Governance Can Be Let Go Only At Our Peril..!
Decisions confronting the new leadership of the country when India gained Independence would not have been easy. There was a lot of idealism and spirit of sacrifice but very little experience in ruling a country which by any standards was a governance nightmare and remains true even today. However one needs to credit the leadership of the time which took us towards democracy and becoming a republic. We adopted our Preamble and the Constitution which for all intents and purposes was a very well drafted document considering that we were a poor country, largely rural, number of linguistic differences as well as religions.
Like other democracies it also relied on the four pillars of democracy ie the Legislature (which is the representation of the people duly elected), the executive,an independent judiciary and a fair as well as independent Media. Each of these pillars have to work in unison to have successful governance. It has worked successfully for over 70 years but the idealism has since dimmed and with changing times any document or for that matter attitudes require change. However the principle of governance stands and more important today than ever, which is what needs reinforcement as well as preservation.
An independent judiciary and a free as well as fair media are the major pillars of governance for any democracy let alone ours but they are not the only one's but let's talk about the others later. The judiciary has played a major part in upholding the tenets of the constitution even in the face of grave provocation. It's probably the only institution which is considered a fair arbiter in the face of conflicting issues the country faces and probably the only institution specially the Supreme Court which the politicians listen too. Media being the fourth pillar of democracy has been the other upholder, specially where they have been unbiased as well as fair, of the constitution. It's only because of them that India with its multifaceted cultural as well as religious differences has been able to stand out as a functioning and tolerant democracy. There have been provocations as well as problems but we have faced them. Therefore the primary need is to protect and enhance the significance of these institutions. With idealism on the wane, individualism combined with money power are a grave threat but therefore we cannot let our guard down.
Our legislature too is designed in a manner such that there is representation from all categories of the populace. It is the government of the people elected by the people. Our executive is chosen from within the elected representatives along with the administrative cadre which I must say is the legacy of the British. It has held up well though in our extenuating circumstances. Just like any other system of checks and balances, there are built in safe guards with some institutions having independent powers like the Election Commission, other regulatory bodies and parliamentary committees which are supposed to be non partisan to a have an apposing point of view. There now is need to strengthen these governance structures as rising influence of money power has rendered some of them complicit. If strengthening means more regulation then so be it but more important is the realisation that these governance structures are our bedrock of existence.
India should be the nation the world will look up to not only for its economic prowess but also its social as well as religious harmony which is rare today. I heard His highness the Dalai Lama on TV yesterday whose view was that with environmental concerns as well as the current virus emergency, the World needs to realise that human beings are one and are not divided by national boundaries. It is such a world India can lead with its compassion as well as knowledge.It however needs to strengthen itself and the governance structures it has built for itself. '
