Nowadays it is election time in India, a very charged atmosphere with political emotions flying high. All political parties are trying their best to woo the voters. India is considered the largest democracy in the world with a population of around 1.2 billion people. Politics and democracy are two different things according to me. Politics is played in almost every country, but there are very few places where true, healthy, and well-functioning democracy exists, the question here is, is India one of them?
True democracy doesn't only mean the right to vote, this is just one part of it (no doubt a very important part). True, healthy, and functioning democracy depends on the informed voting decisions of people involved in the democratic process. The process includes candidate selection by political parties, policy development, voting, governing, etc. All eligible citizens should be able to participate in every step directly or indirectly. There are very few countries in this world that have such a robust and transparent democratic process in place. India is a democratic country for sure, citizens have the right to vote but most voters have very limited information or knowledge about the policies of political parties or even about candidates contesting from their constituencies. This information is deliberately not provided to them. Until recently there was no Right to Information Act (RTI). Even now political parties and their funding sources are not revealed under this act, they don't even come under this act. Most political leaders prefer to deliver emotionally charged speeches rather than talking about their policy road map which will allow them to achieve promises they are making. There is no culture of debate or discussion between major political parties or their candidates which can allow voters to understand what they really stand for. People with serious criminal charges (like murder, rape, kidnapping, etc.) are given tickets by almost all political parties. All these political parties unite whenever there is an attempt to bring any reform or act that can minimize the criminalization of politics or make political funding transparent in any way. These things normally happen in the background, most voters/citizens are not even aware of these things and most political parties don't want voters to know about these things. The more ignorant and ill-informed voters are, more better for these political parties.
Because of tremendous development in information and technology in recent years and the presence of active media, nowadays people are receiving a lot of information from various sources. There is so much information inflow that it's really difficult to grasp all of it. Along with very useful information, there is a lot of junk also, people need to filter it and educate themselves about real issues and problems. Once voters get informed they realize the real power of their vote, and they get empowered. Without information and awareness, the votes of voters can be purchased or voters can be fooled by creating some wrong perception. All these things have been happening in India for so many decades. People are really frustrated and disillusioned with this system. This is the major reason for all the support that inexperienced parties like AAP (AAm Aadami Party) or any other new regional parties are getting. Whenever some group tries to reform the rotten system, major political parties don't appreciate such efforts. They all want the same old system in place, the same old style of opaque politics as it is very beneficial to them. People who are trying to bring these changes are targeted. Actually, these people are not that important but the reforms that they want to deliver are important. Some people are trying to shoot the messenger in the hope that the message doesn't get delivered. I hope voters of India look beyond personalities and try to understand the message. Who is delivering the message is not at all important, the message is important. If major national parties like Congress and BJP are willing to decentralize power, bring strong legislation against corruption, bring total transparency and accountability in political funding and governance, and encourage job growth then there won't be any need for any anti-corruption movement or any new party. Whenever the establishment neglects a certain section of society, corruption, and crime become rampant in society, some new movement starts, and some new political party is formed to fight against this injustice.
Informed voters are more powerful, they are aware of their rights as well as responsibilities. Informed voters are equipped to make informed choices, and political parties, and leaders can not fool them all the time by giving false promises. Democracy is not very useful for its citizens without well-informed voters. I hope this scenario changes in the near future. I hope candidates participate in civilized debate because these types of debates are very necessary and are essential parts of any democratic process. India never had them so far as a part of the electoral process I hope in future they try to conduct them. After all, democracy depends on an informed electorate, and without that, it's just a democracy for the namesake. I think most of us want true and functioning democracy, not something that just looks like it but doesn't feel or work like a true democracy.
True democracy doesn't only mean the right to vote, this is just one part of it (no doubt a very important part). True, healthy, and functioning democracy depends on the informed voting decisions of people involved in the democratic process. The process includes candidate selection by political parties, policy development, voting, governing, etc. All eligible citizens should be able to participate in every step directly or indirectly. There are very few countries in this world that have such a robust and transparent democratic process in place. India is a democratic country for sure, citizens have the right to vote but most voters have very limited information or knowledge about the policies of political parties or even about candidates contesting from their constituencies. This information is deliberately not provided to them. Until recently there was no Right to Information Act (RTI). Even now political parties and their funding sources are not revealed under this act, they don't even come under this act. Most political leaders prefer to deliver emotionally charged speeches rather than talking about their policy road map which will allow them to achieve promises they are making. There is no culture of debate or discussion between major political parties or their candidates which can allow voters to understand what they really stand for. People with serious criminal charges (like murder, rape, kidnapping, etc.) are given tickets by almost all political parties. All these political parties unite whenever there is an attempt to bring any reform or act that can minimize the criminalization of politics or make political funding transparent in any way. These things normally happen in the background, most voters/citizens are not even aware of these things and most political parties don't want voters to know about these things. The more ignorant and ill-informed voters are, more better for these political parties.
Because of tremendous development in information and technology in recent years and the presence of active media, nowadays people are receiving a lot of information from various sources. There is so much information inflow that it's really difficult to grasp all of it. Along with very useful information, there is a lot of junk also, people need to filter it and educate themselves about real issues and problems. Once voters get informed they realize the real power of their vote, and they get empowered. Without information and awareness, the votes of voters can be purchased or voters can be fooled by creating some wrong perception. All these things have been happening in India for so many decades. People are really frustrated and disillusioned with this system. This is the major reason for all the support that inexperienced parties like AAP (AAm Aadami Party) or any other new regional parties are getting. Whenever some group tries to reform the rotten system, major political parties don't appreciate such efforts. They all want the same old system in place, the same old style of opaque politics as it is very beneficial to them. People who are trying to bring these changes are targeted. Actually, these people are not that important but the reforms that they want to deliver are important. Some people are trying to shoot the messenger in the hope that the message doesn't get delivered. I hope voters of India look beyond personalities and try to understand the message. Who is delivering the message is not at all important, the message is important. If major national parties like Congress and BJP are willing to decentralize power, bring strong legislation against corruption, bring total transparency and accountability in political funding and governance, and encourage job growth then there won't be any need for any anti-corruption movement or any new party. Whenever the establishment neglects a certain section of society, corruption, and crime become rampant in society, some new movement starts, and some new political party is formed to fight against this injustice.
Informed voters are more powerful, they are aware of their rights as well as responsibilities. Informed voters are equipped to make informed choices, and political parties, and leaders can not fool them all the time by giving false promises. Democracy is not very useful for its citizens without well-informed voters. I hope this scenario changes in the near future. I hope candidates participate in civilized debate because these types of debates are very necessary and are essential parts of any democratic process. India never had them so far as a part of the electoral process I hope in future they try to conduct them. After all, democracy depends on an informed electorate, and without that, it's just a democracy for the namesake. I think most of us want true and functioning democracy, not something that just looks like it but doesn't feel or work like a true democracy.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
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