How the Values of Democracy Make the World Safer

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The Values Of Democracy They Make The World Safer


By: R.S. Mooshahary

The demos of the world have found the system of kratia for themselves, which we call democracy, the most acceptable form of
government in absence of any better alternative. Winston Churchill said, “Many forms of government have been tried, and will be
tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that
democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”.

Democracy like religion has mass appeal and much like religion, it is wide open to different interpretations to suit one’s
convenience and circumstances and like religion, it has also caused as much turbulence and associated sufferings. In the name
of religion, nations have fought wars; likewise, to promote and protect democracy wars have been waged. The genie of democracy
is out of the bottle to spread the religion of democracy. It will prevail until something better comes up to replace it.

It is a rule by moderation; by synthesizing differing doctrines, democracy tries to create consensus for the greater good of
the people. Its adherence to the rule of law, to the concept of human rights and the right to choose its own rulers make it the
most acceptable form of government. Its compulsions are so strong that even a country like North Korea, that oppressive regime
of a recluse despot, calls itself the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to attain legitimacy, credibility and
respectability. Truly, democracy is the tchotchke in the political firmament that the potentates love to flirt with.

There are countries where democracy thrives. India is one of them, it is truly the largest democracy in the world – its population,
and political parties outnumber any other democratic country’s; its ethnic, cultural, historical diversities are ginormously
complex. It is a wonder that democracy is thriving in India. Indeed there can be no other form of government in India but democracy
given the plurality of its population and the traditions of its past. Without democracy, this country will divide and disappear in
to fragments.

India’s democracy is deeply rooted in her attributes of tolerance, diversity and cultural capaciousness. The faiths that originated
in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism – are not only tolerant of other faiths but also so even towards the non-believers.
Carvaka philosophy advocating atheism and temporal pleasures is as much part of Hinduism as the scriptures on theism preaching
spiritualism, divinity and abstinence; Buddhism and Jainism do not even propagate the existence of god but emphasize on adherence to
a set of noble paths and Sikhism is an eclectic faith propounding equality of all faiths. They all subscribe to an underlying
tolerant inclusiveness in the cultural content of India; it does not assume that if you are not of my faith you are not good
enough to be with me.

Benazir Bhutto in her posthumously published book – “Reconciliation – Islam, Democracy & The West” says, ‘many people point to
India and Pakistan today and the economic and democratic differences between the two countries. They argue that since both the
states were part of the same British colonial experience with the same beginnings and circumstances of independence, Pakistan’s
democratic failure must lie in the only significant difference between the two countries: religion.’ She strongly refutes this
presumption and asserts that Islam is not the cause of failure of democracy in Pakistan.

She makes a candid and courageous analysis of Islam in the book to stress that Islam is not intolerant of other faiths nor is it
against democracy. Pakistan faced two major setbacks for democracy she goes on. First, its founder ‘died a year after the
independence, leaving the country without the moral authority of a leader above all others who could give a firm foundation to
democratic practices. Second, under provincial sub-rule, the Indian National Congress had governed several provinces of India and
had a grassroots organization. This was not the case in Pakistan’. She also states that wars with India, excessive spending to
build up a strong army and intelligence agencies and making them the central institutions of new Pakistan at the cost of
economic development, short span of national political leadership compared to Nehru’s long innings contributed to democracy not
taking roots in her country.

The failure democracy in Islamic countries may heighten the clash of civilizations, which Samuel Huntington predicts would be
along the cultural fault lines separating the major civilizations from one another. However, in Pakistan and Bangladesh, which
shared the composite civilization and culture with India, democracy is not a lost cause. In Pakistan, it has surfaced again
after the recent elections and Bangladesh might soon follow it. India as the second largest Muslim populated country after
Indonesia has shown that democracy and Islam can thrive side by side. Muslims are as much participants in our democratic
practices as any other citizens and they have not allowed their religion to decry democracy. It is an example how in an
inclusive culture of a nation religion adapts to a different environment.

The just concluded national election in Nepal in which the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has secured 220 seats and become
the largest single party in parliament has reinforced two premises: first democracy brings about faster change in government
than the armed rebellion and second the tolerant culture of a people promotes democracy despite economic backwardness.
Undoubtedly, the ballot is stronger than the bullet and it is bringing to an end the history of 235 years of monarchy who people
accepted as divinely ordained. The bullet failed to achieve it in decades. Let us hope that the Indian Maoists take a cue from
it and strengthen the democratic institutions to achieve the objectives of empowering the deprived and the marginalized so that
they can become their own rulers.

Bhutan’s date with democracy is the most romantic. The handsome king, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, amazingly young at 52 for an act
of renunciation and worshipped by his subjects decides to introduce democracy in his country and abdicates in favor of his son,
Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk after 34 years of rule. The people contented with his benign rule refuse it. The king persuades
them and holds mock elections to familiarize them with the process of election. Eventually, the parliamentary elections take
place in a free and fair manner and over 70% voters cast their votes. Druk Phuensum Tshogpa – the party that supports monarchy
– wins 44 of 47 seats.

There is no doubt that this ex-monarch of Shangri La, where happiness index is very high, has greatly strengthened democracy by
practicing what he says, “No leader should be chosen by birth instead of merit.” This is in essence the Buddhist concept of
enlightenment translating in to the democratic cannons of governance. It is again this same concept, which made the new the
Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley ask his own party men to play the role of opposition in the true spirit of parliamentary
democracy in the absence of opposition. These are the values of democracy that make the world safe for us.

The world needs democracy to ward off wars. The democratically elected governments are unlikely to fight wars against each
other because the constituents can moderate them. The wars of 1965 and 1971 were the result of precipitation of events by the
military rulers of Pakistan while that of 1948 was a spillover of violence following the territorial divides on independence
and the governments in both the countries were in the process of establishing democracy. If China were a democracy, the 1962
war would have been an unlikely event. We should therefore be happy that democracy has returned to Pakistan. Let democracy
also prevail in Bangladesh and Afghanistan and everywhere in the world to make it safer for humanity.

The writer, a former Director General of Police in Kerala and Director General of the National Security Guard and
the Border Security Force, is currently the State Chief Information Commissioner, Assam)