The acronym INDIA, Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance, is a brilliant concept coined by the united opposition parties. We watched on the national TV how it has rattled the ruling dispensation in Parliament. The PM has made counter statements like associating it with the East India Company, Mujahideen, etc,. These are too lame statements having no sting. However, I would like to go beyond the acronym to its wider implications that could perhaps serve as raw material in forming the vision of the manifesto of the united opposition parties.
Firstly, from the point of view of culture, we all know from history that India has been culturally inclusive down the centuries. The process of acculturation has by and large been smooth. For this reason we have a pluralism of different groups based on language, region, religion living in harmony and peaceful co-existence. India to its core is therefore a pluralism of cultures. But today we see that the ruling dispensation is injecting a contrary culture that is homogeneous, exclusive and majoritarian. The militant and belligerent way it is doing it will result in adversely affecting the ethos of peaceful pluralism. It will breed hatred and violence of the majority against minority groups. What has happened and still happening in Manipur is a graphic instance of it.
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Secondly, the idea of India as envisioned in its Constitution is one that endorses the culturally plural identity of the nation. The values enshrined in its Preamble, especially of secularism, liberty and equality is part of this idea of India that was painstakingly formulated by the Founding Fathers and approved by the Constituent Assembly. They kept in mind the need for envisaging a situation where the deprived castes and classes could live without fear and discrimination and be given equal opportunities to improve their economic condition. However, we know that the values of secularism and equality are not the ‘cup of tea’ of the ruling party and its ideology. Instances of atrocities against the lower castes and minorities have increased tremendously since the last decade or so. What is terrifying is the lack of political will of the ruling elite to take action against the culprits, or to turn a nelson’s eye to these atrocities.
Thirdly, a proper rule of law has been provided in the Constitution with checks and balances between the Executive and the Judiciary. Due respect is given to the independent functioning of the Judiciary which is vital for a democratic political system. But what we see today is not moral propriety of the rule of law but the rule of expediency that influences or determines decision making and policies of the ruling dispensation. Questioning judicial independence and attempts to control it seems to be the trend today with the ruling dispensation. Okay, Parliament being a popularly elected body is sovereign, as the Law Minister stressed in his tiff with the Judiciary, but what if there prevails a tyranny of the majority in Parliament? We recall what the great political scientist, Lord Acton succinctly exclaimed, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He was referring not to the obvious situation in an autocracy but as something possible even in a system of parliamentary democracy.
Finally, on the economic front, we see unhealthy trends that are contrary to the idea of India as envisioned in the Constitution. The Fathers opted for a social democratic system to respond to the gross poverty prevailing in the country and to the glaring economic disparities between the haves and the have-nots, and the lack of opportunities for the latter. After the country’s independence, we started off with the Five-year Plan system which definitely brought a lot of progress with schemes implemented by the Public Sector Undertakings. Protectionism prevailed to help indigenous undertakings grow. The scheme of reservation for the backward classes was an attempt to facilitate providing opportunities to it. It is true that this system did not provide the progress that was envisaged. Hence, in the early nineties, the Manmohan Singh government opened up the economy introducing a controlled liberalization. What we see today is the pendulum swung to the other extreme, a policy of economic liberalization gone haywire, with large public sector undertakings like the railways and airports being transferred to the private sector. The trend is crony capitalism with few large cartels benefitting from it. The reason for this, as is so obvious, is that more than the nation, the ruling party benefits financially. It needs a lot of funds to promote its ideology and acquire or retain and perpetuate its political dominance, mostly by unfair means, as is commonly known.
Considering the situation and trends prevailing in the above mentioned sectors, one can see that the ruling dispensation is engaging in a gross deviation from the idea of India as envisioned in our Constitution. Hence the unified opposition parties should make sincere attempts and leave no stone unturned to broaden the connotation of the acronym INDIA to include the above-mentioned perceptions and to conscientize the citizens, reaching to the grassroots level. In this way they will stay relevant and effective in their canvassing for the 2024 elections.
(The author is a freelance writer based in Carmona)
