Thursday, 21 March 2013

Vibrancy of a Democracy



“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.” 
                                                     -JRR Tolkein

When Obama has come to India he mentioned India has one of the world’s largest democracies because of its three reasons
  •          Elections conducted in a fair manner
  •          Judiciary and justice delivery mechanism
  •          And Free Press

I am sure the time is apt to say the foundations of all need to be strengthened.

To conduct elections  without any illegitimate mechanisms, money and muscle power.
The judiciary and its abilty to give justice in a speedy ,and to all sections of the society in a easy manner.
The media to be able to ask any question fearlessly and not for TRP monerging  as its moral duty.

My attention to the democracratic aspect has been also drawn more to the history of non violent protests in India be it an anna haraze ,a narmada bachav andolan,many ganga bachav protests ,a mamta banergee fast at singur ,and also a protest by Iron Sharmila in Manipur .

History has been very indicative that the no. of non-violent protest have had far lesser  impact to the people in power in terms of any change in policy making or to the cause of protest.So what are the means of making oneself heard and changes brought about?  Are violent protests (Naxalism)an answer?

The depth and reach of the questions that can be  asked , and are asked by the media  to the representatives of the democracy (politicians) and are responded to by them in a honest and convincing manner is an indicator of the vibrancy of a democracy.

The fearlessness of the questionnaire and the magnanimity of the person who responds to it , makes the vibrancy of a democracy.

It is not about,  the media bashes ,  its about how much honest the discussion is on both sides.

No comments:

Post a Comment