Dance of Democracy – Matured Indian Voters
-RAMESH CHANDER
(SAMAJ WEEKLY)- I wrote about the wonders of Indian democracy a couple of times earlier in my blogs. In the process of getting mature over the years, Indian democracy has further thrown some more wonders in the just concluded Elections 2024. Let us pick up some of them with a view to analysis the resultant outcome; particularly with regard to the weaker sections of the society, minorities and the core values of the Indian constitution – Equality, Liberty, Fraternity and Secularism.
Before I begin, I will register here that it is a matter of gratification that ‘Indian democracy has come of age’. I said many a times in my blogs, discussions, and discourses that ‘India is India only because of its constitution’. It has been amply proved in spite of many jerks and challenges on the journey to ‘tryst with destiny’ as stated by Jawaharlal Nehru. It has further justified the fears and apprehensions expressed by Babasaheb Ambedkar to safe guard our hard earned independence – hero-worship leading to dictatorship, placing self-interests above the national interests, adopting unconstitutional methods resulting in ‘Grammar of Anarchy’, transforming political democracy into social and economic democracy among others. I would try to list here my personal views on the emerging scenario not as a political analyst or an expert but as an ordinary citizen and humble stakeholder.
The mandate of Elections 2024 is many folds – with political, social, economic and even cultural message to all the political outfits and the incoming rulers of the country. Political: ‘We the people of India that is Bharat’ completely reject and negate dictatorial tendencies in the polity and support democratic discourse and accommodation; Social: We reject the agenda of religious polarization and communalism; Economic: We tend to support democratic socialism over capitalistic hegemony with well-defined and managed social securities and affirmative action to empower and up-lift socially and economically weaker segments of the society; Cultural: We want social harmony with fraternity and brotherhood among people in accordance with secular and inclusive orientation.
The festival of democracy; the Elections 2024 has underlined some of the basic facts and needs to sustain and keep ourselves on track in the journey with the sense that ‘we have come a long way but we are still to go a long way’ – We might have arrived but are still to reach. The drums of the dance of democracy have gone silent. The Aam Aadami (Common man) has shown the way as Ira Pande wrote in her write up in the Tribune of June 9, “Finally, a salute to the aam aadmi, the common Indian, who is really the hero of this verdict. Overlooked, despised and dismissed as foolish and illiterate, he has more wisdom in his little finger than all those psephologists who only crunched numbers, and those reporters who thought they had the elections on their plate as they ate and chatted with citizens who spoke fluent English or Hindi.” Let us list some of the visible indicators in this regard:-
Federal State – India shall remain a ‘Union of States’ as stipulated in the constitution. People have strengthened regional political outfits like TMC, DMK, TDP, SP, JDU, NCP, Shiv Senas among others in their respective regions. The BJP government of PM Narendra Modi tried to concentrate powers at Delhi. It has backfired. The States of Bharat shall have more autonomy and financial muscle. Our constitution is a unique and wonderful document with provisions to have “federal state with unitary bias”. The separatist demands of radical elements in Punjab and others in other areas would sub-due in the process. I would tend to agree with Harcharan Bains who commenting on the radicalism wrote in the Hindustan Times, “Instead of seeing radicalism through an alarmist-nationalist prism, it is better regarded as a sub-conscious call for dignified accommodation through legitimate democratic decentralization.” India is Bharat and Bharat is India. There is no need to flag these things for narrow politico-communal agenda.
Religious polarization – The uncalled for and undesirable attempts to have religious polarization both by the hardcore Hindu majority and also the largest minority of Muslims have further complicated the scene. Though, it seems, people have rejected these efforts yet it has given chance to have yet another kind of polarization – caste based one that is SC, ST and OBC and even Muslims joining hands against the majority Hindus. The new assertion of Samajwadi Party formulated the social approach as PDA – Pichhde – Dalit – Alapsankhyak (Backwards, Dalits and Minorities) which make lot of sense. One of the major failures of our polity has been that we could not have political polarization on the basis of ideology, agenda and programme which has resulted in Aya Ram and Gya Ram syndrome. Politicos tend to shift here and their without any logic just to cater to their selfish interests. It is a negation of democracy. I think, people are not oblivious of these unhealthy trends. Elections results in Faizabad and Jalandhar and else where have registered the resentment of people against religious polarization and shifting political loyalties mid-stream.
Reservations – It has been registered beyond doubt that reservation for SCs and STs and also for OBCs is going to stay. No party can stop even dilute these provisions even if they want to do so as their narrow 
agenda. This is a high point of the dance of democracy as Babu Kanshi Ram said “Vote Hamara Raj Tumara Nahin Chalega”. Dalit voters are becoming aware of the ground realities. The old order of dalit leaders is fading out giving way to young brigade of new leaders like Chandershekhar Azad of Nagina, Sanjna Jatav of Bharatpur, Shambhavi Chaudhary of Samastipur among others. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s lofty vision – Educate; Agitate; Organise is taking effect. Dalits are increasingly getting educated. They have started agitating for their due and rightful space in the polity and society. The third prop of the preposition that is ‘Organise’ is yet to come about. Dalit youth need to understand this: Divided we Fall and United we Stand.
Constitution – We have a dynamic constitution made under the visionary leadership of Babasaheb Ambedkar and others. It has proved itself over the years – in 1964, it answered the question ‘who after Nehru’; it upheld the system after PM Lal Bahadur Shastri’s sudden death abroad in 1966; it carried the 
burden of emergency in 1975 imposed by PM Indira Gandhi and smoothly brought in the change through democratic switch over under PM Morarji Desai; it mandated democratically Indira Gandhi again in 1980-81; it faced the after-math of mindless violence eliminating to of our PMs – Indira and Rajiv, it witnessed the unfortunate happenings of Blue Star action on Sri Darbar Sahib in Amritsar and also sad and condemnable happenings involving the Sikh community in Delhi and other places in 1984 in the wake of assassination of PM Indira Gandhi; withstood the after math of Mandal Commission among other important and telling events like the Babri Masjid- Ram Janam Bhoomi issue in the process. India faced foreign challenges on and across borders. We the people of India prevailed as a united India. It could be done only because of the constitution. It is a clear message of the Election 2024, nobody should try to change the constitution and its lofty fundamentals – Equality, Justice, Liberty and Fraternity. Political class must understand this; sooner the better.
Coalition Governments – The ground realities of multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-lingual society have surfaced in the natural process of political evolution. There is nothing to worry about. 
Fortunately enough for us our fore fathers and constitution makers led by Babasaheb Ambedkar were not oblivious of these aspects of the polity and society. Our constitutional framework is fully geared to handle and live with the emerging situations. It seems, the days of so called ‘stable governments’ with radical and fundamentalist agenda have gone giving way to ‘functional governments’ with consensual and pragmatic approaches to govern. We need, as Babu Kanshi Ram asserted “Majboor Sarkar not Majboot Sarkar” to carry forward the agenda of the depressed and marginalized segments of the society. There is no difficulty in this as under this premise, Majboor Sarkar means that the vested interests in the system of ‘graded inequality’ should not be given unbridled powers to neglect and ignore the interests of the underdog. Let the coalition governments function with a sense of carrying along all as PM Narendra Modi said “Sab Ka Sath; Sab Ka Vikas; Sab Ka Biswas”. These coalition governments would be an appropriate instrument to carry forward the policy of accommodation with fair play – Jis Ki Jitni Sankhya Bhari Utni Us Ki Hisedari. This approach would end the exploitation and high-handedness of the vested interest.
All said and done, let me conclude this long piece. The coalition government of NDA under the leadership of BJP is being formed in terms of the mandate of the Elections 2024. The dance of democracy will also halt on June 9 with the swearing in of the new government under the stewardship of PM Narendra Modi and the country will look forward to prepare itself to face the challenges of the future. I only hope that the ruling dispensation has understood the message of the people as PM designate Narendra Modi said at the NDA meeting, “A bahumat (majority) is necessary to run a government. That is the only principle of democracy. But sarvmat (consensus) is very important to run the country. With this I wish all success to NDA – New India; Developed India; Aspiration India as termed by PM designate Narendra Modi. I wish the developed India also remains a democratic India and fraternal (Samras) India to remain on rails in the years to come. We need to contemplate and learn from the poetic assertion of Allma Iqbal to transform our democracy from political democracy to social and economic democracy as visualized by Babasaheb Ambedkar.
मस्जिद तो बना दी शब भर में ईमान की हरारत वालों ने
मन अपना पुराना पापी है, बरसों में नमाजी बनने न सका
(हालांकि मस्जिद मोमिनों ने रातों रात बना दी थी
हमारा दिल बरसों से पुराना पापी है इबादत करने वालों को नहीं बनाया जा सका)
इकबाल एक उपदेशक है, मन बातों में मोह लेता है
गुफ्तार का ये गाजी तो बना, किरदार का गाजी न बन सका
(इकबाल एक अच्छा सलाहकार है, पलों में दिल को मोह लेता है
बातों में तो वह हीरो बन गया, लेकिन कामों में वह एक नहीं हो सका।)
