Many Indians feel proud when India is called the largest democracy in the world. Those who actually want to spare a thought, the "largest" can be attributed only due to the infinite population and democracy only because we conduct elections every now and then. But do we actually comply with the text book definition of democracy, a government by the people, for the people and from the people? I seriously doubt.
I have always had feelings that India is a weak democracy, and it surely is. There have been endless instances which have made me develop an opinion of this sort, no single party or even an alliance of a few parties' government for almost a decade, minority coalition partners ruling the entire country with the power to pull down the government, MPs accepting bribes to ask questions in the Parliament and the count never ends. Is this the face of democracy that we are proud of? Indian politics has become a management game fighting for power at any cost, any damn cost. No wonder what's at stake is the entire country, the people for which the government is elected, and this vicious circle becomes even more complicated as we delve deep into it.
UPA minus the communists winning the trust vote today may be a good sign for the N-Deal and the Prime Minister's efforts of taking a step towards ensuring energy security for the country. But the way it happened, buying cross votes from opposition, MPs producing wads of cash allegedly offered to them by the other political party.... Holy crap!!!
On a pessimistic note there is no will in the political fraternity to improve the political system in India, and the reason being that any improvement would be detrimental for those who initiate the process. It was never the case that all the politicians supported the OBC reservation, some spoke out initially, but didn’t have the guts to be in the system and change it. And eventually every political party supported the OBC reservation and the Supreme Court was left beating around the bush. Writing this, I am enjoying being a critic, at the same time I am also one who blabbers a lot and does nothing. At least the intent is good :)
But the unanswered question remains that is this the democracy we want the world to look up to in the Goldman Sachs report predicting dominant world economies in 2050?
We are emerging as an economy, the numbers say so, but are we emerging as a better governed country?
Are we actually doing any good or just becoming worse from worst?
Can we see a corruption free India in our life?
Opinions invited...
