Editorial

Persevering against all odds

Freedom of choice lies at the heart of the general election that is currently underway in India. By the middle of May an electorate of some 714 million will have approved the selection of 543 MPs to represent them in the lower house of parliament for the next five years. Any electoral exercise can be demanding, but an election of this magnitude in a country of India's size is daunting to say the least. It is important, however, to recognise at the outset that this is for Indians a valid and defining experience. Whether any political party emerges with a clear majority, whether voters are offered clear alternatives between left wing and right wing social programmes, the mere fact of the election taking place is in itself a mighty achievement. Once it is concluded Indians from all backgrounds can take satisfaction that political change has been effected without the encouraging nudge of whip, bayonet or bomb.

Thus the election itself is some guarantee of social peace for the immediate, foreseeable future. Those who actively seek political change, be they naxalites, disgruntled regional movements, revolutionary Hindus or Muslims, know they have another chance in the future to win sanction for the ideas they espouse. It is that tangible reality, however distant, that has until now blocked the way of extremists, whether of a religious or social hue, who believe that progress can be achieved only by first destroying everything that has gone before. Some analysts question the very legitimacy of India's political system, pointing to the endemic corruption, human rights abuses, poverty and personal fiefdoms that are allowed to flourish in the world's largest democracy. The political success and ambitions of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty are repeatedly trotted out as proof that India is nothing more than a cleverly disguised monarchy. Some of these critiques have a valid point to make, but they are not necessarily true in every respect. The point to remember is that there is no perfect democracy and the Indian version has its limitations, just like the democracies of other countries.

There are Americans still alive in their prime, for example, who remember how their country's democracy was a sham because it did not give equal rights to black citizens. Barack Obama's election last year is seen as proof that equal rights finally do flourish in America. Yet less than 50 years ago the idea of a black man making it to the White House, let alone the U.S. Senate, would have been ridiculed. Remember Martin Luther King's Freedom Marches that ended with King himself being shot dead by a white extremist? Likewise in the UK, the world's oldest democracy and home to the mother of parliaments, considerations of class played a significant role in electoral politics until the advent of World War Two. Rotten boroughs that were drawn up for the convenience of electing equally rotten members of parliament were part and parcel of political life until the earlier part of the 20th century. To this day the unelected British monarch has residual constitutional powers and privileges that are not consistent with democratic tradition. As for racial discrimination and the role it played in so-called democratic politics, the less said the better. Racial paranoia was part and parcel of British democracy long after the war ended. Indeed, it was only after the country's major political parties embraced policies of positive discrimination that more MPs started to be elected from the disadvantaged ethnic minorities.

Those who moan about the fragile, lopsided and undeserving aspects of Indian democracy should first ask Indian voters if they would prefer another system. Then they should cast their eyes on the other countries of South Asia and beyond and ask which of them has a better political lesson to sell. China may come to mind because of its economic success, but that success has been exacted at a terrible price with tens of millions killed for the sake of the communist revolution and the 'rewards' that followed in its aftermath. India, for all its faults and excesses, is both different and unique. At this stage of its political history, it deserves to be congratulated for persevering against all odds and continuing to strive for a better quality of life for its people. Despite the cynics, there is still ample justification to invoke three cheers for Indian democracy.

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