Democracy is basically where the masses are given the authority to choose the one who govern them and the way they want to be governed.The concern and ethos of Democracy would influence the masses highly ,as the are the masters of their will and choose collectively.But there is also a saying that “the right government will only apply to the rightly conditioned population”.
The right to vote constitutes the backbone of democracy,for it’s the people that are meant to govern,so the myth goes!
In the real world however,voting has become the ticket to power, that only a select few can enjoy, citizens on the other hand are mislead to believe that the chosen ‘elected few’ are esteemed pillars in society and have the ability to govern the nation wisely, another fairytale indeed.
Vote must not be too cheap where you cannot make a difference between a murder accused and an educationist..
A progressive company would never risk appointing a director unless that person was experienced and qualified for the job at hand.Equally neither would any sensible person would allow someone to operate on him or her unless that person was a professional doctor .Not so in parliament!
In fact anyone can be a politician and become a member of parliament without any qualifications at all.There is no criterion to assess political party candidate’s before being elected into office ..
In India membership to the party has become part of life driven by blind ideology.consequently, free thinking is undermined and replaced by a society dominated by party -drones who are willing to follow the party line without questioning.Party whips are there to make sure members do not to deviate from the party line.if not,they are ousted..
Plato considered Democracy, A political system of unequals that breeds corruption and nepotism,in fact the Athenian democracy excluded the Right to vote to a non Athenian citizens ,women and slaves contrary to the principle of majority rule.
Accepted world wide as the best government democracy needs a definite mindset and a social basis to work.As Hitler put it ‘’Democracy is a Fantasy that at the end of the day is a Falacy’’
According to a research by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) A candidate facing criminal cases has higher chance of winning than a clean candidate.Facing a criminal case, or cases, even when charges have been framed in the court, is hardly a handicap for candidates fighting general elections. On the contrary, a candidate facing criminal cases has higher chance of winning than a clean candidate.
In the 2019 parliamentary elections the two biggest parties in a race BJP and Congress have 40% and 39% candidates charged with murder or rape.The proportion is above 50% for some political parties.
Almost one in every five candidates contesting in the 2019 general elections is accused of committing a heinous crime, according to independent analysis done by (ADR) Association for Democratic Reforms..
Everyone, including voters and political parties, need to think why people with criminal cases are given tickets.
India’s enforcement agencies have so far seized cash, liquor, drugs, gold and other contraband worth Rs 3,400 crore ($484 million) as politicians try to win over voters. This is the reality which cannot be denied..by money and muscle power you can buy the vote in India ultimately it kills the real spirit of Democracy..
India’s law bars a person convicted of any offense and sentenced to an imprisonment of two years or more from fighting elections. Those facing charges are free to run as the over-burdened judicial system can take decades to resolve a case..
Does this mean voters have no problem with candidates with criminal cases even when they are accused of heinous crimes?
Yes If voters have any problem than Pragya Singh Thakur murder accused out on bail despite facing accusations of her involvement in a series of bombings in 2008 that left six people dead must not have been dreaming to enter parliament.While the minority of the voters are not in favour of voting for candidates with criminal backgrounds, majority seems to be bound by caste and religious beliefs.Religion is the opium of masses,Karl Marx is proved to be relevant in india still..
Infact Pragya Thakur’s entry into parliament is the blot on democracy and shocked the whole country,how can a candidate wins even after justifying the murderer of the father of Nation Nathu Ram Godse as patriot and calls him a hero..A parliamentarian out on bail who is facing serious charges of murder will now frame laws for the country,seeing such criminals to entering into parliament only one question terrified me, why vote is too much cheap where one cannot differentiate between a criminal and an educationist who reforms the whole educational system of Government schools of Delhi in few years ,has been shown exist to enter into parliament. Criminal background seems to be compulsory if you are thinking to join politics in India..
Last September, the Supreme Court of India even asked parliament to clean its house by adopting a law that would block the entry of people facing serious charges.
There’s no law in India to make political parties drop tainted candidates..
The majority of uneducated class are present in partially or underdeveloped areas and majority of them lack basic living conditions. This creates a hysteria driven by needs. This is capitalizing bait for the self centered leaders who feed the hysteria by making the promises which they do not fulfil which keeps their vote bank in check.A terribly deprived and needy class will always rely and put faith in power which is an assurance for fulfillment of their needs..
Since India is developing nation even the people are yet to go through the transitional phase to understand democracy better.A country with a population over 1.3 billion should understand what holds them together and should understand what is there moral obligation towards their country..
Rabindernath Tagore had rightly quoted
“ I would prefer to die but will never allow patriotism and Nationalism to overcome Humanity”..is India ready for Democracy yet?
The fountain Principles of democracy is socialism,secularism ,assurance of justice .In Democracy state must be neither religious nor anti religious but it should treat all religions at par,not by glorifying and adopting the Hindu Rashtriya as a state religion..
The writer is columnist and can be reached at wanimudasir@gmail.com
