New Delhi
A decade back when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about 'Congress-mukt' Indian polity, he sounded dictatorial. Today the battle in 2024 has been reduced to BJP versus all and the talk is also about further marginalisation of the Indian opposition camp.
But take a bigger canvas view and you will find that Democracies are already almost 'opposition-free' in many Asian nations. Closer home in South Asia, the opposition parties in Bangladesh stayed away from the 2024 polls.
In the Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia, former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen stepped down last year passing leadership to his eldest son Hun Manet. This occurred amid a wave of political suppression that helped the Cambodian People's Party to win a predictable landslide victory.
Skepticism remains as to whether any reforms will be to the benefit of the wider country or just to the benefit of Hun Manet's family and party.
In next door Pakistan, it's "Army's election" even as the nation talks a lot about minority rights in India. The ruling establishment worked with the tacit support of powerful military officers and did everything to prevent the opposition party of Imran Khan, from contesting the February elections.
In India, PM Narendra Modi and his agencies including the Enforcement Directorate are trying to browbeat the opposition ahead of a national poll. Critics say the prime minister and his pro-Hindu BJP are displaying anxiety, citing the weaponizing of law enforcement agencies and the Income Tax Department.
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's chief minister and a key leader of opposition alliance ‘INDIA' was arrested on March 21.
Another sitting CM Hemant Soren was also behind bars.
"Democracy is on its deathbed in the poverty-stricken continent Asia like an abused and crippled young woman writhing in pain," says analyst Ben Joseph.
Among big players, Vladimir Putin also 'hosted' election in Russia. Putin, having amended the Constitution in 2020 to remove all relevant term limits, won the presidential election for the third consecutive time – and the fifth time overall.
Most new nations that emerged in Asia after the Second World War has kept 'democracy' mostly on papers. There are many countries with controversial laws and these are helping the 'rulers' to keep their citizens under control.
Even in countries such as Myanmar and several Indian states in the north east, the new 'rules of democracy' and abuse of the constitutional mechanism have ensured that the 'rulers' and political parties continued with their rule unabated with the appropriation of wealth and power.
There is no big deal to point out that 'powerful families' demonstrate monopoly power either in provinces across India and also in several countries.
In other words, a caucus of powerful families control governments. Eight most populous nations – the United States, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Bangladesh – either held or are to hold elections in the calendar year 2024. But are they really foolproof democratic?
According to popular British magazine, 'The Economist', elections in most cases are/were neither free nor fair. The freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of association are not guaranteed.
The game is not over. There are people asserting that democracy was thriving in China as well.
Li Shulei, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has lauded the party
leadership for helping “China's democracy” to serve Chinese modernization.
In 2021, Washington-based Freedom House in its annual “Freedom in the World” report declared that “tyranny was winning” worldwide in place of democracy because governments are behaving as if they are not accountable to their people.
In India, family-system democracy is expected and not only Congress which believes in it. In fact, the regional powers across the country - West Bengal (Trinamool and Mamata and her nephew), Bihar (RJD and Lalu Prasad and family), Uttar Pradesh (Samajwadi and Akhilesh Yadav family) and Tamil Nadu (DMK and Stalin-Karunandhi family) rule the roost.
The BJP - which slams dynasty of Congress and others - also has their own theories and justification.
It has started doing business with Ajit Pawar (nephew of Sharad Pawar), Jayant Chaudhary (grandson of Bharat Ratna
Charan Singh), Chirag Paswan (son of Late Ram Vilas Paswan) and even the likes of Ashok Chavan.
In north east, BJP's candidate from the East Tripura Lok Sabha seat is Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma, sister of Pradyot Kishore Maniya Debbarma, the leader of the Tipra Motha party.
She hails from the Manikya dynasty of Tripura.
From Tehri-Garhwal in the state, the BJP has fielded Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, 73, the sitting MP and the titular queen of the erstwhile Tehri-Garhwal kingdom. She was born in Kathmandu, and married the titular Maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal Manujendra Shah Sahib Bahadur.
Tushar Bhadra, a social worker in Varanasi, says: "People are expressing apprehension that PM Narendra Modi may change Parliamentary democracy to Presidential form. I will welcome that because if he does what is going on in Sri Lanka is worse".
Then Bhadra adds: "In Sri Lanka, the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe was supposed to be interim. This assumed power after people overthrew the elected government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022. But now the new government has been postponing polls endlessly, citing paucity of funds".
Globally yet again; Democracy is considered the justest government, but it has its limitations. The challenges such as corruption, economic inequalities, lower literacy rates, etc., are yet to be tackled.
Half of the world's countries are suffering democratic decline, ranging from flawed elections to curtailed rights including freedoms of expression and assembly, reported the Global State of Democracy.
Experts often say India’s democracy is questioned time and again. The Freedom House and the V-Dem Institute downgraded India’s status as a democracy in 2023– from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ in the first case, and from ‘electoral democracy’ to ‘electoral autocracy’ in the latter.
The range of issues in question is broad: from corruption and legal discriminatory practices against Indian Muslims and other minorities, to limiting acts of civil liberties.
Can India still be considered a democracy?
Sources say the Govt of India is sensitive to some of the issues related to Democracy ratings etc.
Wrap up:
West has always played 'self-righteous'; they would decide parameters of Democracy .... they would decide Happiness Index and so often they found India doing poorly but Iran and Pakistan doing better.
The self-righteous and anti-Hindu and anti-India narratives would no longer work, say sources. Bharat, that is India, will soon come out with the so called Democracy Index and other such 'yardsticks' passing judgement on the west, on the oil-rich Gulf and also itself maybe.
And why not ? Patience has run out and hence India will publish such a homegrown index/indices at the earliest. For a change 'desi' yardsticks will measure the west and the world.
Ends
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