Part 1 - Democracy Under Siege: 2024 Elections Vitriolic
This year’s elections are important for reasons that go beyond their scale – largest democracy in the world with over 900 million eligible to exercise vote. “Save Democracy” is the war cry of opposition parties, mostly led by “Dynasties”. Is “Democracy” really under threat today? Based on 1975-77 experience or lesson, none should dare to amend democracy in whatever form it is today.
Be that as it may, I.N.D.I Alliance appears to be least concerned about national level issues, more aptly national security interests. Instead of “Bharat Jodo”, they are pursuing “Bharat Todo”. Instead of national integration, the Congress Party is hell bent upon spearheading caste census as the key issue. It is with least consideration for sharing political power with the OBCs/SCs/STs.
Meanwhile, its ally the DMK is spearheading the “North-South” divide. Furthermore, local issues, main parties’ policies in accordance with local norms, the cultural context, and money and muscle power will certainly play a key role in electoral outcomes.
Add to them, the ubiquitous sustained foreign interference through disinformation spread by fake and fraud coverage beside financial aid. The role of global digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
Disinformation and fake news could affect the results, with social media cited as the leading source of disinformation, followed by messaging apps. Add to them, generative AI tools. The level of expertise required creating and disseminating fake text, imagery, audio clips, and video recordings across multiple languages will continue to plummet, without any commensurate increase in the public’s ability to identify, investigate, or debunk this media.
Today’s voters, particularly the urban young urbanites, rely on these commercial platforms to communicate and receive information about electoral processes, issues, and candidates. As a consequence, the global platforms exert a powerful sway over voter’s preference. In hindsight, ubiquitous sustained foreign interference poses a major threat to electoral integrity and, by extension, democracy: national security.
Let me broadly provide a perspective of the murky background developments of democracy in India. What “We the People of India '' got at the stroke of the midnight hour on 14/15 August 1947 was “political freedom from colonial slavery”. Alas, the First Republic based only on democracy was foisted on 26 January 1950 by a highly emotional and sentimental group of leaders over 84-88% illiterates.
Undeniably, the socio-politico-economic environment has undergone extraordinary changes – nearly 85.95% literates and majority of political leaders with criminal and corrupt records. The society, particularly the growing middle class and the BPL families have become aspirational. Majority of them consider “freebies” as their birth right guaranteed by “Welfare State” concept. Why not? After all, their elected representatives, both MPs and MLAs/MLCs, enjoy far more freebies.
In practice, real democracy was murdered from the first elections. Feudalists, more aptly neo dynasts, in pursuit of status, power and wealth have committed mayhem of democracy. Having been a pre-World War 1 born child, I distinctly recall that the diktat of the “Feudal Lords/Village Chieftains” ruled supreme even until late 1970s. What followed was "Booth Capturing and Rigging" until the late 1980s. Hamlets of Scheduled Castes were prevented from exercising their franchise by free flow of liquor. The end result was the emergence of “Neo-Maharajah’s” and “Dynastic Inheritance” propagation through the use of “Money” and “Muscle” powers.
Viewed in the above dramatically changed overall content and context, the slogan of “Save Democracy” is the worst fraud. All those invoking “Save Democracy” are congenital liars and scoundrels out to fool “We the Gullible People of India”. They must get checked for moral bankruptcy.
Next, the more I reflect the more I am convinced that “Unity in Diversity” in democracy is a mirage. India is a pluralist society: multiethnic, multicultural, multi communal, multi caste and multi class society divided vertically and horizontally. It dictates the course of its politics; or, its curse.
The drafters of the Constitution dismally failed to take cognizance of Montesquieu, who wrote in 1748, “Laws should be in relation to the climate of each country, to the quality of its soil, to its situation and extent, to the principal occupation of its natives; they should have relation to the degree of liberty which the constitution will bear, to the religion of its inhabitants, to their inclination, riches, numbers, commerce, manner and customs.” If so, democracy is least suited to India’s social chemistry ab initio.
How can a nation – society divided by Space-Age and Stone Age MAN - engulfed by 24x365 partisan political rhetoric based on ethnic, communal and caste divide ever achieve “Unity in Diversity”? Sans bias and prejudice, by conception democracy is fundamentally flawed. What was and is needed even now is political stability led by a visionary leader – enlightened despot – to chart the course of the nation on an even keel.
Perhaps, there is a need to unravel the myriad mysteries of democracy. A thorough understanding of the growth of democracy over 2500 years of mankind history is imperative. Ipso facto, democracy was idealistically conceived by sages emeritus’s world over – from Aristotle to Thomas Hobbes (social contract theory), John Locke (social contract theory considered the founding documents of liberal thought), Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and post World War II political scientists like Will Durant, Joseph Schumpeter, Robert A Dahl, John Dunn, among many others.
Democracy is meant for civilized societies based on the premises: “small states’ and “good man, good citizen, good polity and good civic virtue for the good of all”. In today’s context world over, conflicts of interests are everywhere. And, the fragility of virtue became its major threat: no morals, ethics and values. The collapse of civic virtue is real due to factions and political conflicts tormenting societies. Alongside, if people or its leaders become corrupt, then the collapse of the republic may appear a distinct possibility. How true it is today in our context! After all, Corruption is the most sinister national security threat.
Let me highlight that Socrates was anti-democracy’s first martyr. He was poisoned to death. Plato, Socrates disciple, pontificated over 2300 years ago “democracy ruins itself by excess of democracy. …Mob rule is a rough sea for the ship of state to ride; every wind of oratory stirs up the waters and deflects the course. The upshot of such a democracy is tyranny or autocracy.” Winston Churchill succinctly summed up “Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried.” George Bernard Shaw ruminated “Democracy is a system ensuring that the people are governed no better than they deserve.”
“Democracy” as the “Rule by the People” is the most despicable fraud. Schumpeter stated that ‘even in democracy people do not rule; they merely elect those who rule. Those who rule are the politicians - they raise issues and determine people’s lives.” How true it is that democracy is election by the incompetent many for appointment of the corrupt and criminal few. In 1956, H.L. Mencken stated “Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right.
As per ‘Duns Dilemma’, freedom and order cannot co-exist. For freedom, which is the main tenet of democracy, promotes anarchy, whereas order breeds tyranny. Look at the dime a dozen protests and rallies engulfing the nation 24x365.
The decay of democracy world over is, therefore, no strange phenomenon. In the past, many eminent personalities have been voicing their concern. How real is Oscar Ameringer postulation in today’s murky world of democracy: “Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn't be any inducement to go to heaven.” George Bernard Shaw stated “A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." How appropriate is Aesop's view that “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” Ernest Benn viewed “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.~
Around the world, political leaders have amassed power by weakening their parties by deceit, deception, deflection, distraction and disruption. Once in power these self centered, power maniacs corrupt democracy and entrench themselves completely.
To sum up, the real fight is between “Democracy and Dynasty”. Undeniably, corruption is the most sinister national security threat. Add to it, foreign interference through disinformation. Finally, resolution of unemployment is the real challenge to overcome what with continuing population surge and low quality of human resources.
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