Hi A:
>And I am glad at least this does not happen in India.
*** I would be too, if it were true. Look at the highlighted
paragraph in the following article that appears on today's
Sentinel.
c-da
At 10:23 PM -0500 6/14/05, Alpana B. Sarangapani wrote:
Hope Mukhtaran Bibi becomes successful in her mission. What a brave woman!
As it is women from 'not so rich and famous' families face all kinds of difficulties in countries like Pakistan, on top of that being tortured like this in her own village is just unbelievable.
Indian Democracy: Emerging Threats
Ajay Gudavarthy
Democracy as a form of governance and a way of life seems to be in peril and requires a serious rethinking within the South Asian geo-politics. Pakistan turned to military dictatorship and recently, monarchical rule has been re-imposed in Nepal. How safe and complacent can we afford to be about democratic practices in India? Although India has come to be recognized as the largest working democracy with an ostensibly smooth election process, the underlying currents and some of the growing trends might just be the revealing signposts highlighting the tenuousness of the foundations required for a healthy democracy.
To begin with, the nature of the state and economy is
changing fast. There is a perceptible decline of the centrality of the
agrarian and even the industrially productive classes, replaced
by a meteoric rise of a class of middlemen, brokers and
contractors (both liquor and civil) who thrive on muscle power,
corrupting the officials and brazen violation of institutional
norms. This rising class has captured the formal institutions and
entered into a strong nexus with the various organs of the
Government, including the police. For instance, in Andhra
Pradesh the leading political parties consist of a sizeable
proportion of liquor and civil contractors, which explains the
hue and cry over the contracts for the irrigation projects and also
the recent attempt to pass a government order allowing for the
opening of any number of bars in villages with a population of
over 25,000. So is the controversy surrounding the constructions
around the Taj Mahal. The democratic space in the civil society
for organizations and activists struggling for various issues
across the board is rapidly declining and instead there is a rising
"uncivil society" marked by rampant mafiaization beginning
with small time goondas (who in course of time become important
political leaders) involved in collection of haftas, to private
armed groups encouraged and backed by the state, such as the SULFA in
Assam, gradually generating a fear psychosis that makes society at
large silent and indifferent to social issues. The nexus
these groups are entering into with the traditional elite is
grossly disturbing. Awarding rape as a punishment for opting for
inter-caste marriage by a Panchayat in Meerut not long ago is
some evidence for this consolidation.
The democratic space for institutional, spontaneous or organized activity against these threats is fast declining as potential symbols are collapsing. Judiciary has over time become increasingly conservative; traditional symbols such as those of the religious heads, which at least stood for asceticism are mired in sexual scandals and corruption; activists of the stature of Anna Hazare are easily framed pushing society at large into ambiguity, indifference and pessimism. The crisis, it seems, is hardly acknowledged, leave alone attempts to address it. Instead, political parties wish to circumvent the brewing crisis with vacuous "India shining" campaigns that offer a false sense of pride by inciting effortless "cartographic nationalism". Military solutions for genuine social and economic grievances get renewed legitimacy and the excesses committed get absolved and the rule of law violated with impunity. The rape of Manorama in Manipur being a case in point. These are the same forces that encourage parochialism while projecting nations to be "global villages". Cities that once proudly claimed to be cosmopolitan are becoming highly parochial and this is reflected in campaigns against the "outsiders" in Maharashtra or the lobbying against Hindi and English movies in Karnataka.
The democratic space for institutional, spontaneous or organized activity against these threats is fast declining as potential symbols are collapsing. Judiciary has over time become increasingly conservative; traditional symbols such as those of the religious heads, which at least stood for asceticism are mired in sexual scandals and corruption; activists of the stature of Anna Hazare are easily framed pushing society at large into ambiguity, indifference and pessimism. The crisis, it seems, is hardly acknowledged, leave alone attempts to address it. Instead, political parties wish to circumvent the brewing crisis with vacuous "India shining" campaigns that offer a false sense of pride by inciting effortless "cartographic nationalism". Military solutions for genuine social and economic grievances get renewed legitimacy and the excesses committed get absolved and the rule of law violated with impunity. The rape of Manorama in Manipur being a case in point. These are the same forces that encourage parochialism while projecting nations to be "global villages". Cities that once proudly claimed to be cosmopolitan are becoming highly parochial and this is reflected in campaigns against the "outsiders" in Maharashtra or the lobbying against Hindi and English movies in Karnataka.
The media, on its part, is increasingly resorting to sensationalism so as to cater to the ongoing mood. While entertainment value of news has outstripped other priorities in the electronic media; news dailies seem to be competing with one another in bringing page3 stuff to their front pages. They even aid in the process of leading sports personalities being reduced, at best, from symbols of achievement and hard work to crude commercial agents, and, at worst, into sex symbols. As a consequence, the youth of the nation are left with no worthwhile role models to emulate.
Educational institutions are becoming self-claimed "centres of excellence" and centres for professional education, which is actually a euphemism for encouraging socially insulated education where social conflicts and problems are reduced to mere "technical issues". Not to mention growing ideological intolerance and meaningless bickering, failure to generate healthy work ethic and critical discourses with campus life for students becoming increasingly depoliticized, and easy compromise on autonomy and transparency of the educational institutions with research being conditioned by the "priority areas" of the donors.
The family as an institution is in deep crisis. There seems to be no effective alternative emerging that could accommodate and stand for values of compassion, sharing, and selflessness. Often there is ambiguity amongst the progressive forces in negotiating with "traditions". The entire baggage of traditions and local practices is left untapped by democratic forces only to be appropriated by monolithic interpretations that allow free play, for instance, for the far-right organizations such as the Durga Vahinis to conservatively politicize women around the symbols of 'Durga' and 'Sita'.
The market seems to be singularly the most effective institution attracting and influencing the lifestyles allowing for a free play of ego and hedonism, a false sense of mobility, and momentary gratification through the use of latest gadgets be it the fancy mobiles, handycams or laptops and palmtops. Needless to say, it is making life extremely insecure with contractualization of jobs, withdrawal of social welfare policies such as pension for the aged and replacing it with uncertain investments in mutually beneficial bonds, and increasingly pushing vulnerable groups such as women and children into long working hours and hazardous work conditions. Corporatization with solely profit-making motive has affected across the sectors, beginning with education, health to agriculture. Rising controversies around the consequences of using Monsanto seeds or excessive usage of ground water in Kerala or even more condemnable attempts to privatize rivers in Madhya Pradesh are only glaring examples of much deeper changes that would adversely affect in times to come. Technology is coming to replace not only the 'strong tie' inter personal relations but also define the very identity and purpose of life. Meaningful leisure is a grave casualty confused with trivialized entertainment and social engagements. Pursuit of interests without immediate benefits, - something which Bertrand Russell pointed out as imperative for the "Conquest of Happiness" - and carrying larger social concerns seem to find no place in the emerging scheme of things.
This increasing 'one-dimensionality' of the society is a serious cause for concern and a formidable impediment for a healthy democracy. Herbert Marcuse, writing in the context of America, had warned in the early 1960s that 'one-dimensionality' is an indication for the rising nexus between conservative forces of various hues and that humanity will have to pay heavily in its attempt to wriggle out of it. Perhaps nothing could be more appropriate than this to help us understand some of the contemporary transformation that India is undergoing at present.
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