Democratic Governance Systems Require Sabka Prayas
Sabka Prayas, meaning collective effort, may seem like another alliterative addition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s motto of
‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, but it carries much more weight than a mere slogan. It opens the discussion about the role of citizens in governance within a democracy- “governance” and “democracy” being the operative words here.
Firstly, what exactly is governance? It entails cooperation and negotiations between the government, the formal and informal institutions, public, civil society and the markets. Efforts and exercise of power by each entity exert pressure on and shape policy decisions. In other words, government is only a part of governance.
An active role of the public or citizens in governance is indicative of a robust democracy, and challenges the primitive definitions of both governance and democracy. Citizen participation in governance is a reminder that democracy is much more than the exercise of electoral rights. It reinforces the role of citizens as equal partners in development, galvanizes the wheels of a democratic system, and leads to greater accountability and transparency within the system.
Citizen participation does not mean that citizens fill the gaps left by the government, but rather, they exercise a more deliberative and participative form of democracy that pushes governments and key decision-making institutions to direct their efforts towards equitable growth and development and protect each individual’s rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, which recognizes local governments as the third tier of governance, opens avenues for citizen participation through which we all can chip in our efforts.
The local governments at the rural and urban level are the closest tier of government to the citizens, and this proximity allows citizens to push for greater transparency and accountability in their operations, take a more active role in decision-making, convey the developmental challenges at the grassroots and demand corrective action. In this way, citizens can usher progress in their own neighbourhoods and districts through their engagement in governance at the local level. At the same time, they also carry the duty of voicing the needs of those less empowered to participate in governance, so that the disadvantaged are not left behind. In other words, their democratic power also asks of them to steer development towards being more inclusive.
However, to ensure proactive citizen participation, government too has the responsibility of facilitating the channels of participation and eliminating barriers in the way. Government support is required in but not limited to these two distinct areas: empowering citizens and empowering local governments.
Government must empower citizens by expanding the provision of social goods to those who are at a disadvantaged socio-economic location, and hence, are neither capable of accessing such basic entitlements like health and education, nor empowered enough to demand for the same. The purpose is to provide them a good quality of life so that they have the freedom to make informed decisions about their life, which would also include their participation in governance.
The local governments are riddled with challenge of ineffective decentralisation, which then affects citizen participation. Research shows that the uneven distribution of power between local and state governments results in lack of autonomy and financial dependence on State and Centre on the part of local governments. Hence, it is in the hands of the government to overhaul the powers and functions of the local governments.
Today, Sabka Prayas is essential to India, not only to improve governance but also to realise the idea of a more participative democracy so that the citizens do not limit their role to exercising electoral rights.
(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India and visiting scholar, Stanford University).
