Pervasive Odor of Democracy
Dream
An effective democracy is one in which practices such as equality, liberty and fraternity have spread throughout society. This should not limit itself in governing relations between states and citizens but also relationship among citizens. Effective democracy gives rise to redistributive pressure from below. Public goods, safety, common law, redistribution of income should not be only in written form but also in practice. Without this substantive dimension, democracy becomes unsustainable. “Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social Democracy”. On the social plane society is divided into mountain as high as Mt. Everest and as low as Mariana Trench. This condition also prevails in economic plane of India. We proudly upheld the notion of “One Vote One Value”. Notwithstanding, the unparallel terrain of social plane systematically denied it. Social Democracy is a sacred marriage of equality, liberty and fraternity. It is the natural balance which gets disturbed even if one of the parts is missing. Without equality, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Equality without liberty would kill individual initiative. Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a natural course of things.
Reality
Persevering denial of social democracy will threaten the very existence of political democracy. Hopes spread are falsified, and the adivasis, Dalits and people who were lying in trench in the social plane before 1947 have gained the least from the elected democracy. Millions of Adivasis are thrown out of their home for utilitarian view of elected democratic personnel. And it seems contemporary India combines the worst feature of capitalism, socialism and feudalism.
The Indian Constitution abolished untouchability and proclaimed the state neutral in matters of religion/caste/creed. Such was the law: how was the practice? Among all the tests the state faced this was the sternest. The idea would stand scrutiny only if majority respected the rights and liberties of Indians different from themselves.
Conflict of Interests
Democracy is governed by its most popular principle: majority rule. Majority is the side with higher number of votes, whether it is an election, a legislative bill, or a shareholder motion in a corporation. The plurality always decides. Thus, when it is said that "the people have spoken" or the "people's will should be respected," the people are generally expressed through the majority.
This leads to the valley developing between the two sides i.e. majority and minority. Yet majority rule cannot be the only expression of "supreme power" in a democracy. Thus, while it is clear that democracy must guarantee the expression of the popular will through majority rule, it is equally clear that it must guarantee that the majority will not abuse use its power to violate the basic and inalienable rights of the minority. For one, a defining characteristic of democracy must be the people's right to change the majority through elections. This right is the people's "supreme authority." The minority, therefore, must have the right to seek to become the majority and possess all the rights necessary to compete fairly in elections—speech, assembly, association, petition. For the majority, ensuring the minority's rights becomes a matter of self-interest, since it must utilize the same rights when it is in minority to seek to become a majority again.
Results of Conflicts
The untouchables spread all across India. They were poor, stigmatized and often receiving upper-caste violence. They worked in the village in the lowest possible profession. Under the British rule there were some improvements in employment structure with opportunities in army or factories in urban settlement.
There were number of cases in decade after independence where atrocities were perpetrated on Scheduled Castes. What these cases- and the many more like them- reveal is a system that was quite profound turmoil. All across India the winds of democratic politics had made Scheduled Castes more willing to demand their rights. Aided by reservation in school, offices, factories, and legislatures, inspired by the example of their great leaders and encouraged by the constitutional provisions in favor of social equality, many of them were inclined to abandon the old road of deference in favor of rockier path of defiance. This in turn provoked a sometimes nasty reaction from those who persisted in thinking of themselves as social superiors.
Road Ahead
Minority rule is antithetical to democracy. But the founders worried that the majority could abuse its powers to oppress a minority just as easily as a king. Democracy therefore requires minority rights equally as it does majority rule.
India is currently undergoing a process of political and economic transition. It is significant that the poor and underprivileged are becoming even more involved in India’s politics, and they are pushing hard for greater share of resources. This has invariably led to deepening of Democracy root in India. We as a future manager should always bear in mind the difference in social plane sphere of India. We should always concern ourselves with deepening of democracy and there should be equal chance for everyone whenever feasible.
An effective democracy is one in which practices such as equality, liberty and fraternity have spread throughout society. This should not limit itself in governing relations between states and citizens but also relationship among citizens. Effective democracy gives rise to redistributive pressure from below. Public goods, safety, common law, redistribution of income should not be only in written form but also in practice. Without this substantive dimension, democracy becomes unsustainable. “Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social Democracy”. On the social plane society is divided into mountain as high as Mt. Everest and as low as Mariana Trench. This condition also prevails in economic plane of India. We proudly upheld the notion of “One Vote One Value”. Notwithstanding, the unparallel terrain of social plane systematically denied it. Social Democracy is a sacred marriage of equality, liberty and fraternity. It is the natural balance which gets disturbed even if one of the parts is missing. Without equality, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Equality without liberty would kill individual initiative. Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a natural course of things.
Reality
Persevering denial of social democracy will threaten the very existence of political democracy. Hopes spread are falsified, and the adivasis, Dalits and people who were lying in trench in the social plane before 1947 have gained the least from the elected democracy. Millions of Adivasis are thrown out of their home for utilitarian view of elected democratic personnel. And it seems contemporary India combines the worst feature of capitalism, socialism and feudalism.
The Indian Constitution abolished untouchability and proclaimed the state neutral in matters of religion/caste/creed. Such was the law: how was the practice? Among all the tests the state faced this was the sternest. The idea would stand scrutiny only if majority respected the rights and liberties of Indians different from themselves.
Conflict of Interests
Democracy is governed by its most popular principle: majority rule. Majority is the side with higher number of votes, whether it is an election, a legislative bill, or a shareholder motion in a corporation. The plurality always decides. Thus, when it is said that "the people have spoken" or the "people's will should be respected," the people are generally expressed through the majority.
This leads to the valley developing between the two sides i.e. majority and minority. Yet majority rule cannot be the only expression of "supreme power" in a democracy. Thus, while it is clear that democracy must guarantee the expression of the popular will through majority rule, it is equally clear that it must guarantee that the majority will not abuse use its power to violate the basic and inalienable rights of the minority. For one, a defining characteristic of democracy must be the people's right to change the majority through elections. This right is the people's "supreme authority." The minority, therefore, must have the right to seek to become the majority and possess all the rights necessary to compete fairly in elections—speech, assembly, association, petition. For the majority, ensuring the minority's rights becomes a matter of self-interest, since it must utilize the same rights when it is in minority to seek to become a majority again.
Results of Conflicts
The untouchables spread all across India. They were poor, stigmatized and often receiving upper-caste violence. They worked in the village in the lowest possible profession. Under the British rule there were some improvements in employment structure with opportunities in army or factories in urban settlement.
There were number of cases in decade after independence where atrocities were perpetrated on Scheduled Castes. What these cases- and the many more like them- reveal is a system that was quite profound turmoil. All across India the winds of democratic politics had made Scheduled Castes more willing to demand their rights. Aided by reservation in school, offices, factories, and legislatures, inspired by the example of their great leaders and encouraged by the constitutional provisions in favor of social equality, many of them were inclined to abandon the old road of deference in favor of rockier path of defiance. This in turn provoked a sometimes nasty reaction from those who persisted in thinking of themselves as social superiors.
Road Ahead
Minority rule is antithetical to democracy. But the founders worried that the majority could abuse its powers to oppress a minority just as easily as a king. Democracy therefore requires minority rights equally as it does majority rule.
India is currently undergoing a process of political and economic transition. It is significant that the poor and underprivileged are becoming even more involved in India’s politics, and they are pushing hard for greater share of resources. This has invariably led to deepening of Democracy root in India. We as a future manager should always bear in mind the difference in social plane sphere of India. We should always concern ourselves with deepening of democracy and there should be equal chance for everyone whenever feasible.
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