Democracy Loves Only Civilized Behavior and Thinking

Originally published in 'Asia Pacific Citizen led Democracy' on 25.05.2012

Indian freedom fighters like Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose critically viewed democracy as a fascist instrument of exploitation. In recent times, democracy is skeptically viewed as a capitalist tool to exploit while democratic agents in current times terrorize citizens within its own sovereign rights. Winston Churchill doubted about India's capability of functioning independently and be adopting democratic institution after the British departure from India.Churchill understood democracy as the highest form of governance and felt democracy as meant only for civilized people. He was not wrong. He considered India to be too uncivilized to be left behind alone to manage its own affair sin the democratic model. Today, India's successful democracy is straddled with inherent weaknesses especially in the treatment towards marginal section of society and the peripheral regions. The dream of freedom and liberty through democracy becomes an allusion for the downtrodden, marginal and poor section of society. National Freedom holds the poor and the weak in eternal bondage of unequal economic opportunities with the rich becomes richer and poor as poorer group. Democratic Sovereign usurped the political rights to choose under power politics and corruption that elects on purchased votes. The success of Indian democracy is limited to the electoral process; the elected leaders satisfy none except the power brokers. Modern India holds the flag of electoral success, uncivilized India is unable to absorb the good practices, ethics and principles of democratic governance.Modern Hindustan-India is thus finally turned into a democratic hermaphrodite with no clear characteristics. Now let us see how democracy is at work for the civilized world. A civilized culture is to uphold and respect the dignity of fellow beings on earth through tolerance in the spirit of freedom and liberty. Civilized society is educated,not just literate and progressive with adaptability to changes according to circumstances and conditions. Civilized community is not radical and rigid, it is agile, adaptive, wise and sanely well behaved. By these yardsticks of being civilized, the civilized world behavior with others and within themselves does not resemble anything close to being so civilized. It is not surprising to question the working of democracy in the civilized world. Winston Churchill was a great thinker and he was right in his observation on democracy as a form of governance meant only for civilized and intelligent people. Democracy makes representatives of the people accountable to wrong action. It Calls for high moral values and ethics. So, to say that a country has lost democracy is as good as calling that country to be morally degenerating. Misuse Of democracy is not a new practice; it has been an ongoing parallel process with societal degeneration. Thank God, citizens are now aware and some highly conscientious citizens blow the bugles to prevent more loss of civility. The Uncivilized governments pretending to be civilized do not like the idea of someone exposing the true character. The whistle blowers become the ‘victims’;they are tortured to wither away their spirit ruthlessly for exposing the truth. Sadly their harassers ensure that human rights violation is not a reserved right for them or that they do not deserve human treatment. Democracy gives freedom and liberty to change according to time and space.Democratic institutions are meant to be organic and not static. Truth tellers as change agents to change institutions from inorganic to organic deserve acknowledgment and regard for their contributions and efforts. Instead, they are gag to muffle truth. Imagine a world without change agents to refurbished and replenish democracy for institutional growth. We will be in a skeletal and scary uncivilized world in the name of democracy. Churchill's observation testifies our civilization today in the face of failed democracies.

End Note: I had written this piece to help citizens exercise their power and get the best out of democracy. I think, it help opened up the mind and am glad I could get it published at international forum in 2012.