Decrypting the fortunes of theocracy

Post-Uri terrorist attack, the media glares were focused on what the most powerful man of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would say on Pakistan. Albeit, he chose a political rally to convey his displeasure to “Terroristan” (An analogy shared by noted author Chetan Bhagat for Pakistan), but the message was disseminated proportionately to satisfy the thirst of hawks on both sides of ‘Line of Control’, the self-proclaimed liberals, rationality bearers, non-ideological citizens as well as international stakeholders.

Amidst the conspicuous glow of tensions surrounding the decades old adversaries, a larger question remains unanswered. “Why do the nations born with a religious premise are far more unstable and volatile than the nations born with secularism as their core value?”
To understand this fundamental question, we shall take a look at what exactly we mean by a ‘nation’?

In The Ethnic Origins of Nations (1986), Anthony Smith presents the ‘primordialist view’ which states that the nations are historically embedded; they are rooted in a common cultural heritage and language that may long predate the achievement of statehood or even the national independence.

Does this cultural heritage necessarily mean religious homogeneity? How far has it been successful? It has been observed in post-colonial era that the nations which derive the legitimacy of their authority on religious foundation often found themselves trapped into the quagmire of a deep moral conflict.

The diagnosis of the problem does not require vigorous crystal ball gazing but a narrow understanding of history. Various reasons can be attributed to the issue, such as: -

Firstly, as the foundation of the State is based on the spirit of intolerance, hence the breeding of sleazy animosity and fissures within the society is easy with no diverse ideological and philosophical apparatus to neutralize such threats.

Secondly, these inbuilt theocratic impulses offer resistance to change within the society, which in turn renders intellectual development, modernity, innovation and spiritual growth ineffective.

Thirdly, it is easy to radicalize and manipulate the population because of lack of alternative source of opinions. This further ignites the fire of distrust and disharmony in the homogeneous society.

Fourthly, the debate regarding material economic progress is impounded by the forces of irrationality and religious orthodoxy claiming monopoly over decision making. Moreover, the State in such societies is mostly subservient to the dictates of the latter pressure groups, pushing the ‘Base and Superstructure’ theory of Karl Marx into obsoleteness.

Fifthly, the spirit of homogeneity of society makes it difficult to adapt the opportunities of globalization and liberalization which propagate the heterogeneous structures of society in an interconnected world. The results of such disconnect is evident from the emerging violence in the developed world, allegedly carried out by the alienated communities.

Sixth, as the religious sphere cycles through the phases of downfall and precipitation due to the inevitable circling of the clock, the State too gets deformed because of lack of availability of alternative forces of unification which are either unrepresented or underdeveloped in such societies.

Seventh, due to the prevalence of radical nobility, the fundamental rights of liberty, equality and fraternity are impaired with irrational theocratic discourses, which ultimately paralyses the dialectical progress that germinates diversity of opinions and synthesis of such opinions in consistently changing social dynamics. The acceptance of diversity of opinion broadens intellectual horizon and facilitates conflict resolution through multiple fashions. But its absence due to the homogeneous structure of society consequently submerges such States under the tides of anarchy.

Last, but not the least, the dominance of religious orthodoxy also impairs the accountability of the State towards the populace and any question of impropriety is settled with the deliberations of maintaining religious status-quo under the garb of threat to the religion. Hence, it proves that democracy and theocracy are non-complementary and the existence of such political associations could be a farce.

The forces of partition ignited the idea of States based on religion. On one side, the belligerence which established Pakistan celebrated the idea of ‘Islamic Republicanism’. The other side, albeit pressured by the hawks of religious supremacy, adopted for a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic guided by the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity to secure social, economic and political justice for all irrespective of belief, faith and worship.

As the Prime Minister today spoke to the belligerent hawks of Pakistan, “If you want to fight a war, we accept the challenge. Let us fight against poverty, unemployment, undernourishment, injustice, griminess and diseases. Let us see who wins the war first.”

Democracy is India’s Achilles’ Heel

Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as the ‘rule of the people, by the people and for the people’. It has been proclaimed as the ideal form of the government because it keeps check on the actions of the executive.

The emergence of democracy can be traced back to many centuries ago, with the securing of certain rights in a document called ‘Magna Carta’ by the people of United Kingdom from their monarchy. The Greek philosophers too have staked their claim on gifting democracy to the people of the world. Indian intellectuals like Dr. Shashi Tharoor have rejected the claim of Western political thinkers regarding the foundation of democracy in West and have submitted the claim that democracy was practiced in Ancient India itself, signaling our strong roots of democracy. But the most plausible argument lies in the fact that there was no such thing as a ‘static system of democracy’. It is a dynamic idea into which various structures and features were added, subtracted and made permanent to form a basic structure of the democracy. This dynamic idea is still growing and will continue to grow forever with thesis and anti-thesis in its way. The struggle for independence and securing of semi-democratic concessions from the British in the form of Charters and Acts are all included in the dynamic addition in the basic structure of democracy.

Did India benefit from being a democratic nation? It surely did and apart from securing various rights from the State, the most important achievement of adopting a democratic system of governance is that it taught our people, the ‘art of questioning’. This art of questioning secured social, political and economic rights for our people. Even this evolution is in progress, people are demanding rights even till now and would continue to demand them with time, with an increase in the aspirations of the people. Democracy is the reason why we talk about ‘inclusion’ and give up the idea of exclusivity, whether it is political or economic (financial inclusion). The multi-way unrestricted communication in a productively dialectical method has resolved multiple issues in the journey and has polished the ethos of democracy itself. The emergence of a secular state is no surprise in a democracy where the aspirations of even the minutest of a community is respected and promoted. This is because of democracy alone, that the poor living in the remotest town of the country raises his own or collective voice and threatens the government if his/her constitutionally sanctioned demands are not met. In a pessimistic assumption of non-acceptance of his demands, he always has the option to consult the judiciary and secure his rights from the State. The universal adult franchise has promulgated not just political equality but social equality too which in turn kick-starts the process of economic equality in the future. The affirmative action to secure a decent standard of living for the subaltern class was possible only in a democracy. Not just for the citizens, but for the governance too, democracy has been an ideal method. It has circumscribed errors due to multiple checks and balances which have further promoted a rational decision making process, although slow, but most probably free from the quakes of unidentified risks. Transparency and accountability has not only benefitted the people but it has also boosted the confidence of the executive. As a small piece of paper is not enough to highlight the possible contributions of democracy to India, therefore it should be left for further debate.

But, Kautilya rejoiced the possibility of vulnerability of a democratic state and proclaimed that the existence of democracy means nobody is fit to rule the State. Recent surveys by various independent organizations have highlighted a particularly disturbing trend among our society. It showcases that the trust of the people in the democratic form of governance has eroded over the past few years and the citizens regard it as an impediment in our path of prosperity. There are several reasons for it, which may be true or partly true. The most important among them is that democracy prohibits the possibility of quick decision making. It could be partly true, but generally a trend has been seen that democratic systems have multiple layers of checks through which the process of quick decision making suffers a setback. It is also observed that in many times, when the quick decision making of the executive was required in India, the bureaucratic hurdles as well as the unnecessary colonial level regulations have impeded the process. It has resulted in the slipping away of opportunities (especially economic) from our hands to our undemocratic neighbors like China. The erosion of trust among the parliamentary form of governance due to undemocratic actions by few elements in the institution, to retard the progress of the country has led many to believe that democracy is not our way forward. The process of election has seen disturbing trends where politically inexperienced but economically motivated electors by the candidates are changing the dynamics of the institution of legislature and ultimately the Government at all levels. Therefore, the thoughts of political thinkers like John Stuart Mills, regarding extension of franchise to capable people alone, are being echoed in the politically active and mature minds of our people. The democratic system of governance has put some unnecessary fetters on our executive too through outdated as well as static laws because of which the executive finds it difficult to cope up with the changing dynamics of the governance. For example, the recent clamp down on some fringe elements among civil society to protect the political and economic security of the country was nullified by the judiciary due to lack of evidence. There has been inefficient law making in the past which needs regular upgradation to cope up with the changing dynamics of the society.

But the biggest failure of democracy is to secure a genuine political participation of its citizens in the functioning of the State. The emergence of a cycle of elite class rule in which the members of the ‘club’ rule the state turn-by-turn and there is a general prohibition of admission of common citizens in it. This elite club has seen the participation of rich, criminals as well as hereditary acceptance of the members. This circulation of elite theory has proved its dominance in Indian politics too where the dynastic rules, criminal as well as rich legislators have tried to circumvent the law according to their own whims and fancies.

Such examples have eroded the trust of the people of India in democracy and its ideals. But the ideals of democracy are not stagnant; rather they evolve with time and resolve such issues with the passage of time. People regard the democracy as the rule of semi-monarchs working under the stage of a democratic drama.

It could be agreed that democracy is not the perfect solution to India’s problems, but what other option do we have which is better than the democracy? We should remember that the right to discuss, demean and question the relevance of our Indian democracy, is given by the democracy itself.

Public is ill, we must cure our masters. - Socrates

Society is like a herd of sheep, roaming for food and shelter, incapable of administering themselves together in a civilized manner.  They are ill and are born to be ruled. Whereas one sheep from the herd takes the lead and guides them all towards the journey of civilization.  He is the ‘master’ of the system.

Socrates, like all political philosophers, had an ultimate objective of “good governance”. To achieve the same, he gave general principles of an ideal state that could guide the world towards peace and tranquility. His ideas were stressed upon curbing the apocalypse caused by anarchy in the state and the gross injustice to the people by the ignorant rulers.

To follow up with the utopian state that he dreamt of, he explained the qualities of a philosopher king, the system of education for the society, the mechanism of justice, the allegory of cave (to explain the significance of a philosopher king).

A ‘philosopher king’ is the one who has the vision towards practicality, while the state (public) is blind to the truth. He is selfless but not faceless (uncommunicative), he is courageous than the state, but not irrational enough to decide in haste, he is the custodian of justice in the state, but should not turn the enemy of the state, he should take up unpopular matters, but just for the benefit of the state.

To impart such qualities in a philosopher king, education system could be reformed, the concept of equal opportunity should prevail and only then, a diamond out of all the coal blocks will come out, free of favoritism, nepotism and injustice to the fellows. The diamond born out of them will entirely possess his own light, earned by years of burning in the fire of the ultimate truth, and not from the borrowed or inherited one.

Socrates idea had no place for democracy. As we all see in the contemporary political scenario that the world applauds the collapse of the regime and offers help to build a democracy. But excommunicating an autocrat turns out to be much easier than setting up a viable democratic government.

Working towards a better tomorrow (Republic Day special)

Today is our 65^th ‘Republic Day’. For some, it is a matter of pride, especially to those who are seriously working towards making India, the largest democracy in the world in a true form. For many of us, including me, it is just a national holiday to relax and switch on our TV in the morning to see the ‘Republic Day Parade’ at ‘Rajpath’. We find joy and solace in watching the starved participants in the parade performing in front of the VVIPs, while having our breakfast. After that, few patriotic movies on the hindi movie channels running throughout the day will surely arouse ‘jingoism’ or may be a bit of ‘patriotism’ that will last till the end of the day i.e. before going to the sleep. In any way, at least this helps in rejuvenating the memories of childhood and the dreams of being an army officer.

Nonetheless, I am considering my species of ‘small time patriots’ in the club of ‘up-to-date’ Indians who at least have the tendency to remember one of the auspicious days of our history. Certainly, there are some ‘third generation’ or ‘over modernized/westernized’ citizens who despite of being educated are unaware of the relevance of this day. Well, it surely matters in case you are unable to answer the same in an interview especially to a foreigner, but it really doesn’t matter if you are unaware of it and still performing your duties more than expected from a normal citizen. Now what are these duties, I’m talking about? Well, apart from paying your taxes accurately in time and obeying rules and regulations prescribed by the law, the extraordinary thing you can and you should do is to donate generously to your country, your ‘TIME’ accompanied with good intentional efforts.

I’m sure I may be sounding like a political volunteer or an unsuccessful blogger trying to ignite flame within you, but trust me it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who I am, where I am from, what I do, what I have been in the past or what I aspire to be, the only thing matters is ‘you’ and the people around ‘you’.

Since the last 60 years or more, we have adopted a phrase very faithfully in our life, rather inscribed it in ours and our children’s brain and i.e. – ‘hum/apne ko kya?’ Why should we be bothered about what is happening in our country as far as my family is eating well and our ‘Saturday night movie dates’ are going well since the beginning? I often feel shameful when I meet this type of people because if our martyrs have died to free these ‘mental slaves’ then probably they wasted their energy on the wrong people. The other argument we often hear from the people is – ‘Time nahi hai yaar, aur waise bhi main kya kar sakta hoon?’ Time is all about priorities and your interests. When a loved one is involved in a matter, the clause of time erodes within seconds, but the same is unworthy if an unknown is being targeted openly. NO, I’m not asking you to act like a hero of a movie, or a superhero trying to save the masses from the evil, but certainly the definition of a superhero in real life is the one who discharges his duties fearlessly and honestly. You need to take a stand, just one time for your ‘loved one’s sake’. See your daughter/mother/brother/father/sister/spouse in the endangered and take a stand. Say NO to abuse and harassment. And I assure you, when every one of you’ll do the same, a ‘united force’ will combine and the abuser will pee in his pants.

We’ve been divided since centuries so we failed to drive out the intruders from our home. In 21^st century, we are divided even now, to drive out the corruption. Just ‘unity’ is missing, not the power to oust the intruder. ‘Unity’ will come when every one of you, yes every one of you will pledge to take a stand irrespective of the circumstances and future concerns. Currently, there is no such words as ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ because we’re still ‘colonized’, just the ‘colonizers’ have changed. The current colonizers open their home made dictionaries to divide us on the line of religion or the exact word they use is ‘secularism’. How can there be ‘secularism’ when a baby is born later and we give it a name according to our traditions? Nurture him with ‘our special god(s)’. But it is okay to be called communal, but it is not fine to be anti-nationalist. Our ancestors have not fought to expel one elite ruler from the chair to establish another elite ruler on that chair. There are far more threats to India from inside, rather than from outside. Resolve inside issues, outsiders will automatically learn how to behave. Morality, legality, constitutionality may sound heavy and bigger words but the base has always been ‘humanity’. So, rise above the evils of mistrust, expectations, diversity and deceit and hold the tool of ‘unity’ to stop ‘adjusting’ with the virus of ‘corruption’.

Today's India is like an outdated aircraft flying aimlessly in the sky, without a pilot. We do not need an upgraded aircraft alone but also an experienced pilot who can save this airplane from crashing down on the ground

Remember, the roots of corruption travel under our own home of thoughts. Stop watering it and fertilizing it, the positive change will be inevitable. Only politics, bureaucracy, army and judiciary alone cannot erase the old evil inscriptions from the system, you've to give your 'time' and 'efforts' too.

Wishing you all, a very ‘Happy Republic Day’. Give yourself a reason to celebrate this.

Implications of US Government Shutdown

Democrats and Republicans are busy in a power tussle over the condition to drop/sustain President Obama’s healthcare reforms in the shape of Obamacare. The ultimate sufferers are not just the 800,000 employees out of the total 2.8 million government employees but the whole nation. Smithsonian Institutions (19 museums, 9 research centres, National Zoo and National Parks) are closed in the wake of this financial crisis engulfing, the otherwise prosperous nation. Fortunately the Federal Reserve, Department of Defense, Air traffic control, Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department are among the many exceptional sections that will see no disruptions.

According to the Goldman Sachs report, a three week shutdown could shave as much as 0.9% of the US GDP this year. Now, certainly this is a cause of concern which cannot be avoided irrespective of the struggle to show off the dominance by both the political parties in the Congress to each other.

October 17 – The deadline which if crossed, would lead to the financial risk of default in debt payment by the US Government. This implies that the upcoming days are not the good days for the world economy to enjoy sunshine on the beach of ‘return on investment’ ocean. The dark clouds of financial risks have engulfed the city of ‘World Economy’ from the western direction. Weathermen (world economists) are keeping a close look at the possible storm, forming in the western coast of the city. The storm may cool down a little if the ceiling limit of the debt by the US Government is raised before the deadline.

Investors around the globe, who were smiling incessantly over the last few months when the outgoing Fed Reserve Chairman- ‘Ben Bernanke’ assured higher rate of returns through their investment in the gilt-edged securities (US Treasury Bonds) are now on a verge of shedding tears as their investments will be at risk. These include countries like Japan, China and India who are possessing nearly $1.135 trillion, $1.277 trillion and $59.1 billion US Treasury bonds respectively.

On the diplomatic front too, United States is getting harmed, as in the wake of the shutdown, President Obama had to cancel two important Asian visits (Philippines and Malaysia), that gave a strong prospect to the Chinese President Xi Jinping to avail the benefits of the geopolitically important Southeast Asia Summit in Malaysia. Chinese President is the star of the summit now which Obama would have been, if there was no financial crisis at home.

There are some serious questions being raised in hush voices over the ability of United States to lead the world from front, if it cannot even pass a budget bill of their own country. There is not even a single year since 1997, in which there was a smooth passage of the budget. Who is at fault - the presidential style democratic system of the country or the dominance of political interests over national interests by the two political parties of the country?