Politics of Socialism did not work
India had adopted a constitution that pronounced India as a democratic country when it obtained independence from the British rulers in 1947. For nearly three decades after independence, it was ruled by one party, Congress, with absolute majority both at the state levels and national level. Since that party was fully involved in liberation struggle. people felt that it had a legitimacy to govern India. There was no effective opposition those days. The democratic Indian government adopted socialistic philosophy and had state control virtually everything that affected our lives. We could see corruption and inefficiency at all levels of governance. The rigid caste system and corrupt bureaucrats added fuel to the growth of above traits in India. Poor became poorer and rich became richer, irrespective contrary intents of the government controls.
Coalition Politics with power as motive did not work
Above conditions provided opportunities to regional parties to grow and they started capturing power in the states. Even, at the national level, anti-Congressism started taking roots. Coalition governments were formed to deny Congress the right to rule eternally. However, these experiments still depended on Congress’s support from outside. These coalitions could not last their terms because of contradictions within and thanks to Congress’s withdrawal of support.
Politics without direction did not work
Congress came to power again as there was no other alternative. Sympathy waves after sudden deaths of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi worked in favor of Congress and allowed them to form successive governments. The Congress government led by Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister was a minority government. That government lasted full term through manipulations by ‘Chanakya’ Narasimha Rao. The silver lining during his regime was economic liberalization. Congress became weak without a strong leadership during Narasimha Rao period. Congress could not come back to power in the next election.
Politics of caste, regional and religious divide did not work
The divisive policies and “party with a difference” slogan of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) caught the imagination of the electorates and brought them to power next. Electorates wanted a fresh breath of air in Indian Politics and believed BJP could bring in. BJP managed a coalition for nearly six years. The liberalization process took further steam. BJP had its own agenda, but moderated by its coalition partners during its regime. With booming economy with over 7% GDP, BJP was hopeful of forming government on its own in the next election. Its wishes did not fructify. BJP lost lot of allies due to its divisive policies. BJP also did not paint a clean image of itself. It could not get a clear majority It also could not get the support of regional parties and left parties that were inimical to the divisive policies of BJP. It was forced to sit in the opposition though it had more number of seats than Congress. Congress formed a coalition government. A technocrat was nominated as Prime Minister who had no political base. Yes. Manmohan Singh became the PM. He had the full backing of his political boss. He was shielded from the political vagaries. The government lasted full term, though Left Parties withdrew outside support on US-India nuclear pact. The government survived on compromises. With all the constraints, people perceived that he delivered mostly on his promises.
Indian Democracy is maturing!
The current mandate, of elections 2009, had surprising result. Many political pundits and pollsters were proved wrong. People gave massive mandate to Congress, through short of simple majority. When compared to other government formations, this mandate shows that Indian Democracy is maturing well.
Following are the considerations to prove this theory:
- Good governance at centre and states were rewarded. Bad ones were punished.
- Caste and religion based parties are losing their importance after some hoopla.
- Regional parties with only few seats can no longer hijack the policies of the government. Regional parties had always local interests in mind, when considering issues of national importance.
- The current electorate is more informed and watchful of their political leaders. When there were as many PM candidates as political parties, the electorates were not confused.
- The election process has also improved enormously to provide a fair and level playing field to all contestants. Voters list discrepancies, bogus voting, booth capturing, election malpractices, election violence have diminished considerably. Our election commission is doing commendable job.
- Electoral voting percentage is slowly creeping up ensuring more representative government.
Only those who has lived in a democratic and a non-democratic society can appreciate the benefits of democracy. I can really vouch for it, since I lived in both. Let Indian Democracy mature further to provide a leading light in the region.
