tomazinho
2005-08-09 07:36:45 UTC
Democracy
In a multi party system
?Tomazinho Cardozo
Democracy is the best form of governance because it is the people who posses
the power of deciding who their rulers should be. A genuine democracy,
therefore, is an active and progressive force responsive to the will of the
people. Accordingly, the successful working of democracy will depend on the
intelligence, interest and civic sense of its citizens. Is it, therefore,
possible to create such citizens in a thickly populated and a semi-literate
country like India? Is it not atleast possible to have genuine democracy in a
small state like Goa in which the population is low and the literacy rate very
high?
In our daily lives, we have the habit of blaming politicians for anything and
everything, good or bad, that takes place in our society. Democracy and
democratically-run governments can be a boon for the development of the
society provided each and every citizen acquires a high degree of civic sense.
This requires self-control and devotion to any common cause. People should be
prepared to sink minor differences and co-operate for the general good of the
society. In other words a give-and-take attitude will go a long way in
establishing an ideal democracy.
The multi-party democratic system followed in our country is yet another
disadvantage to impose the will of the majority. When there are more than two
political parties, it becomes difficult to get more than 50% votes in an
election. As the votes are distributed among numerous parties, all parties
poll less than 50% of votes and are able to form the Government. In fact, a
democratically elected government should have been a government elected by a
majority of the people. This does not happen in our country and we, in the
name of democracy, are ruled by a government elected by a minority. The
present trend of coalition governments is still worse. We have discussed this
earlier and hence I would not like to comment on it again. I think our
democracy can be an example to others if our political leaders, leaving aside
all their selfish interests, are courageous enough to turn to a two party
system.
I will not hesitate to say that the present democratic form in our country
encourages communalism. The irony of the situation is that even the political
parties swearing in the name of secularism field a Hindu candidate in a
constituency dominated by Hindus, a Muslim candidate in a constituency
dominated by Muslims, a Christian candidate in a constituency having a
majority of Christians, so on and so forth. These being the facts, in what way
are our leaders promoting secularism? The system also indirectly advocates the
evils of caste and creed in our society. Otherwise how can one explain the
concept of fielding candidates from the Bhandari community, the Saraswat
community, etc. etc. in the constituencies having a sizeable population of
these communities? Organization of elections is the first step for the
formation of the democratic government. It is unfortunate to observe that the
process of elections, the very foundation of our democratic set up, is
corrupted with communalism and casteism.
In the present times politicians have the tendency to make politics a gainful
profession. Gone are the days when politics was pure social service.
Extravagant expenditure in the day to day administration, including the
facilities to the legislators, has become a way of political living. Can a
poor country like India afford these luxuries? Interference of elected
representatives in each and every aspect of administration has rendered the
bureaucracy practically ineffective. Many a time laws are bent as per the
wishes of the elected representatives to suit their vested interests. Party
organizations exercise undue influence on the government and create lot of
tensions in various communities in our country. This is what today?s democracy
contributes to the development of our society.
The concept of democracy is good. It is an ideal system of governance. But
instead of using it for the betterment of the people it is being misused for
self ? development. It is not easy to remedy the situation. Even the developed
countries have not achieved that much maturity in politics. But a beginning
has to be made somewhere. The major question is whether we are electing the
right people for the right posts. The candid answer is no. This is because of
our party affiliations. We vote for the party without considering the
character of the person for whom we vote. This trend has to be changed. Past
services to the society and the character of the candidate should be the prime
factor to be considered before casting our precious vote. Then only honest and
sincere people will be at the helm of affairs. And this is in the hands of the
citizens ? the voters. Shall we be in a position to see in our life time the
enlightened citizens of our country voting for the individuals instead of for
a party? Can we make a beginning in this type of thinking in our state of
Goa which has all the required ingredients to be an ideal state in our country?
In a multi party system
?Tomazinho Cardozo
Democracy is the best form of governance because it is the people who posses
the power of deciding who their rulers should be. A genuine democracy,
therefore, is an active and progressive force responsive to the will of the
people. Accordingly, the successful working of democracy will depend on the
intelligence, interest and civic sense of its citizens. Is it, therefore,
possible to create such citizens in a thickly populated and a semi-literate
country like India? Is it not atleast possible to have genuine democracy in a
small state like Goa in which the population is low and the literacy rate very
high?
In our daily lives, we have the habit of blaming politicians for anything and
everything, good or bad, that takes place in our society. Democracy and
democratically-run governments can be a boon for the development of the
society provided each and every citizen acquires a high degree of civic sense.
This requires self-control and devotion to any common cause. People should be
prepared to sink minor differences and co-operate for the general good of the
society. In other words a give-and-take attitude will go a long way in
establishing an ideal democracy.
The multi-party democratic system followed in our country is yet another
disadvantage to impose the will of the majority. When there are more than two
political parties, it becomes difficult to get more than 50% votes in an
election. As the votes are distributed among numerous parties, all parties
poll less than 50% of votes and are able to form the Government. In fact, a
democratically elected government should have been a government elected by a
majority of the people. This does not happen in our country and we, in the
name of democracy, are ruled by a government elected by a minority. The
present trend of coalition governments is still worse. We have discussed this
earlier and hence I would not like to comment on it again. I think our
democracy can be an example to others if our political leaders, leaving aside
all their selfish interests, are courageous enough to turn to a two party
system.
I will not hesitate to say that the present democratic form in our country
encourages communalism. The irony of the situation is that even the political
parties swearing in the name of secularism field a Hindu candidate in a
constituency dominated by Hindus, a Muslim candidate in a constituency
dominated by Muslims, a Christian candidate in a constituency having a
majority of Christians, so on and so forth. These being the facts, in what way
are our leaders promoting secularism? The system also indirectly advocates the
evils of caste and creed in our society. Otherwise how can one explain the
concept of fielding candidates from the Bhandari community, the Saraswat
community, etc. etc. in the constituencies having a sizeable population of
these communities? Organization of elections is the first step for the
formation of the democratic government. It is unfortunate to observe that the
process of elections, the very foundation of our democratic set up, is
corrupted with communalism and casteism.
In the present times politicians have the tendency to make politics a gainful
profession. Gone are the days when politics was pure social service.
Extravagant expenditure in the day to day administration, including the
facilities to the legislators, has become a way of political living. Can a
poor country like India afford these luxuries? Interference of elected
representatives in each and every aspect of administration has rendered the
bureaucracy practically ineffective. Many a time laws are bent as per the
wishes of the elected representatives to suit their vested interests. Party
organizations exercise undue influence on the government and create lot of
tensions in various communities in our country. This is what today?s democracy
contributes to the development of our society.
The concept of democracy is good. It is an ideal system of governance. But
instead of using it for the betterment of the people it is being misused for
self ? development. It is not easy to remedy the situation. Even the developed
countries have not achieved that much maturity in politics. But a beginning
has to be made somewhere. The major question is whether we are electing the
right people for the right posts. The candid answer is no. This is because of
our party affiliations. We vote for the party without considering the
character of the person for whom we vote. This trend has to be changed. Past
services to the society and the character of the candidate should be the prime
factor to be considered before casting our precious vote. Then only honest and
sincere people will be at the helm of affairs. And this is in the hands of the
citizens ? the voters. Shall we be in a position to see in our life time the
enlightened citizens of our country voting for the individuals instead of for
a party? Can we make a beginning in this type of thinking in our state of
Goa which has all the required ingredients to be an ideal state in our country?