The barometer of success of a democracy is not only regular holding of elections only, though electoral process is important. How good the system is how the loser looks at the fairness of the system in which he lost determines the success of elections.
An American journalist wrote in 1951, ‘India means only two things to us – famines and Nehru’. That was the India inherited by the first Prime Minister in 1947. The then American Ambassador to India, Chester Bowles thought that poor countries needed a period of rule by a benevolent dictator as preparation for democracy. He was fearful of a fiasco as the proposed elections by Pandit Nehru were dubbed as the biggest farce even staged in the name of democracy. It was unbelievable that a poor populous country could think of elections.
In 1950, the proposed elections was the most daring gamble in the history of the democracy – with no Election Commission in existence and no electoral roll in place. The Organizer mouth piece of RSS (January 7, 1952) was very skeptical. Even Mahatma Gandhi during his lifetime called it ‘precipitate dose of democracy’, Rajendra Prasad was not sure about ‘this leap in the dark’. Pandit Nehru and his team restored to India its glory and honour by the 1952 elections.
At stake were over 4,500 seats, about 500 for Parliament and rest for provisional assemblies, 2,24,000 polling booths were constructed and equipment with 2 million ballot boxes for which 8,200 tonnes of steel were consumed and 3,80,000 reams of paper were used for printing the rolls. 16,500 clerks, 56,000 presiding officers. 2,80,000 helpers and 2,24,000 policemen conducted the elections under the supervision of Sukumar Sen chosen by the PM himself.
A educated rich and an illiterate poor standing in the same queue jump-started the poor country into a vibrant democracy. Nobody questioned the impartiality of Sukumar Sen chosen by the Pandit Nehru. Not even the bitterest critic of Nehru, J B Kriplani or the then young hero of the quit India movement Jayaprakash Narayan accused the incumbent with the use of state power to win that election.
Though elections are never a done deal, political thinkers have already given a third term to the current incumbent. This time it appears it is not who will form the government but whether the mandate is such as to permit the Parliament to tinker with the fundamentals of the Constitution based on the golden triangle of parliamentary democracy, federal structure and secular character. The slogan is ‘abki bar char sau par’ is a part of that physiological warfare. Propaganda helps build narratives; the greatest one in world history is how Nazis seized power. Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s Hitler’s image was boosted by the propaganda machinery.
After 70 years down the line V-Dem of the University of Gothenburg classified India to be an electoral autocracy. This year it dubbed as one of the worst autocratizers. In 2020, the Economist Intelligent unit classified India as flawed democracy. In 2021, the think tank of Washington, ‘Freedom House’ called us partly free. Freedom house report has two parts, one on political rights, India gets a high score of 34 by 40 (fallen to 33/40 in 2023). The report gives almost full marks for free and fair elections impartiality of the election commission. That is the election system foundation of which was laid by the first PM. We scored badly on civil liberties, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, academic freedom, freedom for NGOs, rule of law under the present PM.
How suddenly a nation which prioritized democracy even over food reached such levels. But Germany also had democracy with a free press in the 1920’s and liberal in arts, science and literature. A narrative built on victimhood of harsh terms of ‘treaty of Versailles’ after the World War I provided the nationalism fodder. Hitler laid the blame on the weakness of the Weimer Republic over minorities, who he thundered were preparing to take over the country leading to a new regime based upon a strong leadership. The rest is history.
We go to polls at a time when two prominent chief ministers – opponents of the regime are in jail, even before their conviction. With the ED, NIA and CBI weaponised, every possible opposition satrap, crosses over to the ruling side so that ‘he can sleep in peace’. The plunder of opposition parties and its leaders all over the countryside is now a new respectable norm with the unrepresented minorities living in hope that a bulldozer shall not come to their door step. Corporate entities on ED Radar went mysteriously off the radar, once they purchased the bonds. Even Robert Vadra who was investigated in a land deal got a clean chit, after DLF purchased the electoral bonds. The stink emanating from the bonds is unbearable. The Chief election commissioner is now a pale show of Sukumar Sen or T N Sheshan
For over 60 years, nobody questioned the electoral system. Those who lost never doubted the credibility and fairness of the EC. This is not the case now when every step is taken to make the country ‘opposition mukt’. Walter Lippmann who said ‘in a democracy, the opposition is not only tolerated as constitutional but, must be maintained because it is indispensable’, is not alive to take back his words!
If a recent Pew survey is to be believed, 65% of Indians supported an autocracy. 2024 elections may demonstrate Prime Minister’s divine authoritarianism is indeed good for the country and its citizens. I heard somewhere that PM has started campaigning for his fourth term. I only hope our Prime Minister is not compared to Putin who is voted to office in perpetuity, and India is not compared to Russia and North Korea.
(The writer is a practicing advocate and a political thinker)
