Conflict of Interests and Parliamentary (Indian) Democracy

1.    We the Indians very proudly boast of our largest democracy in the world but we hardly pay any attention to the quality of Democracy. In fact, if we apply the systems approach and evaluate the dynamics of our democracy, it will turn out that we the large majority are very close to insanity since  we are trying same things over and over again and expecting different results.

 

2.      Ours is a nation which proud itself in reading history rather than creating history. We abandon our thought process midway and rarely take it to the logical conclusions. May be we believe in hero worship and think that hero's can not make mistakes. Thus whatever has been given to us by the makers of constitution is the last word on earth. May be that is the reason we don't want to change/improve or may be that our collective intellects suffers from intellectual Amnesia and thus does not want to tread the forbidden territory.

 

3.   Whatever it may be, the nation has reached another low with rampant corruption, poverty, nepotism, bad law and order situation, inflation, no accountability, etc, etc....  What are we waiting for? Lord ishnu to descend in his KALKI AVATAR and sort out the things for us or is it that US, Russia, China, Britain or France will come and sort out our problems?

 

4.   What is the reason that despite being good human being individually we are a total failure as a nation. We are just sticking together for the fear of apraisals and the military might which may gradually erode ad it has happened with many civilisations including the British Empire.

 

5.   Let us take a closer look as to what ails our democracy?

 

6.    If I were to summarise the reasons for what ails our democracy in one phrase, I would say it is CONFLICT OF INTERESTS. We all are aware as to what is conflict of intetests. Recently, media and opposition played big roll in highlighting the conflict of interests in the case of Mrs Shushma Swaraj and Mrs Vasundhra Raje Scindia.

 

7.   As we know a government of a nation state has three wings which we popularly call three pillars of democracy viz; Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary. In our popular parlance we can compare them to Brahma (Legislature), Vishnu (Executive),and Mahesh (Judiciary). Our forefathers in their wisdom kept three wings independent so that this shrishti could be governed well. Janata being the Parmeshwar our democracy should have three wings independent and not encroaching upon others territory. But in Indian democracy this principle is violated. Here same set of people are sitting in Parliament and same are occupying the chairs of power in Executive thus giving rise to CONFLICT OF INTERESTS. Also, this so called government controls the appointment of judges. The parliament becomes subservient to the "so called government" (a colonial legacy to call executive a government in commonwralth countries). And we know who is the government in real sense? Laws are made in Executive Ministry, approved in cabinet with ministers looking over shoulders towards their secretaries and brought to parliament just for thumping of desks.

 

8.   Media is agog these days saying that M K Gandhi was against majoritarianism. Nothing could be farther from truth than this assumption. On one side he gave his sanction for parliamentary democracy which is nothing but a majoritarian system of governance and on other to claim that K Gandhi was against majoritarianism. Parliamentary Democracy is the finest example of majoritarianism.

 

9.   This conflict of interest between the the Parliament and the so called Government is the root cause of our problems and will continue to ail our democracy. What we need is total separation of Legislature from Executive. This separation is not possible in Parliamentary Democracy as majoritarianism in lower house gives sanction to form the government. It is only in Presidential Democracy that Legislature and Executive is separated effectively. In this case the parliament truely becomes JAN LOKPAL. Make laws and supervise executive such that it implements the laws properly.

 

10.   That is why SAINIK SAMAJ PARTY advocates Presidential Democracy. Let us all work for credible change.

 

BHARATVARSH KI JAI

 

Balbir Singh Parmar