

to

decay

and decline

only

when

people

forget

he

real

spirit

behind its

various institutions

nd

injunctions

nd

become

content

with the

performance

f

empty

rites and

rituals. Our own convictions thatour declinebegan when we forgot he

sublime

truths

f the

Upanishads

and

lost

sight

of

the

spiritual

ide

of life

and

got

immersed n

the

pursuit

of

wealth,

fame and

power

without

ny

reference o Dharma.

Without

elaborating

the

point

further

we

would

conclude

our

observations

n

the

necessity

f

preserving

nd

strengthening

the role of

true

religion

n

life

with

the

following

words

uttered

y

Swami

11



7/11


8/11

INDIAN

EMOCRACYT

CROSSROADS 179

could

not

escape

contamination.

There

began

a

struggle

or

power

in the

States between eaders

of

various

groups

n

the

Congress,

nd

the

spirit

of

factionalismmade its appearance. The failure of the Congresspartyto

secure

an absolute

majority

n

several

States was

the

result

of this

spirit

f

factionalism.

The

present

writer an

say

on

the

basis

of

personal

knowledge

that

the

Congress

lost

several

seats

in the Meerut

districtbecause some

leading

Congressmen

actively

worked

against

other

Congressmen

who

belonged

o a

rival

group

within

t. What

was

true

of the

Meerut District

was also

true

of other

districts

nd

also

of

several

States.

The

Congress

fared

ll

in the

last

general

lections

because

of

the

presence

f

innerdisses-

sions and

wrangling

or

power

between

various factions

it

entered

hem

s

a house dividedagainst tself.

The

absence

of

a

large

and

secure

Congress

majority

n

some

of

the

State

Legislative

Assemblies

gave

some

highly

ambitious

men the

oppor-

tunity

or

which

they

had been

waiting

or

ong

for

rising

o chief

minister-

ship.

They

made

common

cause

with

anti-Congress

orces,

defected

from

the

party

on

whose

ticket

they

were elected

without

resigning

rom

the

Assembly

nd

seeking

he

approval

of

the

electorate

or their

onduct,

ome

became

chief

ministers nd other

ministers n

many

States.

Nothing

ha

given

more

serious

blow to

democracy

n

our

country

han

this

crossing

f

floor for

purely personal

and

selfish

reasons.

The

only way

to

stop

this

evil practice s to revivethe higherand moral values of life whichhave

been

greatly

clipsed by

the

rise of

the

secular

or

Godless

philosophy

f

life. We

must realise

that

man does

not

live

by

bread

alone,

that

there

re

higher

nd nobler

ends

for which

we

should

live

than

for

wealth,

fame and

power.

As

Longfellow ays

:

'Tis

not

enjoyment

nd

not

sorrow

That

is our destined

nd

or

way,

But

to

act

that

each

tomorrow

Finds

us

further

han

today.

Factionalism

within

he

Congress

eft

t

weak

in several States.

The various

parties

n

opposition

which

had

nothing

n common save

their

hatred

for

the

Congress

got

their chance. Under the

influence f

their

over-bearing

desire

to

keep

the

Congress

out

of

power they

combined

their

forces and

formedUnited

Front

Governments.

There

is

nothing

wrong

or bad about

the

formation

f

such coalition

governments; hey

should be welcome

if

they

provide

n

alternative o

Congress

rule.

But

unfortunately

he

experi-

ment

with United

Front

Governments

as

not

been

happy

or fortunate.

From

their

ery

nature,

hey

have been

weak,

unstable nd

inefficient.

hey

have sufferedrom hesedraw-backs ecause common ntipathyowards he

Congressproved

to be an

unsufficiently

ohesive

force. The various

groups

forming

he

coalition

in

every

State were more

keen

on

improving

heir

chances

in

the

next

general

elections

than

on

giving

the

people

efficient

administrationnd

rooting

ut

corruption.

The

governments

ere

engaged

in

political

manoeuvres.



9/11

180

THE

NDIAN

OURNALF

POLITICAL

CIENCE

Mention

may

be

made

of

some otherfactorswhichhave

subjected

he

democratic nstitutionsn our

country

o

a

very

heavy

strain. If

the

pres-

sure of theseforces s not liftedor appreciably educed n the near future

the

prospects

f

democracy

o not

appear

to

be

rosy.

One

of them

s

the

growing tendency

f the

various

elements n

our social

life

to

resort

to

violence

for

the

achievement

f

political

ends.

Past

experience

has

taught

them

that

organised

violence

is

the easiest

way

to

force

Government

o

yield

to their

demands.

The

people

of Andhra achieved their

objective

of a

separate

Andhra

Pradesh

by

attacking

rains,

urning

uses

and

destroy-

ing

public

property.

The

people

of

Maharashtra

also

got

a

unilingual

Maharashtra

with

Bombay

as its

capital

by

resort

o

violence. Our

students

have been quick to learn this lesson fromtheirelders and have indulged

in riotous

behaviour

in their

anti-Hindi

or

anti-English gitation.

Some

political

parties encourage

rowdyism

nd

hooliganism

because

they

hope

to

achieve their

bjectiveby

bringing

bout

chaotic

conditions

n

the

country.

Obviously,

the

spirit

of

democracy

annot

thrive nd flourish n

a

climate

of

violence.

The demon

of

linguistic

egionalism

has

been

pursuing

our

demo-

cracy

from

ts

very

birth

it

has

rent

sunder

he

unity

f the

country

which

Lwas

ne

of

the

greatest

chievements f

British

rule.

So

long

as

we

were

engaged

in

fighting

or

national

freedom

against

foreign mperialism,

we

sworeby nationalunity;we acted as Indiansfirstnd Indians last, and did

not allow local

and

regional

oyalties

o

get

the better f

our

devotion to

the

national

cause. But

within

ess than

two decades of

self-government

that

sentiment

f

national

unity

has

been

thrown

verboard;

we are

more

conscious

of

being

Tamilians,

Bengalees,

Assamese,Maharashtrians,

ujratis

and

Punjabis

than

as

being

ndian

and do not

hesitate

o

insultthe national

flag

and

the

national

song.

We

now

claim

Assam

forthe

Assamese,

Madras

for

the

Tamilians,

nd

Maharashtra

or

the

Maharashtrians,

nd

so

on. The

organisation

of

Shiva

Sena

in

Maharashtra,

Gopal

Sena

in

Kerala,

and

Lachit Sena in Assam bodes ill forthecountry. The conception f Indian

citizenship

s

losing

its

significance,

nd

narrow

provincialism

nd

lingulsm

are

taking

possession

of

our minds

and hearts.

The

country

s

moving

n

the

direction

of

a

serious

split

between the North and

the

South,

if

not

between

Assamese,

Bengalis,

Biharis,

Punjabis,

etc.

Theory

and

practice

lways

go

together

n life. Ideas

and

concepts

which fail

to issue

into

action

are

dangerous;

hey

make

men fanatics.

On

the other

hand,

practice

has to

be illumined

by

a

rational

nsight

nto

the

meaning

and

importance

f

principles

nd

postulates

on which

t

is

based.

For

example,

democracy

rests

upon

liberty,

quality

and

fraternity.

n

orderto grow ntotruedemocratswe mustunderstandwhat iberty,quality

and

fraternity

ean.

Unfortunately,

ndependent

ndia has

not

made

any

Serious

ttempt

o

teach

the

people

the

significance

nd

implications

f

these

lofty

deals.

Liberty

tends to

be confused with

license

else

university

students

would

not

have

resorted o

stoning

uses,

stopping

ailway

trains,

and

setting

ire

to

public

and

private

property,

nd

indulged

n anti-social



10/11

INDIAN EMOCRACYT

CROSSROADS

I

SI

activities n the

name of students'

unity.

Some

political

parties

excite

unthinking

nd

gullible

masses

to

take

forcible

possession

of

government

land in thenameof equality. Even our legislatorshowa poorunderstand-

ing

of the

true nature and role of

Opposition.

They

do

not realise

the

serious

damage they

have done

to

the

working

f

representative

nstitutions

by

their

ll-timed,

ll-conceived nd

badly

executed airties

n the

legislative

assemblies;

e.g., boycott

of

Governor's

address,

frivolous

motions

of

no-

confidence,

djournment

motions,

disrespect

o

the

chair,

rowdy

scenes

on

the floorof the House.

Behaviour of this

type

can have

only

one

effect

namely,

o undermine

he

prestige

f the

legislative

bodies

and

the

office

of the Governor.

Perhaps

the worst

thing

ver

done

in our

country

which

made us a laughing tock before the worldwas the defianceby two U.P.

ministers f the

prohibitory

rder

promulgated

y

the

government

n New

Delhi.

It

is idle

to

expect

that senseless

and

purile

activities

of

this

nature

an make

for

the

success of

democracy.

And

many

of

the

Opposition

membershad the cheek

to

defendthis most

anti-democratic

ctivity

f the

two

ministers nd condemn

he

Government

or

arresting

hem.

It would not be out

of

place

to

refer

here

to

the

rather ad and

depressing

act that our intellectuals o not

exert

any

influence

worth

the

Jname

n

public

affairs. Our

society

s dominated

nd

controlled

y politi-

cians who are

generally

elfish

and

corrupt.

Nothing

affords

better

illustration f this unfortunateact than the choice of active partypoliti-

cians

to

deliver convocation

addresses

by

academic

bodies. In

countries

like the United States

and Great

Britain

the Government

onsults

econo-

mists,

sociologists,

olitical

scientists,

tc.,

who have

achieved

distinction

jn

their

respective

ieldsabout the

various

problems

they

are

called

upon

to solve

but in

India the

practice

has

yet

to

develop.

Our

intellectuals

o

hot

care

to contribute

heir

mite towards the formation

f

public

opinion.

Some

Presidents

of the Indian

Political Science

Association

complained

against

the

indifferencef

the Government

o

their

opinions.

Another easonwhydemocracy as not been able to

strike

eep

roots

in our

country

s

the

failure

of the authorities

oncerned o

explain

to the

people

the

nature,

meaning,

implications

and

importance

of economic

planning,

community

evelopment,

unchayati

raj

and other

democratic

institutions

hey

have

introduced

or the

good

of

the

people.

Instead

of

piaking

for a

more

equitable

distribution

f national wealth

which

was its

desired

objective,

conomic

planning

has

helped

the rich to become

richer

and the

poor,

poorer.

This

has

happened

because the

system

f licenses

and

permits

without

which

the

Government

ould

not

exercise

any

control

over

industry

as

enabled

the

unscrupulous

o amass wealth

at

the cost

of

thepoor. Whatwas devisedas a remedyhas onlyserved to aggravate he

jnalady.

Instead

of

being

utilised

for the

promotion

f

common

welfare

village

punchayats

have

intensified

aste and

communal

bickerings

mong

the

villagers

nd

sowed

seeds

of

discord

among

them.

This

lends

support

to

the

point

we

have

been

trying

o

drive

home in the

preceding

iscussion

that

democracy

prospers

or

declines

according

as

the

moral

health and



11/11

152

THE

INDIAN

OURNAL

F

POLITICAL

CIENCE

intelligence

f

the

people

increaseor decrease.

Proper

social,

economic

nd

political

institutions

re

indeed

necessary

for

the

successful

working

f

democracy,but a high moral standardand a high degree of intelligence

purified

y

sympathy

nd

elevated

by

the

sense

of

honour are

even more

necessary. Unfortunately,

he

Government

nd the

people

have

not

paid

sufficientttention

t>

this

aspect.

The

situation

s

made worse

by

the

current

wrong

notions about the

implications

f

secular state. We

wish

to

pinpoint

our

position.

The

concept

of

secular

state

s

an

absolutely

must'

for us.

We cannot fford

o

make India

a

Hindui

tate and

reduce

Muslims,

Christians,

arsis

and

other

ommunities o a

status

of lower

and

secondary

citizenship.

Every

citizen

of

India

must

be

made

to

feel

secure n

the

enjoy-

ment of his civic and

politicalrights

n

a

level

of

equality

with

others,

nd

every

ommunity

must

have the

fullest

pportunities

o

develop

ts

language,

religion

nd

culture.

But

we

must not

embrace

the idea

of secular

society

or

adopt

the

secular

civilization f

the

West.

We must

not commit

the

mistake of

making

the

earning

of wealth and

the

enjoyment

f

sensuous

pleasures

he

be-all

and

end-all

of

life

we

must

remember

hat

the

summum

bonum of life

s

the

attainment

f the

highest

egree

of moral and

spiritual

perfection

or

which

the

religion

of

the

spirit

provides

the

best

and

safest

foundation. The crisis

through

whichwe

and

the world at

large

are

passing

is the

crisis

of character

nd not an

economic,

population

or

any

other

ype

of crisis. Our motto houldbe wealthbut notcontraryo Dharma enjoy-

tment

ut

not

contrary

o

Dharma. The

whole of

life should

revolve

round

Dharma. It

is

high

time

we turned o Manu

and

Gandhi

and

away

from

Marx.

*

(*

For

a detailed ccount

f

these

ital

gents

f

social

change,

he

attention

of the readers s

drawn o

author's

Manu,

Marx

Gandhi,

M/s

Jai Prakash

Nath

Co.,

Meerut,

967.)

indian democracy on crossroad

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