Rajiv Kumar Sangra
Democracy is the government system by the people for the people and of the people. Countrymen elect and send their representatives, their leaders to the parliament to make laws. To the countrymen one day is very important when they have a say and that’s the day of voting. As this day comes near the political contestants start making strategic statements to lure voters. Democracy in India needs thought always in all periods of time. World went through long phases of autocracy, ambitious monarchy and so history witnessed bloodshed, wars, miserable living to the normal human being. Only a few lived well and the rest of the world strived hard for a lunch and a dinner. Then Democracy emerged on the world scene which ensured equality and equal opportunities to all and so it flourished and countries over countries have been adopting this system of governance. Democracy ensures freedom to such a great level that it needs to have some teeth too. It should ensure freedom to the people but not to the elected representatives. Democracy should ensure a strict discipline and strict system for representatives to work in.
India is a country of many faiths, many castes, many languages, many colors, many communities and many kinds of living. By nature human beings are sensitive to their faiths, their area, their community, their society, their color, their dialect. In the hands of opportunists this is a tool they use to build their vote share. Those who stand in elections use divisive politics and these sentiments to cover their failures on deliverables as per their election manifesto. This deprives the voters of the freedom of choosing a right candidate. For example in a constituency only 20 % of voting happens because of no choice to the voters and one leader belonging to a particular faith goes on winning from that constituency for as many times as one can be in a life. This particular leader cleverly uses religion, caste whatever it may be and reaches to the parliament and enjoys life and pension and dispenses nothing. This leader does not think new because he does not need to, he knows the weak link and he builds his castle on that weakness of the society and on the other hand the people do not get anything better or good at least.
Sons and daughters of presidents of political parties rise to the top chair. Barring a few, almost all political parties in India are commercial establishments where strategies for growth of the party are devised and many times at the cost of the nation’s interests. Presidents are the owner’s of these business establishments. Reigns remain in the hands of a family in most of the parties and words like dynastic politics, family constituency are so frequently heard. Democracy is a casualty here. Like the kings of history, the same way these political bosses are now ruling through their political dynasties through ethical and unethical political and apolitical means. All these dynastic political parties are hugely rich and the thought process of all the members revolve around how to get richer and affair is run like a business enterprise. There are many examples in India where we find one is Chief Minister because he or she is the son or daughter of the president of the party and party is their family business and all the members support it merely for the reason they also want to lick whatever thrown their way and it is always something there. They show that they have chosen their leader democratically which is actually very far away from the facts all the time because it remains a field of career for them though all of them keep on saying that they are here for service to society but many of them do not even know what service is.
Political Leaders make their strongholds and these strong holds supply oxygen to their political careers. They are favorites there. They divert finance meant for development in other areas to their constituencies, towards the constituencies where people belonging to their faith live, where people belonging to their caste live. Development is not sent where needed but is sent to the area where money can be made out of that by the people standing down the line. This is another wound on the face of democracy.
Democracy should contain a system within where faith, caste, religion based politics cannot be done. Democracy should have a system where a party could not be converted to a business generating unit. The person who forms the party and the members has to be on the spin with no stability. Only thing that’s required to be stable is democracy. Let the sons and daughters toil for their share of success. Let no one form his or her strong hold. Let the system be strong enough that it remains a struggling point for the career minded and a vast field of opportunities for those who have service orientation. Freedom belongs to the masses and not to the one who is positioned to rule.
Political leaders lure people with freebies, and the innocent public does not know what to ask for. The only question that a person has to ask is what you are doing to strengthen the democracy of our country. They have an interest in keeping it weak because that helps their sons make a way to the top chair and that also helps them to contest from two constituencies to ensure chances anyway. They are always interested in making a law that allows them freedom, and more freedom, more authority and never we found them doing anything to restrict their feet.
We cannot afford to depend on the morality of the person to be good to be godly to us. We want to be ruled by the system and we want you, political bosses and everyone to be ruled by the system. India needs a strong democratic system and a strong democratic system would ensure a character, integrity in you and me and in everyone. The system generated honesty is a boat that can sail through every tempest and an honesty of the self is the boat in which a hole can emerge anytime.
One man from one family to contest once in life from one constituency is the formula being proposed here. No one would be allowed legally to contest the elections from the same constituency for the second time. This way no one would get the opportunity to make a stronghold. This time here in this constituency and next time in another constituency. This way goodness would spread to other areas and cleverness would die its own death. In just three terms the person would cross his neighborhood and enter into a strange zone and this zone may not have the people of his caste or religion and there it is only the work that would make a way for him to parliament or to assembly. This formula will end the family constituency or dynastic rule kind of explanations. Another thing we ask our leaders to end up with is the option of contesting from two constituencies in one election.
So next time a leader comes to our area, we need to press them for what we need. We need a law to restrict a person from contesting again and again from the same constituency and from two constituencies. One man, from one family, to contest once in life, from one constituency.
