IN AN INTERVIEW with Shekhar Gupta, Bal Thackeray, on his eightieth birthday, expressed his opinions on governance. The politician denounces Gandhi and his ideology, though he grudgingly accepts one piece of sane advice that Gandhi gave and which was never endorsed. The advice, vision, was that the Congress Party should be disbanded after the attainment of independence and that politicians should realign and form different political parties to attain their political ends. Gandhi had felt that it was unfair that any single group of people should benefit from the collective goodwill that the Congress, a movement rather than a political party had managed to garner over decades. Of course, no one paid any attention.

 

Thackeray also goes on to express his disdain for democracy and expounds the needs of a benevolent form of dictatorship, which he calls Shiv Shahi, instead of democracy. The way Balasaheb talks about dictatorship and given the image that his party Shiv Sena has, it is not unusual to think of such a concept inviting loathing. The concept that democracy is not for India, not even for Asia perhaps is not novel. Ayub Khan talked about it in the Indian sub continent when he introduced the idea of "Basic Democracy" and then Lee Kuan Yew repeated the same in Singapore followed by Mahatir Muhammad in Malaysia. All these people discussed ‘Guided Democracy’ in their respective capacities.

 

How has democracy actually fetched in India? Undoubtedly better if our immediate neighbors are taken as the benchmark. It is equally true that there was a time when the elements of insurgency were confined to few pockets in the North East only and a few pockets where Maoists held sway. However, as the quality of governance declines, the levels of insurgency and discontent keep rising and by simply deploying more and more paramilitary forces will never be the answer. Even mainstream figures are beginning to say that they see some meaning and purpose in the cause that the Maoists are fighting for. Reacting to the policy of forcible or coercive acquisition of land for the SEZs, particularly the acquiring of fertile agricultural land, former Prime Minister, VP Singh reiterate that if it was development, then he himself world like to become a Maoist. Similar views have been echoed by Prakash Singh, a retired IPS officer and former Director General of the Border Security Force. About the quality of our democracy he says: “They are far better than the criminals who have managed to infiltrate assemblies and Parliament and even become ministers.”

 

This latest preaching of Bal Thackeray, is it right? May be yes, may be not. Obviously it is not absolutely right with our democracy if large swathes of India are riddled with the bane of violence and if democracy in India continues to be a largely middle class doctrine benefiting mostly them and those who are even richer. The daily news of the suicides of the hapless farmer caught in debt traps, food insecurity and policy indifference is a good sign of hoe democracy that does not benefit the poor irrespective of who is in power – be it the NDA, UPA or even the Left Parties. Although the one man - one vote doctrine, which we recognize to be democracy, has given the right of suffrage to the common man but he has no say in the selection of candidates, no say in who become ministers and no right to recall and without all these the right to adult suffrage looks some what hollow. We do not know what Shiv Shahi might look like and if the Shiv Sena cadres are its foot soldiers, then most of us would probably prefer our flawed democracy with all its warts and wrinkles. But even so, Bal Thackeray’s point is still to be taken – democracy without inclusive governance will make little difference to the nation, no matter how many Republic Days we celebrate and whatever be the scale of its pomp and outward grandeur.