The AAP vision document, wants the police to be “directly accountable to the local people”, that the “Mohalla Sabha should have authority” over the police station. The actions of Bharti tell us how dangerous this seemingly democratic proposal can be in a country where, as Ambedkar warned, the village and the mohalla continue to host the most dangerous ideologies of caste, patriarchy and various other prejudices. Seen in the light of the AAP’s own vision document, it appears that Bharti was wrong only insofar as his racism was concerned. Yet, for many, the hollowing out of the rule of law that this vision of direct democracy demands will perhaps be far more dangerous.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 08:59:45 +0000