By Kajol Singh
Apart From Customs Duty, Private Collector Has To Get Import Licence For Retrieving National Heritage
The outrage in Parliament over the upcoming auction in New York of Mahatma Gandhi’s spectacles and other personal belongings is ironic. For, the same Parliament that’s indignant now about the Mahatma’s belongings being auctioned off, showed remarkable apathy while allowing an absurd piece of law that has made bringing back anything of “historical interest’’ to the country frustratingly difficult.
According to the rules, if a private collector from India buys any such piece of “historical interest”, the legal regime, far from waiving customs duty for retrieving national heritage, inflicts on him the hassles of obtaining an import licence. Vijay Mallya faced similar hassles when he sought to bring back Tipu Sultan’s sword. So, when the government-appointed expert committee meets this week to discuss the auction of Gandhi’s belongings, it can’t just limit itself to the issue of Gandhi’s scattered heritage. It would do well to find a long-term solution to the recurring problem of import into India of pieces of historical interest or antique value.
There is little awareness of the needless curbs on the import of historical pieces because the thrust of the statutory law, Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972, is to prohibit their export in a bid to end the ageold loot of Indian heritage. The executive slipped while framing the rules and introduced the same curbs on imports of historical or antique items. And our MPs nodded their assent to the subordinate legislation when it came up for Parliament’s ratification. Mridula Mukherjee, a member of the committee and director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, was surprised at this vestige of the licence raj that puts curbs on not just the export but also the import of historical legacy.
“It makes no sense to make it difficult for private collectors to import items of historical value to the nation,” she said, adding, “The committee should examine this anomaly and recommend incentives to those who collect and preserve our heritage.”
Bapu had gifted his glasses to late Nawab Mahabat
Mahatma Gandhi had gifted his round, metal-rimmed glasses, which would come under the hammer along with his other personal belongings at an auction in New York next month, to a British army colonel in the 1930s. Now, a closer look at the auction house Antiquorum Auctioneer’s website reveals that the colonel was none other than the late Junagarh Nawab Mahabat Khan, who had fled to Pakistan after partition. The British used to call him Colonel His Highness Sri Diwan Nawab Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Rasul Khanji. The auction has provoked outrage across India with Mahatma’s great grandson Tushar Gandhi describing it as “grave insult’’. The auction house recently received a letter of provenance from his great grandson Talat Sahid Khan Babi along with the glasses for auction.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Jamaat-e-islami to campaign for secular party
By M H Ahssan
Even as Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) strenuously works to give shape to a political party of its own, it has decided to mobilize masses, particularly the Muslims, to vote for a group that promises to focus on comprehensive electoral reforms.
Jamaat is presently busy finalizing the profile of its political organization. “It may not be ready by the time the nation goes to polls in less than three months. But we will continue to do the kind of work we have been doing all along. We will campaign for a secular party or group of parties that has a clear vision about the country,’’ JIH’s state ameer (President) Malik Moatasim Khan told HNN.
He said that the decision to identify the party that will get JIH support would be taken sometime in March. Till then, an awareness campaign would be carried out about areas which Jamaat believes are core to bringing about a change in society.
For instance, the Jamaat would be supporting a political party that takes up electoral and political reforms as its main objectives. The other area on which the Jamaat has focused its attention is the nexus between politicians and criminals. “Its meetings would tell people how this nexus has damaged the civil society. Jamaat would also try to find out which political group is making commitment to the implementation of Supreme Court recommended reforms in the police force. The party’s outlook on caste, creed, religion and socio-economic background of people would also be checked out and made known to the masses. We would back a party that truly believes in pluralism,’’ Khan said.
JIH would also scan the parties to find out their interest in protection and welfare of the minorities, especially the Muslims. It would like to know what plans and policies the political parties have to strengthen the sense of safety and security in the community along with plans for its socio-economic development.
“During the 2004 elections we worked against the communal forces and prevailed upon the public to defeat them. Jamaat played an important role in bringing numerous Muslim organizations under the umbrella of United Muslim Forum. Andhra Pradesh is a good example of the successful efforts made by UMF,” Khan explained.
Even as Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) strenuously works to give shape to a political party of its own, it has decided to mobilize masses, particularly the Muslims, to vote for a group that promises to focus on comprehensive electoral reforms.
Jamaat is presently busy finalizing the profile of its political organization. “It may not be ready by the time the nation goes to polls in less than three months. But we will continue to do the kind of work we have been doing all along. We will campaign for a secular party or group of parties that has a clear vision about the country,’’ JIH’s state ameer (President) Malik Moatasim Khan told HNN.
He said that the decision to identify the party that will get JIH support would be taken sometime in March. Till then, an awareness campaign would be carried out about areas which Jamaat believes are core to bringing about a change in society.
For instance, the Jamaat would be supporting a political party that takes up electoral and political reforms as its main objectives. The other area on which the Jamaat has focused its attention is the nexus between politicians and criminals. “Its meetings would tell people how this nexus has damaged the civil society. Jamaat would also try to find out which political group is making commitment to the implementation of Supreme Court recommended reforms in the police force. The party’s outlook on caste, creed, religion and socio-economic background of people would also be checked out and made known to the masses. We would back a party that truly believes in pluralism,’’ Khan said.
JIH would also scan the parties to find out their interest in protection and welfare of the minorities, especially the Muslims. It would like to know what plans and policies the political parties have to strengthen the sense of safety and security in the community along with plans for its socio-economic development.
“During the 2004 elections we worked against the communal forces and prevailed upon the public to defeat them. Jamaat played an important role in bringing numerous Muslim organizations under the umbrella of United Muslim Forum. Andhra Pradesh is a good example of the successful efforts made by UMF,” Khan explained.
Couples find abortion way out of recession blues
By Sheena Shafia
Economic recession seems to be forcing couples into resorting to desperate measures, including abortion to tide over the crisis.
In the wake of slowdown and job losses, several women are getting their foetuses aborted in a bid to lessen their “economic burden”. Gynaecologists working in corporate hospitals in the city are getting an increasing number of cases since last month mostly seeking contraceptive advice or medical termination of pregnancy (MTP).
Interestingly, most persons seeking advice and going for MTP are from the software sector, they said.
“Earlier, the reasons for abortion were different. It used to be either contraception failure or an unwanted pregnancy. But now, it is ‘I cannot afford a child right now,’ phenomenon,” Dr A Manjula Anagani of Care Hospital told TOI.
Narrating a recent case, Dr Manjula said, a couple, both software professionals, got their eight-week pregnancy aborted as one of them got a pink slip. “When they had approached me, they were very sure they wanted a baby. Soon after one of them lost job, they came back and asked for MTP. I tried to convince her since she was 28 years old and any further delay would only make it difficult for her to conceive. She said she will try after a couple of years. We cannot do more than this,” Dr Manjula, who saw three such cases in the last 15 days, said.
Even more startling is the fact that some corporate firms are demanding undertaking from woman employees that they would not take maternity leave for a specific period of time.
Dr V Janaki, a gynaecologist at Niloufer Hospital and Image Hospital, said, “A feeling of insecurity and fear of losing jobs has crept in among the young workforce. I got cases wherein women told me that they signed bonds with companies for a specific period that they would not be taking maternity leave.”
“If just one partner is slogging it out to make ends meet, the men are insisting on their wives going in for MTP. Though we tried counselling them that the economic slowdown could be a temporary phenomenon, they are not ready to listen,” Dr Janaki added.
Talking to HNN, a woman, who had MTP recently, said, “I was sacked recently. Moreover, my husband had to settle for a pay cut to retain his job. Having a four-yearold child, I wanted to go in for the second one. But due to the present uncertainties, we are barely able to meet our present needs.”
Economic recession seems to be forcing couples into resorting to desperate measures, including abortion to tide over the crisis.
In the wake of slowdown and job losses, several women are getting their foetuses aborted in a bid to lessen their “economic burden”. Gynaecologists working in corporate hospitals in the city are getting an increasing number of cases since last month mostly seeking contraceptive advice or medical termination of pregnancy (MTP).
Interestingly, most persons seeking advice and going for MTP are from the software sector, they said.
“Earlier, the reasons for abortion were different. It used to be either contraception failure or an unwanted pregnancy. But now, it is ‘I cannot afford a child right now,’ phenomenon,” Dr A Manjula Anagani of Care Hospital told TOI.
Narrating a recent case, Dr Manjula said, a couple, both software professionals, got their eight-week pregnancy aborted as one of them got a pink slip. “When they had approached me, they were very sure they wanted a baby. Soon after one of them lost job, they came back and asked for MTP. I tried to convince her since she was 28 years old and any further delay would only make it difficult for her to conceive. She said she will try after a couple of years. We cannot do more than this,” Dr Manjula, who saw three such cases in the last 15 days, said.
Even more startling is the fact that some corporate firms are demanding undertaking from woman employees that they would not take maternity leave for a specific period of time.
Dr V Janaki, a gynaecologist at Niloufer Hospital and Image Hospital, said, “A feeling of insecurity and fear of losing jobs has crept in among the young workforce. I got cases wherein women told me that they signed bonds with companies for a specific period that they would not be taking maternity leave.”
“If just one partner is slogging it out to make ends meet, the men are insisting on their wives going in for MTP. Though we tried counselling them that the economic slowdown could be a temporary phenomenon, they are not ready to listen,” Dr Janaki added.
Talking to HNN, a woman, who had MTP recently, said, “I was sacked recently. Moreover, my husband had to settle for a pay cut to retain his job. Having a four-yearold child, I wanted to go in for the second one. But due to the present uncertainties, we are barely able to meet our present needs.”
The Joy And Pain Of Being An Indian Muslim
By M H Ahssan
For all Indians the resurgence of India in recent years is an occasion of pride and joy. And so it is for the 140 million minority Muslims in India. It makes Indian Muslims proud to see their country become one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. Also, a few Muslims have achieved positions of prestige in India and there are some success stories.
However it pains Muslims to find that most Muslims continue to be marginalized and stereotyped in India and often suspect in their nationalism, not to mention their utter social, economic and educational backwardness, far in excess of the national average. An overwhelming majority of today’s Muslims are of the pro-independence generation. When someone doubts their nationalism or alleges that they may be sympathizers of Pakistan, just because they are Muslims, it causes them a lot of anguish.
In sixty years in post independence India, Muslims have continued to hear questions like, “Now that they have Pakistan, what do the Muslims want?” And then came the slogan, “If you have to live in India you have to worship Lord Rama.” Even some otherwise enlightened Hindus are heard saying that “There is a Muslim problem that will not go away.” It pains Muslims that rather than view them as descendants of great patriotic Indians of the past, such as Emperor Akbar, King Tipu Sultan, and Sufi saints like Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Nizamuddin Aulia of Delhi, freedom fighters like Maulana Azad and Ghaffar Khan, and the creator of ballistic missiles APJ Abdul Kalam, et al, today a significant number of Hindus prefer to link the entire 140 million strong Muslim community with the handful of tyrants of the medieval past like Ghouri, Ghaznavi, Nadir Shah etc, and the isolated instances of their suppression of Hindus.
It bothers Muslims that the close proximity of mosques and temples in countless cities of India is not interpreted as a sign of the coexistence of Muslims and Hindus over the centuries, but as that of the forcible conversion of temples into mosques by Muslim kings of the past. As the Urdu poet late BD Pandey, a former governor of Uttar Pradesh said:
“ Hazaaron saal ki yeh daastan. Aur unko yaad haiy sirf itna; Kay Alamgir (Aurangzeb) zaalim tha, hindukush tha, sitamgur tha.”
(Hindus and Muslims coexisting is a tale of a thousand years. And yet all they remember is that Alamgir (Auragzeb) was a suppressor of Hindus and a tyrant.)
Today after sixty years in independent India, despite their utter powerlessness and impoverishment, despite no government action against the culprits who massacred thousands of Muslims in Gujarat (2002), Mumbai (1993) and other cities in countless riots and who demolished many Muslim mosques and shrines, the Muslim Indians are neither willing to accept the epithet of Mohammadya Hindu, nor ready to give up their authentic home grown Indo-Islamic identity as the price for equal say in the affairs of their nation.
As erstwhile freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “Freedom and equal rights is our birthright.” They also have no special love for Pakistan which is just another country for them. Today’s Indian Muslims want to be proactive in nation building and place great trust, not in the government but in the seventyfive percent secular Hindus who genuinely want to coexist in peace and dignity with them, remove their alienation from the mainstream of India and make them an active partner in the world class Indian nation of tomorrow.
The emergence of true grit secular leaders like VP Singh, Jyoti Basu, Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Arjun Singh etal on the national scene after decades of vote bank politics and the politics of political expediency gives them hope for the future. Muslims fully expect the silent majority of secular Hindus to remain silent no more but speak up and demand that the power structure take action to redress the genuine plight and deprivation of the Muslim community.
For all Indians the resurgence of India in recent years is an occasion of pride and joy. And so it is for the 140 million minority Muslims in India. It makes Indian Muslims proud to see their country become one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. Also, a few Muslims have achieved positions of prestige in India and there are some success stories.
However it pains Muslims to find that most Muslims continue to be marginalized and stereotyped in India and often suspect in their nationalism, not to mention their utter social, economic and educational backwardness, far in excess of the national average. An overwhelming majority of today’s Muslims are of the pro-independence generation. When someone doubts their nationalism or alleges that they may be sympathizers of Pakistan, just because they are Muslims, it causes them a lot of anguish.
In sixty years in post independence India, Muslims have continued to hear questions like, “Now that they have Pakistan, what do the Muslims want?” And then came the slogan, “If you have to live in India you have to worship Lord Rama.” Even some otherwise enlightened Hindus are heard saying that “There is a Muslim problem that will not go away.” It pains Muslims that rather than view them as descendants of great patriotic Indians of the past, such as Emperor Akbar, King Tipu Sultan, and Sufi saints like Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Nizamuddin Aulia of Delhi, freedom fighters like Maulana Azad and Ghaffar Khan, and the creator of ballistic missiles APJ Abdul Kalam, et al, today a significant number of Hindus prefer to link the entire 140 million strong Muslim community with the handful of tyrants of the medieval past like Ghouri, Ghaznavi, Nadir Shah etc, and the isolated instances of their suppression of Hindus.
It bothers Muslims that the close proximity of mosques and temples in countless cities of India is not interpreted as a sign of the coexistence of Muslims and Hindus over the centuries, but as that of the forcible conversion of temples into mosques by Muslim kings of the past. As the Urdu poet late BD Pandey, a former governor of Uttar Pradesh said:
“ Hazaaron saal ki yeh daastan. Aur unko yaad haiy sirf itna; Kay Alamgir (Aurangzeb) zaalim tha, hindukush tha, sitamgur tha.”
(Hindus and Muslims coexisting is a tale of a thousand years. And yet all they remember is that Alamgir (Auragzeb) was a suppressor of Hindus and a tyrant.)
Today after sixty years in independent India, despite their utter powerlessness and impoverishment, despite no government action against the culprits who massacred thousands of Muslims in Gujarat (2002), Mumbai (1993) and other cities in countless riots and who demolished many Muslim mosques and shrines, the Muslim Indians are neither willing to accept the epithet of Mohammadya Hindu, nor ready to give up their authentic home grown Indo-Islamic identity as the price for equal say in the affairs of their nation.
As erstwhile freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “Freedom and equal rights is our birthright.” They also have no special love for Pakistan which is just another country for them. Today’s Indian Muslims want to be proactive in nation building and place great trust, not in the government but in the seventyfive percent secular Hindus who genuinely want to coexist in peace and dignity with them, remove their alienation from the mainstream of India and make them an active partner in the world class Indian nation of tomorrow.
The emergence of true grit secular leaders like VP Singh, Jyoti Basu, Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Arjun Singh etal on the national scene after decades of vote bank politics and the politics of political expediency gives them hope for the future. Muslims fully expect the silent majority of secular Hindus to remain silent no more but speak up and demand that the power structure take action to redress the genuine plight and deprivation of the Muslim community.
The Joy And Pain Of Being An Indian Muslim
By M H Ahssan
For all Indians the resurgence of India in recent years is an occasion of pride and joy. And so it is for the 140 million minority Muslims in India. It makes Indian Muslims proud to see their country become one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. Also, a few Muslims have achieved positions of prestige in India and there are some success stories.
However it pains Muslims to find that most Muslims continue to be marginalized and stereotyped in India and often suspect in their nationalism, not to mention their utter social, economic and educational backwardness, far in excess of the national average. An overwhelming majority of today’s Muslims are of the pro-independence generation. When someone doubts their nationalism or alleges that they may be sympathizers of Pakistan, just because they are Muslims, it causes them a lot of anguish.
In sixty years in post independence India, Muslims have continued to hear questions like, “Now that they have Pakistan, what do the Muslims want?” And then came the slogan, “If you have to live in India you have to worship Lord Rama.” Even some otherwise enlightened Hindus are heard saying that “There is a Muslim problem that will not go away.” It pains Muslims that rather than view them as descendants of great patriotic Indians of the past, such as Emperor Akbar, King Tipu Sultan, and Sufi saints like Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Nizamuddin Aulia of Delhi, freedom fighters like Maulana Azad and Ghaffar Khan, and the creator of ballistic missiles APJ Abdul Kalam, et al, today a significant number of Hindus prefer to link the entire 140 million strong Muslim community with the handful of tyrants of the medieval past like Ghouri, Ghaznavi, Nadir Shah etc, and the isolated instances of their suppression of Hindus.
It bothers Muslims that the close proximity of mosques and temples in countless cities of India is not interpreted as a sign of the coexistence of Muslims and Hindus over the centuries, but as that of the forcible conversion of temples into mosques by Muslim kings of the past. As the Urdu poet late BD Pandey, a former governor of Uttar Pradesh said:
“ Hazaaron saal ki yeh daastan. Aur unko yaad haiy sirf itna; Kay Alamgir (Aurangzeb) zaalim tha, hindukush tha, sitamgur tha.”
(Hindus and Muslims coexisting is a tale of a thousand years. And yet all they remember is that Alamgir (Auragzeb) was a suppressor of Hindus and a tyrant.)
Today after sixty years in independent India, despite their utter powerlessness and impoverishment, despite no government action against the culprits who massacred thousands of Muslims in Gujarat (2002), Mumbai (1993) and other cities in countless riots and who demolished many Muslim mosques and shrines, the Muslim Indians are neither willing to accept the epithet of Mohammadya Hindu, nor ready to give up their authentic home grown Indo-Islamic identity as the price for equal say in the affairs of their nation.
As erstwhile freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “Freedom and equal rights is our birthright.” They also have no special love for Pakistan which is just another country for them. Today’s Indian Muslims want to be proactive in nation building and place great trust, not in the government but in the seventyfive percent secular Hindus who genuinely want to coexist in peace and dignity with them, remove their alienation from the mainstream of India and make them an active partner in the world class Indian nation of tomorrow.
The emergence of true grit secular leaders like VP Singh, Jyoti Basu, Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Arjun Singh etal on the national scene after decades of vote bank politics and the politics of political expediency gives them hope for the future. Muslims fully expect the silent majority of secular Hindus to remain silent no more but speak up and demand that the power structure take action to redress the genuine plight and deprivation of the Muslim community.
For all Indians the resurgence of India in recent years is an occasion of pride and joy. And so it is for the 140 million minority Muslims in India. It makes Indian Muslims proud to see their country become one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. Also, a few Muslims have achieved positions of prestige in India and there are some success stories.
However it pains Muslims to find that most Muslims continue to be marginalized and stereotyped in India and often suspect in their nationalism, not to mention their utter social, economic and educational backwardness, far in excess of the national average. An overwhelming majority of today’s Muslims are of the pro-independence generation. When someone doubts their nationalism or alleges that they may be sympathizers of Pakistan, just because they are Muslims, it causes them a lot of anguish.
In sixty years in post independence India, Muslims have continued to hear questions like, “Now that they have Pakistan, what do the Muslims want?” And then came the slogan, “If you have to live in India you have to worship Lord Rama.” Even some otherwise enlightened Hindus are heard saying that “There is a Muslim problem that will not go away.” It pains Muslims that rather than view them as descendants of great patriotic Indians of the past, such as Emperor Akbar, King Tipu Sultan, and Sufi saints like Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Nizamuddin Aulia of Delhi, freedom fighters like Maulana Azad and Ghaffar Khan, and the creator of ballistic missiles APJ Abdul Kalam, et al, today a significant number of Hindus prefer to link the entire 140 million strong Muslim community with the handful of tyrants of the medieval past like Ghouri, Ghaznavi, Nadir Shah etc, and the isolated instances of their suppression of Hindus.
It bothers Muslims that the close proximity of mosques and temples in countless cities of India is not interpreted as a sign of the coexistence of Muslims and Hindus over the centuries, but as that of the forcible conversion of temples into mosques by Muslim kings of the past. As the Urdu poet late BD Pandey, a former governor of Uttar Pradesh said:
“ Hazaaron saal ki yeh daastan. Aur unko yaad haiy sirf itna; Kay Alamgir (Aurangzeb) zaalim tha, hindukush tha, sitamgur tha.”
(Hindus and Muslims coexisting is a tale of a thousand years. And yet all they remember is that Alamgir (Auragzeb) was a suppressor of Hindus and a tyrant.)
Today after sixty years in independent India, despite their utter powerlessness and impoverishment, despite no government action against the culprits who massacred thousands of Muslims in Gujarat (2002), Mumbai (1993) and other cities in countless riots and who demolished many Muslim mosques and shrines, the Muslim Indians are neither willing to accept the epithet of Mohammadya Hindu, nor ready to give up their authentic home grown Indo-Islamic identity as the price for equal say in the affairs of their nation.
As erstwhile freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “Freedom and equal rights is our birthright.” They also have no special love for Pakistan which is just another country for them. Today’s Indian Muslims want to be proactive in nation building and place great trust, not in the government but in the seventyfive percent secular Hindus who genuinely want to coexist in peace and dignity with them, remove their alienation from the mainstream of India and make them an active partner in the world class Indian nation of tomorrow.
The emergence of true grit secular leaders like VP Singh, Jyoti Basu, Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Arjun Singh etal on the national scene after decades of vote bank politics and the politics of political expediency gives them hope for the future. Muslims fully expect the silent majority of secular Hindus to remain silent no more but speak up and demand that the power structure take action to redress the genuine plight and deprivation of the Muslim community.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
How to Elect your Leader?
By HNN Bureau
Elections provide the most opportune moments to express our preferences for socio-economic and other policies pursued by the political parties. Every time one comes around, we find a number of party workers soliciting our votes, and a little preparedness on our part can help. These questions can help us examine our preferences privately, and to engage others in discussions about the answers. Please feel free to submit your questions by writing editor@hyderabadnews.net; we will maintain this page in perpetuity for use in all future elections.
Before you cast your ballot ...
Questions for the party poll worker at your door.
An elected leader
Who is the head of your political organization?
How did s/he get to that post?
Were internal elections held to appoint him/her?
Second string
Who are the other leaders of your political party?
How well educated are they? How many have college degrees?
If elected, who will occupy the major portfolios - finance, home, human resources, education, law, and energy?
Ideological integrity
What is the distinguishing characteristic of your party?
Which parties are clearly different from yours?
Do you have any pre-poll alliances? What is the basis for such alliances? Do the alliance partners share your economic and social ideologies? Give me some examples.
Financial background and integrity
What do you (the candidate) do for a living?
Do you file tax returns regularly, and are you willing to make these records public?
Do you promise to declare your and your immediate family's assets periodically if elected?
Representing constituents
Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
Transparent Government
What is your party's position on secrecy of public information?
Will infrastructure agreements be made public at the time they are signed?
Will the costs of acquisition and sale of land by the government be kept public?
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
Candidate Questionnaire: The leader
Understanding the heads of political parties at the time of elections
These questions may help you understand how the leaders of individual parties have attained their current positions. Check the table to the right, for more questions covering a range of issues relevant to making electoral choices.
- Who is the head of your political organization?
- How did s/he get to that post?
- Were internal elections held to appoint him/her?
- If yes, when were these elections last held?
- Where were they held?
- Who was eligible to vote?
- Could party members in distant towns and cities vote?
- Was this a direct vote by the members themselves, or was this a represented vote?
- How periodically are elections scheduled to be held?
- Have you always adhered to this schedule?
- Who won the last three elections to the post of party president?
- If they were not held, why not?
Candidate questionnaire: Second string
Election questions about prominent party members
These questions will help you learn the identities of other prominent persons in political parties besides the leader, and how power is shared amongst various people at the top.
- Who are the other leaders of your political party?
- How well educated are they? How many have college degrees?
- If elected, who will occupy the major portfolios - finance, home, human resources, education, law, and energy?
- Which constituencies are these leaders contesting from?
- Do they live in those constituencies, and if not, why are they contesting from there?
- Have any of these party leaders previously held positions in government?
Candidate questionnaire: Ideology
What do you believe, whose beliefs do you share or reject?
These questions will help you understand the ideology behind which the party is organized and how consistent this thought is.
- What is the distinguishing ideology of your party?
- Which parties are clearly different from yours?
- Do you have any pre-poll alliances? What is the basis for such alliances? Do the alliance partners share your economic and social ideologies? Give me some examples.
- What is your opinion on post-election coalitions? Is your party sufficeintly strong to come to power by itself, or are you supporting other political parties? In what sense are the coalition partners similar to you?
- Is your political party an off-shoot of a different one? If yes, what was the ideological reason for the split, and in what important ways does this faction differ from the rest?
- Have you, in the past, opposed any political party which you are now supporting? If yes, what has changed?
- Have you, in the past, switched political afffiliation after an election, i.e., moved to a party after being elected on as the candidate of another?
Candidate questionnaire: Finances
Ensuring accountable and assured management of public funds
These questions will help you understand the party's commitment to financial probity.
- What do you (the candidate) do for a living?
- Do you file tax returns regularly, and are you willing to make these records public?
- Do you promise to declare your and your immediate family's assets periodically if elected?
- Is there any conflict of interest between your business and the welfare of your constituents? [eg. a mill owner in a labour costituency, or a landlord in a farmer constoituency]. If so how do you propose to resolve this?
- Do you think other representatives from your political party should make their financial records public before the elections, and regularly thereafter if elected?
Candidate questionnaire: The local interest
Representing the constituents, not the leadership of parties.
These questions will help you understand how committed the local representatives are to the interests of their particular constituency, and whether they are able to represent you independent of their loyalty to party members and leaders from elsewhere.
- Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
- Does your party allow elected representatives to vote according to their own preferences in the assembly/parliament, or are they required to vote as instructed by the leadership?
- Does your party use a whip to regulate votes in the assemblies? [A whip is a party functionary who passes the word on how the party members are expected to vote].
Candidate questionnaire: An open government
Transparent functioning by elected representatives and administrators.
These questions will help you understand the extent to which the party is willing to make decisions publicly, and provide you with information as to how and why the decisions are taken.
- What is your party's position on secrecy of public information?
- Will infrastructure agreements be made public at the time they are signed?
- Will the costs of acquisition and sale of land by the government be kept public?
- Will your party support a Freedom of Information Bill that includes whistle-blower protection? [ A whistle-blower is someone working for the government who reveals corruption inside it, and is often punished by the government as a consequence ].
- Will you enact legislation ro ensure AUTOMATIC cancellation of projects that use public money when the money is not used for the publicly stated intention?
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
Elections provide the most opportune moments to express our preferences for socio-economic and other policies pursued by the political parties. Every time one comes around, we find a number of party workers soliciting our votes, and a little preparedness on our part can help. These questions can help us examine our preferences privately, and to engage others in discussions about the answers. Please feel free to submit your questions by writing editor@hyderabadnews.net; we will maintain this page in perpetuity for use in all future elections.
Before you cast your ballot ...
Questions for the party poll worker at your door.
An elected leader
Second string
Ideological integrity
Financial background and integrity
Representing constituents
Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
Transparent Government
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
Candidate Questionnaire: The leader
Understanding the heads of political parties at the time of elections
These questions may help you understand how the leaders of individual parties have attained their current positions. Check the table to the right, for more questions covering a range of issues relevant to making electoral choices.
- Who is the head of your political organization?
- How did s/he get to that post?
- Were internal elections held to appoint him/her?
- If yes, when were these elections last held?
- Where were they held?
- Who was eligible to vote?
- Could party members in distant towns and cities vote?
- Was this a direct vote by the members themselves, or was this a represented vote?
- How periodically are elections scheduled to be held?
- Have you always adhered to this schedule?
- Who won the last three elections to the post of party president?
- If they were not held, why not?
Candidate questionnaire: Second string
Election questions about prominent party members
These questions will help you learn the identities of other prominent persons in political parties besides the leader, and how power is shared amongst various people at the top.
- Who are the other leaders of your political party?
- How well educated are they? How many have college degrees?
- If elected, who will occupy the major portfolios - finance, home, human resources, education, law, and energy?
- Which constituencies are these leaders contesting from?
- Do they live in those constituencies, and if not, why are they contesting from there?
- Have any of these party leaders previously held positions in government?
Candidate questionnaire: Ideology
What do you believe, whose beliefs do you share or reject?
These questions will help you understand the ideology behind which the party is organized and how consistent this thought is.
- What is the distinguishing ideology of your party?
- Which parties are clearly different from yours?
- Do you have any pre-poll alliances? What is the basis for such alliances? Do the alliance partners share your economic and social ideologies? Give me some examples.
- What is your opinion on post-election coalitions? Is your party sufficeintly strong to come to power by itself, or are you supporting other political parties? In what sense are the coalition partners similar to you?
- Is your political party an off-shoot of a different one? If yes, what was the ideological reason for the split, and in what important ways does this faction differ from the rest?
- Have you, in the past, opposed any political party which you are now supporting? If yes, what has changed?
- Have you, in the past, switched political afffiliation after an election, i.e., moved to a party after being elected on as the candidate of another?
Candidate questionnaire: Finances
Ensuring accountable and assured management of public funds
These questions will help you understand the party's commitment to financial probity.
- What do you (the candidate) do for a living?
- Do you file tax returns regularly, and are you willing to make these records public?
- Do you promise to declare your and your immediate family's assets periodically if elected?
- Is there any conflict of interest between your business and the welfare of your constituents? [eg. a mill owner in a labour costituency, or a landlord in a farmer constoituency]. If so how do you propose to resolve this?
- Do you think other representatives from your political party should make their financial records public before the elections, and regularly thereafter if elected?
Candidate questionnaire: The local interest
Representing the constituents, not the leadership of parties.
These questions will help you understand how committed the local representatives are to the interests of their particular constituency, and whether they are able to represent you independent of their loyalty to party members and leaders from elsewhere.
- Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
- Does your party allow elected representatives to vote according to their own preferences in the assembly/parliament, or are they required to vote as instructed by the leadership?
- Does your party use a whip to regulate votes in the assemblies? [A whip is a party functionary who passes the word on how the party members are expected to vote].
Candidate questionnaire: An open government
Transparent functioning by elected representatives and administrators.
These questions will help you understand the extent to which the party is willing to make decisions publicly, and provide you with information as to how and why the decisions are taken.
- What is your party's position on secrecy of public information?
- Will infrastructure agreements be made public at the time they are signed?
- Will the costs of acquisition and sale of land by the government be kept public?
- Will your party support a Freedom of Information Bill that includes whistle-blower protection? [ A whistle-blower is someone working for the government who reveals corruption inside it, and is often punished by the government as a consequence ].
- Will you enact legislation ro ensure AUTOMATIC cancellation of projects that use public money when the money is not used for the publicly stated intention?
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
How to Elect your Leader?
By HNN Bureau
Elections provide the most opportune moments to express our preferences for socio-economic and other policies pursued by the political parties. Every time one comes around, we find a number of party workers soliciting our votes, and a little preparedness on our part can help. These questions can help us examine our preferences privately, and to engage others in discussions about the answers. Please feel free to submit your questions by writing editor@hyderabadnews.net; we will maintain this page in perpetuity for use in all future elections.
Before you cast your ballot ...
Questions for the party poll worker at your door.
An elected leader
Who is the head of your political organization?
How did s/he get to that post?
Were internal elections held to appoint him/her?
Second string
Who are the other leaders of your political party?
How well educated are they? How many have college degrees?
If elected, who will occupy the major portfolios - finance, home, human resources, education, law, and energy?
Ideological integrity
What is the distinguishing characteristic of your party?
Which parties are clearly different from yours?
Do you have any pre-poll alliances? What is the basis for such alliances? Do the alliance partners share your economic and social ideologies? Give me some examples.
Financial background and integrity
What do you (the candidate) do for a living?
Do you file tax returns regularly, and are you willing to make these records public?
Do you promise to declare your and your immediate family's assets periodically if elected?
Representing constituents
Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
Transparent Government
What is your party's position on secrecy of public information?
Will infrastructure agreements be made public at the time they are signed?
Will the costs of acquisition and sale of land by the government be kept public?
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
Candidate Questionnaire: The leader
Understanding the heads of political parties at the time of elections
These questions may help you understand how the leaders of individual parties have attained their current positions. Check the table to the right, for more questions covering a range of issues relevant to making electoral choices.
- Who is the head of your political organization?
- How did s/he get to that post?
- Were internal elections held to appoint him/her?
- If yes, when were these elections last held?
- Where were they held?
- Who was eligible to vote?
- Could party members in distant towns and cities vote?
- Was this a direct vote by the members themselves, or was this a represented vote?
- How periodically are elections scheduled to be held?
- Have you always adhered to this schedule?
- Who won the last three elections to the post of party president?
- If they were not held, why not?
Candidate questionnaire: Second string
Election questions about prominent party members
These questions will help you learn the identities of other prominent persons in political parties besides the leader, and how power is shared amongst various people at the top.
- Who are the other leaders of your political party?
- How well educated are they? How many have college degrees?
- If elected, who will occupy the major portfolios - finance, home, human resources, education, law, and energy?
- Which constituencies are these leaders contesting from?
- Do they live in those constituencies, and if not, why are they contesting from there?
- Have any of these party leaders previously held positions in government?
Candidate questionnaire: Ideology
What do you believe, whose beliefs do you share or reject?
These questions will help you understand the ideology behind which the party is organized and how consistent this thought is.
- What is the distinguishing ideology of your party?
- Which parties are clearly different from yours?
- Do you have any pre-poll alliances? What is the basis for such alliances? Do the alliance partners share your economic and social ideologies? Give me some examples.
- What is your opinion on post-election coalitions? Is your party sufficeintly strong to come to power by itself, or are you supporting other political parties? In what sense are the coalition partners similar to you?
- Is your political party an off-shoot of a different one? If yes, what was the ideological reason for the split, and in what important ways does this faction differ from the rest?
- Have you, in the past, opposed any political party which you are now supporting? If yes, what has changed?
- Have you, in the past, switched political afffiliation after an election, i.e., moved to a party after being elected on as the candidate of another?
Candidate questionnaire: Finances
Ensuring accountable and assured management of public funds
These questions will help you understand the party's commitment to financial probity.
- What do you (the candidate) do for a living?
- Do you file tax returns regularly, and are you willing to make these records public?
- Do you promise to declare your and your immediate family's assets periodically if elected?
- Is there any conflict of interest between your business and the welfare of your constituents? [eg. a mill owner in a labour costituency, or a landlord in a farmer constoituency]. If so how do you propose to resolve this?
- Do you think other representatives from your political party should make their financial records public before the elections, and regularly thereafter if elected?
Candidate questionnaire: The local interest
Representing the constituents, not the leadership of parties.
These questions will help you understand how committed the local representatives are to the interests of their particular constituency, and whether they are able to represent you independent of their loyalty to party members and leaders from elsewhere.
- Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
- Does your party allow elected representatives to vote according to their own preferences in the assembly/parliament, or are they required to vote as instructed by the leadership?
- Does your party use a whip to regulate votes in the assemblies? [A whip is a party functionary who passes the word on how the party members are expected to vote].
Candidate questionnaire: An open government
Transparent functioning by elected representatives and administrators.
These questions will help you understand the extent to which the party is willing to make decisions publicly, and provide you with information as to how and why the decisions are taken.
- What is your party's position on secrecy of public information?
- Will infrastructure agreements be made public at the time they are signed?
- Will the costs of acquisition and sale of land by the government be kept public?
- Will your party support a Freedom of Information Bill that includes whistle-blower protection? [ A whistle-blower is someone working for the government who reveals corruption inside it, and is often punished by the government as a consequence ].
- Will you enact legislation ro ensure AUTOMATIC cancellation of projects that use public money when the money is not used for the publicly stated intention?
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
Elections provide the most opportune moments to express our preferences for socio-economic and other policies pursued by the political parties. Every time one comes around, we find a number of party workers soliciting our votes, and a little preparedness on our part can help. These questions can help us examine our preferences privately, and to engage others in discussions about the answers. Please feel free to submit your questions by writing editor@hyderabadnews.net; we will maintain this page in perpetuity for use in all future elections.
Before you cast your ballot ...
Questions for the party poll worker at your door.
An elected leader
Second string
Ideological integrity
Financial background and integrity
Representing constituents
Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
Transparent Government
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
Candidate Questionnaire: The leader
Understanding the heads of political parties at the time of elections
These questions may help you understand how the leaders of individual parties have attained their current positions. Check the table to the right, for more questions covering a range of issues relevant to making electoral choices.
- Who is the head of your political organization?
- How did s/he get to that post?
- Were internal elections held to appoint him/her?
- If yes, when were these elections last held?
- Where were they held?
- Who was eligible to vote?
- Could party members in distant towns and cities vote?
- Was this a direct vote by the members themselves, or was this a represented vote?
- How periodically are elections scheduled to be held?
- Have you always adhered to this schedule?
- Who won the last three elections to the post of party president?
- If they were not held, why not?
Candidate questionnaire: Second string
Election questions about prominent party members
These questions will help you learn the identities of other prominent persons in political parties besides the leader, and how power is shared amongst various people at the top.
- Who are the other leaders of your political party?
- How well educated are they? How many have college degrees?
- If elected, who will occupy the major portfolios - finance, home, human resources, education, law, and energy?
- Which constituencies are these leaders contesting from?
- Do they live in those constituencies, and if not, why are they contesting from there?
- Have any of these party leaders previously held positions in government?
Candidate questionnaire: Ideology
What do you believe, whose beliefs do you share or reject?
These questions will help you understand the ideology behind which the party is organized and how consistent this thought is.
- What is the distinguishing ideology of your party?
- Which parties are clearly different from yours?
- Do you have any pre-poll alliances? What is the basis for such alliances? Do the alliance partners share your economic and social ideologies? Give me some examples.
- What is your opinion on post-election coalitions? Is your party sufficeintly strong to come to power by itself, or are you supporting other political parties? In what sense are the coalition partners similar to you?
- Is your political party an off-shoot of a different one? If yes, what was the ideological reason for the split, and in what important ways does this faction differ from the rest?
- Have you, in the past, opposed any political party which you are now supporting? If yes, what has changed?
- Have you, in the past, switched political afffiliation after an election, i.e., moved to a party after being elected on as the candidate of another?
Candidate questionnaire: Finances
Ensuring accountable and assured management of public funds
These questions will help you understand the party's commitment to financial probity.
- What do you (the candidate) do for a living?
- Do you file tax returns regularly, and are you willing to make these records public?
- Do you promise to declare your and your immediate family's assets periodically if elected?
- Is there any conflict of interest between your business and the welfare of your constituents? [eg. a mill owner in a labour costituency, or a landlord in a farmer constoituency]. If so how do you propose to resolve this?
- Do you think other representatives from your political party should make their financial records public before the elections, and regularly thereafter if elected?
Candidate questionnaire: The local interest
Representing the constituents, not the leadership of parties.
These questions will help you understand how committed the local representatives are to the interests of their particular constituency, and whether they are able to represent you independent of their loyalty to party members and leaders from elsewhere.
- Are any candidates in your party contesting from more than one constituency? If yes, why? If elected from both, which one will s/he forfeit?
- Does your party allow elected representatives to vote according to their own preferences in the assembly/parliament, or are they required to vote as instructed by the leadership?
- Does your party use a whip to regulate votes in the assemblies? [A whip is a party functionary who passes the word on how the party members are expected to vote].
Candidate questionnaire: An open government
Transparent functioning by elected representatives and administrators.
These questions will help you understand the extent to which the party is willing to make decisions publicly, and provide you with information as to how and why the decisions are taken.
- What is your party's position on secrecy of public information?
- Will infrastructure agreements be made public at the time they are signed?
- Will the costs of acquisition and sale of land by the government be kept public?
- Will your party support a Freedom of Information Bill that includes whistle-blower protection? [ A whistle-blower is someone working for the government who reveals corruption inside it, and is often punished by the government as a consequence ].
- Will you enact legislation ro ensure AUTOMATIC cancellation of projects that use public money when the money is not used for the publicly stated intention?
We will add questions regularly; please email your questions to us at editor@hyderabadnews.net
Indian Democracy - Towards Positive Change
By M H Ahssan
The the machinery and conduct of elections, is robust and intact. But the 'software' of democracy, the processes by which we are governed in-between elections, is corrupt and corroded.
In India, astrologers are paid much better and respected far more than historians. But their profession is altogether more risky. Who, when the people of India went to the polls in the winter of 1951-2, could ever have predicted that this general election would be the first of very many? Not a respected Madras editor, who dismissed India's tryst with electoral democracy as the "biggest gamble in history". Not an Oxford-educated civil servant, who, when asked to supervise the polls in Manipur, wrote to his father that "a future and more enlightened age will view with astonishment the absurd farce of recording the votes of millions of illiterate people".
Nor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, whose journal, the Organiser, was certain that Jawaharlal Nehru "would live to confess the failure of universal adult franchise in India". Sceptical about this "leap in the dark", this "precipitate dose of democracy", the Organiser complained that Nehru, "who has all along lived by slogans and stunts, would not listen".
As it happens, Nehru's faith was shared by millions of ordinary Indians. They chose to disregard the warnings of Hindu reactionaries, Oxford scholars, and English-speaking editors. A staggering 107 million Indians cast their franchise in the 1952 elections, this by far the greatest exercise of democratic will in human history. The record set then has been beaten 13 times - each time by Indians. And in the summer of 2009 the record will be superseded once more.
Before India, no society steeped in poverty and illiteracy had ever experimented with electoral democracy. Before India, no polity, large or small, had granted adults of both genders the vote at one fell swoop. In older democracies such as France, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, the privilege was first extended to rich men, later to educated men, then to all men, and finally, after a very long struggle, to women as well. Even a supposedly 'advanced' country such as Switzerland permitted its women citizens to vote only as late as 1971.
On the other hand, in independent India the franchise was immediately granted to all adults, regardless of education, wealth, gender or caste. The American constitution was adopted in 1787, but people of colour have effectively had the right to vote only since the 1960s. However, Dalits in India voted, and Dalit candidates were elected to Parliament, within two years of the writing of our own Constitution.
Electoral democracy in India was an act of faith, a challenge to logic and the received wisdom, perhaps even the biggest gamble in history. That it has now gone through so many iterations should be a matter of pride for Indians. Not least because our elections are free and fair. The Election Commission of India enjoys an enviable reputation for efficiency and neutrality. As recently as 2000, an American presidential election was decided by faulty balloting and biased judges. But we can be certain that the 2009 general election in India will more reliably reflect the will of the people.
Who will this verdict favour? Even the most trained psephologist (or astrologer) will not, I think, go so far as to offer an unambiguous answer to this question, to thus make himself hostage to a prediction that may go horribly wrong. For all one can safely say about the next general elections is that, like the six that immediately preceded it, no single party will get a majority in Parliament. Three options present themselves - first, that the Congress and its allies will somehow cobble together a majority; second, that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies shall beat them to the magic figure of 272; third, that neither alliance will achieve its aim, thus making room for a minority 'third front' government propped up by either the BJP or the Congress.
The rise of coalition governments is a product of the deepening of Indian democracy. Our country is too large and too diverse to be adequately represented by a single party, or to be ruled in turn by two rival 'national' parties either. Thus communities that claim disadvantage on the basis of region, language or caste have articulated their grievances through political parties set up to represent their interests. At the local level, these identity-based parties have sometimes promoted a more inclusive politics, by giving space to groups previously left out of governance and administration.
However, when aggregated at the level of the nation, these regional diversities lead to irrational and excessively short-term outcomes. Despite their grand-sounding names, neither the United Progressive Alliance nor the National Democratic Alliance has a coherent ideology that serves to bind the alliance's partners. Smaller parties join the BJP or the Congress on a purely opportunistic basis, seeking to extract profitable ministerships or subsidies to vote banks in exchange for political support.
This historian is hesitant to assume the role of an astrologer, but less hesitant to stake his claim to be a citizen. As I said, we should all take pride in the fact that after 60 testing years of freedom we are still somewhat united and somewhat democratic. But we might take less pride in the conduct of our political parties and politicians. The 'hardware' of Indian democracy, by which I mean the machinery and conduct of elections, is robust and intact. The 'software' of democracy, by which I mean the processes by which we are governed in-between elections, is corrupt and corroded.
What might be done to redeem this? How might the political process be made more efficient and more sensitive to the needs of the citizens? Here are a few concrete suggestions for how we may improve Indian politics in the year 2009 and beyond:
First, promote bipartisanship on issues of national security and foreign policy. The Congress and the BJP are equally guilty here. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Srinagar, as the first prime minister to do so in more than a decade, Sonia Gandhi asked the Congress ministers in the state government to boycott his speech. More recently, when several years of peace were threatened by the Amarnath controversy, L K Advani worked to intensify the conflicts between Jammu and the Kashmir valley, when he could have instead chosen to collaborate with the government to resolve them. On the question of terrorism, too, the BJP and the Congress seek to wound the other party rather than to make common cause in the national interest. When the idea of India is itself in peril, there must be no place for the politics of vindictive opposition.
Second, promote lateral entry into government. One reason Western states are better run than ours is that top jobs are not a monopoly of party apparatchiks and civil servants. Rather, qualified technologists, lawyers, entrepreneurs and journalists are encouraged to enter government in posts suited to their skills. Why should a successful businessman not be eligible to be made commerce secretary, or a brilliant scientist education secretary?
Third, restore Parliament as a theatre for reasoned debate, which it indeed was for the first quarter-century of its existence. The first few Lok Sabhas met for some 150 times a year; now, we are lucky if Parliament convenes for 80 days a year. And when they are not on holiday, the members of parliament seek not to speak themselves but to stop others from speaking.
Fourth, put pressure on political parties to voluntarily adopt a retirement age. No one more than 70 years of age should be permitted by their party to contest elections or hold office. In a young country and fast-moving world, to have octogenerians running state governments or seeking to be prime minister simply won't do.
Fifth, act on the EC's suggestion and include, on the ballot paper, the category "None of the above", to be inserted after the list of candidates for each constituency. The right not to vote, and to make it known that an individual will not vote , is a natural extension of the democratic right to choose a particular candidate or party to represent oneself.
As the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks has underlined, the disenchantment with politicians runs deep in India. However, the slogans that currently express this disgust - "Jail all corrupt politicians", "Do not pay your taxes", and so on - are either wholly negative, or wholly impractical, or both. On the other hand, the proposals outlined above are both positive as well as realistic. They are intended to make Indian democracy something more than the periodic exercise of the popular right to vote.
That right is, of course, indispensable - and we should be thankful that, unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood, we can exercise it yet again in 2009. But we cannot be content with this. And so, in the interval between the 15th and the 16th general elections, let us promote bipartisanship in foreign policy, encourage talented professionals to enter government, restore the integrity of Parliament, send old politicians into a dignified retirement, and add, to the right to vote, the right not to vote as well.
The the machinery and conduct of elections, is robust and intact. But the 'software' of democracy, the processes by which we are governed in-between elections, is corrupt and corroded.In India, astrologers are paid much better and respected far more than historians. But their profession is altogether more risky. Who, when the people of India went to the polls in the winter of 1951-2, could ever have predicted that this general election would be the first of very many? Not a respected Madras editor, who dismissed India's tryst with electoral democracy as the "biggest gamble in history". Not an Oxford-educated civil servant, who, when asked to supervise the polls in Manipur, wrote to his father that "a future and more enlightened age will view with astonishment the absurd farce of recording the votes of millions of illiterate people".
Nor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, whose journal, the Organiser, was certain that Jawaharlal Nehru "would live to confess the failure of universal adult franchise in India". Sceptical about this "leap in the dark", this "precipitate dose of democracy", the Organiser complained that Nehru, "who has all along lived by slogans and stunts, would not listen".
As it happens, Nehru's faith was shared by millions of ordinary Indians. They chose to disregard the warnings of Hindu reactionaries, Oxford scholars, and English-speaking editors. A staggering 107 million Indians cast their franchise in the 1952 elections, this by far the greatest exercise of democratic will in human history. The record set then has been beaten 13 times - each time by Indians. And in the summer of 2009 the record will be superseded once more.
Before India, no society steeped in poverty and illiteracy had ever experimented with electoral democracy. Before India, no polity, large or small, had granted adults of both genders the vote at one fell swoop. In older democracies such as France, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, the privilege was first extended to rich men, later to educated men, then to all men, and finally, after a very long struggle, to women as well. Even a supposedly 'advanced' country such as Switzerland permitted its women citizens to vote only as late as 1971.
On the other hand, in independent India the franchise was immediately granted to all adults, regardless of education, wealth, gender or caste. The American constitution was adopted in 1787, but people of colour have effectively had the right to vote only since the 1960s. However, Dalits in India voted, and Dalit candidates were elected to Parliament, within two years of the writing of our own Constitution.
Electoral democracy in India was an act of faith, a challenge to logic and the received wisdom, perhaps even the biggest gamble in history. That it has now gone through so many iterations should be a matter of pride for Indians. Not least because our elections are free and fair. The Election Commission of India enjoys an enviable reputation for efficiency and neutrality. As recently as 2000, an American presidential election was decided by faulty balloting and biased judges. But we can be certain that the 2009 general election in India will more reliably reflect the will of the people.
Who will this verdict favour? Even the most trained psephologist (or astrologer) will not, I think, go so far as to offer an unambiguous answer to this question, to thus make himself hostage to a prediction that may go horribly wrong. For all one can safely say about the next general elections is that, like the six that immediately preceded it, no single party will get a majority in Parliament. Three options present themselves - first, that the Congress and its allies will somehow cobble together a majority; second, that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies shall beat them to the magic figure of 272; third, that neither alliance will achieve its aim, thus making room for a minority 'third front' government propped up by either the BJP or the Congress.
The rise of coalition governments is a product of the deepening of Indian democracy. Our country is too large and too diverse to be adequately represented by a single party, or to be ruled in turn by two rival 'national' parties either. Thus communities that claim disadvantage on the basis of region, language or caste have articulated their grievances through political parties set up to represent their interests. At the local level, these identity-based parties have sometimes promoted a more inclusive politics, by giving space to groups previously left out of governance and administration.
However, when aggregated at the level of the nation, these regional diversities lead to irrational and excessively short-term outcomes. Despite their grand-sounding names, neither the United Progressive Alliance nor the National Democratic Alliance has a coherent ideology that serves to bind the alliance's partners. Smaller parties join the BJP or the Congress on a purely opportunistic basis, seeking to extract profitable ministerships or subsidies to vote banks in exchange for political support.
This historian is hesitant to assume the role of an astrologer, but less hesitant to stake his claim to be a citizen. As I said, we should all take pride in the fact that after 60 testing years of freedom we are still somewhat united and somewhat democratic. But we might take less pride in the conduct of our political parties and politicians. The 'hardware' of Indian democracy, by which I mean the machinery and conduct of elections, is robust and intact. The 'software' of democracy, by which I mean the processes by which we are governed in-between elections, is corrupt and corroded.
What might be done to redeem this? How might the political process be made more efficient and more sensitive to the needs of the citizens? Here are a few concrete suggestions for how we may improve Indian politics in the year 2009 and beyond:
First, promote bipartisanship on issues of national security and foreign policy. The Congress and the BJP are equally guilty here. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Srinagar, as the first prime minister to do so in more than a decade, Sonia Gandhi asked the Congress ministers in the state government to boycott his speech. More recently, when several years of peace were threatened by the Amarnath controversy, L K Advani worked to intensify the conflicts between Jammu and the Kashmir valley, when he could have instead chosen to collaborate with the government to resolve them. On the question of terrorism, too, the BJP and the Congress seek to wound the other party rather than to make common cause in the national interest. When the idea of India is itself in peril, there must be no place for the politics of vindictive opposition.
Second, promote lateral entry into government. One reason Western states are better run than ours is that top jobs are not a monopoly of party apparatchiks and civil servants. Rather, qualified technologists, lawyers, entrepreneurs and journalists are encouraged to enter government in posts suited to their skills. Why should a successful businessman not be eligible to be made commerce secretary, or a brilliant scientist education secretary?
Third, restore Parliament as a theatre for reasoned debate, which it indeed was for the first quarter-century of its existence. The first few Lok Sabhas met for some 150 times a year; now, we are lucky if Parliament convenes for 80 days a year. And when they are not on holiday, the members of parliament seek not to speak themselves but to stop others from speaking.
Fourth, put pressure on political parties to voluntarily adopt a retirement age. No one more than 70 years of age should be permitted by their party to contest elections or hold office. In a young country and fast-moving world, to have octogenerians running state governments or seeking to be prime minister simply won't do.
Fifth, act on the EC's suggestion and include, on the ballot paper, the category "None of the above", to be inserted after the list of candidates for each constituency. The right not to vote, and to make it known that an individual will not vote , is a natural extension of the democratic right to choose a particular candidate or party to represent oneself.
As the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks has underlined, the disenchantment with politicians runs deep in India. However, the slogans that currently express this disgust - "Jail all corrupt politicians", "Do not pay your taxes", and so on - are either wholly negative, or wholly impractical, or both. On the other hand, the proposals outlined above are both positive as well as realistic. They are intended to make Indian democracy something more than the periodic exercise of the popular right to vote.
That right is, of course, indispensable - and we should be thankful that, unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood, we can exercise it yet again in 2009. But we cannot be content with this. And so, in the interval between the 15th and the 16th general elections, let us promote bipartisanship in foreign policy, encourage talented professionals to enter government, restore the integrity of Parliament, send old politicians into a dignified retirement, and add, to the right to vote, the right not to vote as well.
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