DEMOCRACY ALIVE AND KICKING IN INDIA

Much as the average Indian feels suffocated and done in by the overdose in the media of the murky goings on in the corridors of power in dealing with the tax payers money, only the truly cynical can afford to ignore the after effects of the cataclysm of corruption, nepotism and crony capitalism that is unfolding in the country. If the events of the last few are any indication, it would be safe to presume that democracy in the country is alive and kicking, notwithstanding the naysayers who have found demons hiding in the campaign against corruption launched by an almost illiterate, unknown (at least beyond the borders of Maharashtra till now) septuagenarian. And what is more, it is even kicking at the right spots trying to rid the country of the scourge that is holding back real development as against mere GDP growth. It is only natural that it will get under the skin of the corrupt. That explains a lot of the overarching concern especially among this class, for democracy being subverted by the very people of the country, who have chosen it as their system of governance. An oxymoron if ever there was one. I too do not believe that the coming of the Jan Lokpal (even if it does in the form it is proposed) will usher in Ram Rajya and transform India into a nation that could be the envy of the world for the simple reason that the corrupt are ingenious to the core slimy like the snake, they can strike and find very innovative ways to cover their tracks and disappear into the womb of the anonymous, until another opportunity offers itself for gratification. But that is no reason for us to throw our hands up and plead with the Gods to send us a wand to clear the fog of corruption from our midst. Yet the single greatest take away from the 13 day event (for the world at large) was the universally unparalleled discipline that showcased the real India, proving yet again the oft quoted fact of Indian soft power never having set foot on foreign soil to capture the world. Thousands upon thousands congregated in remote corners of the country to register their disgust at the rampaging corruption in the country, and yet, not a stone was thrown, no individual hurt, nor property damaged. An eye opener to the rest of the world that there is more to development than mere high rises and even higher incomes; that fights against injustice can still be fought without resort to arms, that people power is best exercised without the by now customary flexing of muscles. But we cannot say that it will always remain the same. Keeping in view the situations of current scenario there is reason to hope that India will fare better in 2012 through which we can justify that Indian democracy is not always kicking. I would rather say Indian democracy is alive and well.For one, much of the political storms have blown over - scams, Anna Hazare, it al. They may not have dissipated completely, but their initial debilitating impact has lessened. For another, the country has been fortunate that it hasn't faced any major Pakistan-inspired terrorist attack in the recent past. Perhaps, Islamabad's mounting problems have induced a rethink. What is more, even the Maoist insurgency is far less threatening today than in the time when scores of

security personnel were being killed in ambushes. The edge seems to have been taking off, therefore, of two grave challenges to the Indian state - one external and the other internal. There is little doubt that if the economy can recover its earlier 8 to 9 percent growth rate and there is not so much dispiriting talk by businessmen of investing abroad, India will be back on track. All that will remain is for the country, and the government, to mull over why the situation went so badly wrong, for 2011 was undoubtedly the worse year for the government in the last seven years that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has been in power. Ironically, what went wrong were the two factors which were earlier hailed as the defining features of a new era of politics. One was the assumption that the country had entered a period when coalitions will be the order of the day. The other was the belief that the neat division of authority between Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi with the prime minister running the government and the Congress president looking after the party had finally solved the crippling diarchy which other prime ministers had faced. It is strange that the negativism of this previously acclaimed dual authority complicated coalitional politics because of the excessive leeway given by the prime minister to a cabinet colleague A. Raja presumably because the Congress president did not want the DMK withdrawing support, as the Left did, in 2008. As Manmohan Singh explained after Raja's incarceration under orders from the Supreme Court, the reason why the government dilly-dallied about bringing him to book was the fear of another election at the national level. Yet, when the assembly elections were finally held in Tamil Nadu, both the Congress and the DMK received a severe drubbing because the electorate was not amused by the patent compromise with malfeasance. Unfortunately, the same hesitancy to act against a troublesome ally was evident in the government's retreat on allowing foreign investment in the retail sector following opposition from Mamata Banerjee. She has threatened to hold up several other reforms as well, such as the one on pension funds, because she is aware of the special status she has acquired in the political field by triumphantly ending Left's three-decade-old rule in West Bengal. But, she may be undermining her own position by outdoing the comrades in her quest to be the heroine of socialism. As in the cases of Raja and Mamata, the government didn't seem to know how to assert itself when it came to dealing with Anna Hazare till his 'flop show' in Mumbai signalled the fizzling out of his anti-corruption campaign. But the reason why the government had been at its wit's end earlier in dealing with him - oscillating between either inviting him to jointly frame the Lokpal bill with ministers, or arresting him, or hailing him as a crusader after releasing him - was that there was apparently no one in the government or the party with acute political instincts or wide popular

appeal like Indira Gandhi before the Emergency or Rajiv Gandhi before the Bofors scandal. Curiously, Manmohan Singh's personal integrity could have helped him counter Anna's simpleminded, rabble-rousing tactics much earlier. But the prime minister is seen as someone who is remote-controlled by Sonia Gandhi. This impression of Manmohan Singh's helplessness has been strengthened by his failure to push through the economic reforms. But all is not lost. The Lokpal bill has passed through the Lok Sabha, though not in the form which the Congress may have wanted. Other important bills are on the anvil. Rahul Gandhi's support for FDI in retail suggests that reforms will be back on track. There is reason for the country, therefore, to look forward to a better tomorrow. A main reason for hope, however, was the manner in which parliament met till late at night to consider the Lokpal bill while, at the same time, the attempt by Anna's supporters to pressurize the house by organizing a rally in Mumbai failed. The contrast between an animated Lok Sabha and the emptiness of the meeting site in Mumbai confirmed that for all its flaws, Indian democracy remains alive and well.