‘Rule of the People’ Editorial, The Morung Express In today’s political order, democracy as a political system constantly needs to be questioned and its origins revisited. The dominant worldview has increasingly defined democracy through a narrow framework of what is acceptable and what is not. From its Greek root, ‘democracy’ simply means ‘the rule of the people.’ Consequently, more democracy implies more power to the people, and more freedom. Most essentially, democracy is intended to a way of life. But is it? Democracy has been reduced to a process of open elections, and, in most cases, is synonymous with the State itself. These types of circumstances have increased the tension between democracy and freedom. All too often, this dilemma or reality is experienced in many parts of the world where the process of open elections have produced and re-elected governments that continue to deprive its citizens of their basic rights. In some places, elections have even paved the way for dictatorships. In such oppressive situations, the gap between democracy and liberty could not have been greater. If a country holds competitive, multi-party elections, it is called “democratic.” But, in reality it needs to go beyond this minimal requirement for a country to be labeled democratic. A government produced by free and fair elections may turn out to be inefficient, corrupt, irresponsible, and absolutely incapable of adopting public policies essential for good governance. While such a government may be detrimental, this does not necessarily make them undemocratic. Democracy, therefore, cannot be considered as the one and only public virtue. Democracy actually emerges through a process that is deeply interconnected to other public virtues which makes a shared humanity possible. If democracy is widely accepted as a process of selecting a government, it also needs to ensure that such a process is inherently related to other public virtues such a justice, freedom, inclusiveness, participation, respect and liberty. A truly democratic government needs to safeguard social, political, economic, cultural and religious rights which are contextually relevant and consistent within the broader ambit of universal rights. Democracy cannot be limited to the procedures for selecting or designing a government; it needs to honestly reflect the people’s aspirations and ensure that the approach it takes to realizing them is consistent with their ethos. Democracy that emerges in this context is vibrant and responsive as its constancy is grounded and guided by the people. As people living in the world’s largest democracy, Nagas too need to critically question why liberty is not flourishing and vibrant. This includes people questioning why power controlled by a few continues to perpetuate the abuse of power, lack of transparency, accountability and inclusive participation. Electoral politics based on family, clan, and tribe needs to be summarily rejected because they are divisive and contradictory to the foundation of participatory democracy. After all, there is no democracy without liberty!
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 06:38:04 +0000