With the elections over and the legislators in place, the machinery is ready to run and deliver. Now here comes the crucial question. Does the machinery work by itself ? The answer is yes. It works by itself but only for itself and the machinery has to be worked by the people if it is to work for the people, writes Prof. H C Pande
“I am tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn’t work.
Of course it doesn’t work.
You are supposed to work it.”
…..Woollcott.
Let us add……YOU HAVE TO WORK YOURSELF AS WELL.
India, without doubt, is the biggest democracy in the world. It is also definitely, the dumbest democracy. The population of over a billion apparently is convinced that once they have elected their representatives via free and fair elections, their duty is over and done with, and, now it is the responsibility of the democratic government in place, to take care of all their needs from the cradle to the grave, and further, that democracy or the democratic mode of governance is limited to the right of the ruled to elect their rulers. This understanding misses the concept of democracy by at least a mile. There are no rulers to be elected by the people but only a team to be selected to work, for, and, with, them to carry out the task of governance. People are the rulers and the selected are the workforce. Casting the vote is, in fact, just the first step, initiating the process of putting together the machinery of governance.
With the elections over and the legislators in place, the machinery is ready to run and deliver. Now here comes the crucial question. Does the machinery work by itself ? The answer is yes. It works by itself but only for itself and the machinery has to be worked by the people if it is to work for the people.
Very simply put it means you may buy a great automobile and hire the most competent chauffeur still you have to tell him where to take you.Further you have to keep a constant watch to see that he takes you there by the shortest route,does not violate the traffic rules ,does not over-speed,does not go crashing through red lights and does not park the auto in ‘No Parking’ zones.Not only that you have to be vigilant to prevent any pilferage of petrol and ensure that the vehicle is not used for other purposes when you are not looking.This is quite a tall order no doubt but it is the price that the people have to pay for successful democratic governance.
First of all we do not even take the trouble to examine if the political,administrative and legal system with its built-in,inertia and inefficiency meets the rapid development needs of the nation.Continuing with the legacy of the imperial rule,which was concerned more with control than with development of the country,is inexplicable.It is like possessing an unaffordable,gasoline guzzling,luxury automobile,meant to fly on highways,for use on rural roads.
At election time,we refuse to assess the credibility of the promises made by the candidate seeking our vote,or,dig into his past performance but just vote in a mechanical manner.This is akin to hiring a chauffeur without finding out if he has a forged Driver’s license or has been ever ticketed for road accidents.
Having compounded the folly of taking over a posh car,by hiring a chauffeur of doubtful antecedents,we further decide that we are there to just for the ride and not bother to lend a hand if the car gets stuck in the mud,or turn off the air conditioning if running out of petrol.Our sole aim
is to enjoy a relaxing,smooth travel and reach the destination,well in time.
What a pipe dream!
To top it all,when we keep having accidents,flat tyres,run out of fuel and get stuck on the way,we blame everyone except ourselves.But who chose the vehicle,recruited the driver,or,refused to move a muscle when stuck ? YOU and ME.
The whole trouble is that we do not want to take any trouble,not even for our own betterment.
Well,democracy is not for the dumb.
(Prof. H C Pande is Vice Chancellor Emeritus , BITS, Mesra)
