Acharya Tulsi
There are many forms of government prevalent in the world. Chief among them are the royal form, the republican form, the dictatorial form and the democratic form. Which form of government is the best among them? This question cannot be answered in an absolute sense. There are some good points as well as some shortcomings in every form of government. No form of government has proved itself to be good from all points of view. Nevertheless, in the percentage, the trend seems to be in favour of the democratic form of government. Most of the countries in the world are under democratic rule. Where democracy does not exist, people are dreaming of it. This means that compared to other systems, people have a strong inclination towards democracy.
There are many reasons why democracy is superior to other political systems. The important thing is that in a democracy, every individual stands a chance of rising to the top. In other systems, whether they have the tradition of collective leadership or individual leadership it is not possible to imagine that every individual could make his way to the top. Under an autocratic and dictatorial rule, any one raising his voice against the establishment cannot live without worry. History shows that such a person has to prepare himself to suffer all kinds of tortures or death punishment. Where as in a democracy even the President or the Prime Minister could be put in the docks. An autocratic rule cannot have the same scope for fulfilling people's aspiration as in a democratic rule.
Why Has Democracy Failed?
It is a matter of concern that in spite of the benefit that could possibly result from a democratic system, it is not a real success. If we examine the factors responsible for the failure of democracy, we can present a long list. But would it really do any good? Even the little faith people still have in democracy would be shattered. My own view is that no system, no mantra, no device could be successful as long as man does not become a good human being. An administrator is a human being. His administration would show signs of perversity to the extent that he resorts to immoral practices. It is futile to conceive of a healthy society or a healthy nation on the basis of a perverse administration.
Democracy is the best form of government, provided the people who run that government and those who elect them are the right people. Democracy guarantees freedom to write, speak and think. But this does not mean that the person concerned should become undisciplined or disorderly. In a democracy, every individual is entitled to occupy the highest seat of power. But imagine what would happen when power comes into the hands of persons devoid of strength of character and intellectual abilities?
Formula for Success of Democracy
India is a country where Bhagwan Mahavira's anekanta or the doctrine multi-faceted truth has grown and developed. Anekanta is the very basis of democracy Relativism, equality, co-existence and freedom are the constituents of anekanta. Democracy can function only on the basis of these factors. The former President of India, Dr.Radhakrishnan had said, "Today's democracy is the outcome of Bhagwan Mahavira's anekanta philosophy." If the people who believe in democracy would resort to the anekanta philosophy, there would not be doubt at all about the success of democracy.
Freedom of speech and thought is directly related to non-violence. Coercion is violence. Repression is violence. Citizens of a country can have freedom of speech and thought only when people have faith in non-violence. Democracy can function successfully when even the people indulging in open protest against the ruling power are calmly tolerated. Using the language of the bullet to suppress the protesting voice is undemocratic from all points of view. Wherever such methods are employed, democracy is ruthlessly murdered.
Backbone of Democracy
Our body is supported by the spine. Democracy functions on the basis of elections. From that point of view, elections form the backbone of democracy. The aim of elections is to elect the appropriate persons for appropriate tasks. Looking at the present day electoral process it seems that the original objective of elections has been forgotten. Instead, appropriating power by hook or by crook has become the objective. Such elections have ruined the dignity not only of the candidates, the voters and the Elections Commission, but of democracy itself.
A boy was digging the ground. His father asked him, "What are you doing?”The boy replied, "I am searching your name, father." The amazed father asked, "How would you find my name there?" The boy replied, "Father, you said yourself that I had razed your name to the ground." Can such a son ever bring glory to his father's name?
The children of democracy have treated it in the same manner. When the leaders of the country are told how they are treating democracy lightly, they keep their mouths shut. Democracy has no caste and no community. Still evil attempts are being made to link democracy with casteism and communalism. The country, in which elections are contested on the basis of caste, community and money power, would continue to make a mockery of democracy.
Need to Awaken the Sense of Resistance
It is necessary to follow a healthy electoral process in order to strengthen the roots of democracy. If the election process is wrong, the roots of democracy would go on weakening. Everyone knows that corruption in politics has taken the form of endless malady. But today, the strength to protest against this state of affairs is benumbed. There is a growing silence. It is not enough to close one's eyes and block one's ears in the face of evil. It is necessary to awaken public consciousness to fight that evil.
It was Mahatma Gandhi's view that the lack of the sense of resistance was the greatest cause of growing corruption. Ravana, after abducting Sita, was forcibly taking her in his aerial chariot. Jatayu heard Sita's wailing. He knew that it was not within his power to free Sita from the strong clutches of Ravana. But he did not want Sita to be abducted without offering some resistance. Jatayu accepted to die in his fight with Ravana and continued to fight so long as there was strength in his body.
Today, the demon of corruption is destroying humaneness, which is similar to Ravana abducting Sita. But there is no Jatayu to resist such an attempt. When people maintain silence and ignore corruption, would it not grow? Today, all political parties, officials, government and non-government machineries and the people-all feel that our electoral system is wrong. It is sullied not merely by the charges of corruption but by corruption in actual practice. Money is spent like water in order to win the elections. That is the reason why it has become an encumbrance. But no one is taking even a single step in the direction of bringing about some reforms.
One person has raised his voice this year against electoral corruption, and thereby has put everyone on the alert. People fear that even this voice would be suppressed by introducing a bill for a constitutional amendment. That is quite possible. Entrenched interests are stronger than democracy and they reign supreme. In the context of such interests, the nation, the constitution, the people and everything else is of secondary importance. If in this situation, every individual is awakened to give a fight like Jatayu and a powerful collective voice is raised against corruption and if that voice continues to be raised, the roots of democracy can be nurtured.
Qualifications for Leaders of Democracy
Democracy is caught in the mire. Its leaders want to pull it out of that mire. But they do not know how to do it. The more they try, the deeper it sinks. The reason is obvious. The leaders of democracy are not well qualified. No criteria have been fixed to qualify them for their position. Tickets for the LokSabha and the State Assemblies are obtained because of political or monetary influence or because of commitment to a particular caste or community. The voters are ensured by temptations, fear or commitment. All kinds of desirable and undesirable means are used in order to attract votes. How would appropriate persons get elected in such a situation?
There is no arrangement for the training of the people, who are at the helm of affairs to make our democracy function. Trained teachers are being selected for educating ignorant children. But neither any educational qualification nor an inborn competence is expected in those who are going to manage the affairs of the country. If values like restraint, self-discipline, tolerance and probity are accepted as the criteria of their qualification, then it is possible to change the course of the current of our age.
Purification of democracy is one of the programmes of the anuvrat movement. It has been actively engaged since 1949 in the task of installing the values of morality and righteous character in public life. Anuvrat has presented certain norms for reforming the electoral process. According to it, that person would be entitled to get votes:
- Who is honest
- Who is free from addictions
- Who is of good character
- Who is efficient
- Who is not restricted by considerations of caste of community
The nation, whose people are not awakened, cannot have a healthy political system. If democracy has to be made healthy and credible, those candidates would have to be elected who possess the qualifications mentioned above. The responsibility of their election lies with the people. Hence, it is necessary to divert the public opinion in this direction. The day the voters and the candidates would join the great battle of election on the basis of good character, democracy would be blessed with success.
