For preventing a democracy from descending to anarchy, it’s imperative for citizens to have respect for the rule of law and ensure there are checks on any reckless exercise of power
Reinhold Niebuhr, a famous American academician once said, “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” This is a great quote for two reason: First, because it talks about our humanity and how it craves for justice and equality, which are the foundations of any democracy, and second, because it reminds us of our more base tendencies that can only be kept in check through a democratic system of Government. For a democracy to thrive, there are a few pillars that are at play simultaneously and constantly. These pillars include the judiciary, the executive, the legislature and the Press. Contrary to what this Government would like to assume, a modern democratic society cannot be merely whittled down to the legislature, which makes the laws of the country and are the elected to power. But it also requires the judiciary, the Press, and the bureaucracy to play their important roles. I think someone forgot to tell that to the current Government in power.
While there has been an uneasy consistency with which the Government has targeted these other pillars of democracy, the first real shot was fired by the Finance Minister, who while speaking about the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) said that Indian democracy cannot be a tyranny of the unelected and commented how if the elected are undermined, democracy itself would be in danger. I am afraid that Arun Jaitley has missed the point here because a democracy is not the blind and blank mandate of only the elected but instead, in order to function well, it requires a fine balance between the elected and the unelected.
In this week’s column, I will examine how the current Government has tried to minimise the influence of these unelected pillars like the judiciary, the bureaucracy and the Press and demonstrated a tyrannical approach to governance.
For a democracy to prevent its descent to anarchy, it is imperative for citizens to have respect for the rule of law. The primary role of the judiciary is to interpret the law of the land and to state the law as it is. The Supreme Court, as the final interpreter of law in our country, recently ruled that no woman can be restricted from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The Supreme Court came to its decision based on the principles of equality that have been laid down in our Constitution. Since the judgement was borne out of a religiously charged issue, it is the responsibility of the party in power to ensure that the situation on the ground is not further inflamed resulting in greater violence. Instead, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in clear abdication of its responsibilities stoked tensions further. Comments from the BJP president reflect a clear disregard for the judiciary, which is an essential pillar of a successful democracy and only serves to undermine an important part of the State.
The BJP has been brazen in its attempts to exercise control over the bureaucracy as well. The bizarre episode with the CBI director being replaced in the wee hours of the morning and the CBI raiding its own officers, was just the latest indicator of how this Government has sought to maintain a stranglehold on instruments of the state and has lost control of these institutions. While the elected drafts the laws of the country, this Government will do well to recognise that the actual implementation of the laws of our country is through the bureaucracy.
The bureaucracy has a duty to implement the laws drafted by the legislature without any interference. However, there is clear disregard of this tenet by the Government and was further evidenced by the changes that were proposed with respect to the appointment of civil servants to their respective services.
The most recent example of an attack on the institutions and how the Government acts like a spoilt child if things are not going its way, is the current stand-off between the Reserve Bank of India and the Government. The wideming rift between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Government concerns a demand for funds from the RBI that have been collected over decades. The Government would set a dangerous precedence by invoking Section 7 of the RBI Act that would allow the Government to dictate financial policy. This is because through the past four and a half years, this Government has shown how inept it is at handing the economy. From demonetisation to the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), our country has had to suffer a great deal because of Modinomics. Also, with fuel prices higher than ever and the rupee lower than ever, questioning the financial prudence of the RBI by forcing the Central Bank into submission, is another way to substitute the expertise of the unelected with the arrogance of the elected. India must avoid such this scenario.
An independent Press is the primary medium to speak the truth to powers that maybe but this pillar has been badgered by this Government into something unrecognisable. I have written in this newspaper before, while discussing freedom of Press, that there is an environment of fear and trepidation in the entire countrywhere we are unable to raise questions about the Government without attacks on our patriotism. Of these attacks, perhaps the resignation of Punya Prasun Bajpai from ABP News, a few months ago under circumstances that are frighteningly Orwellian, was perhaps the most disconcerting. These attacks coupled with the approach of this Government to shroud itself in secrecy and a Prime Minister who refuses to take unscripted and uncomfortable questions indicate that the Government does not believe that in order for a country to be stronger going forward, it must be able to question its Government.
An examination of the examples I have detailed above shows how this Government has tried to diminish checks on any reckless exercise of its power by whatever means necessary. It is obvious that the Government views any such checks as tyrannical while in reality, it is merely democracy at work that requires the unelected, too, to play an important role. The elected, however, have chosen to adopt a hammer and tongs approach to governance and ignore this basic tenet. The problem, with such an approach, is that if you have a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail — even good sense.
(The writer is Jharkhand PCC president, former MP and IPS officer. Views are personal)
