Need for Political Development in India
email: khyati.khush@gmail.com
India
is a land of vast diversity and long history. The world’s oldest civilisation
flourished on this land. Hence the people have inherited their intrinsic values
from ages ago. However, the present democratic structure of the nation is merely
64years old. When India got independence after a long tussle in 1947, the
Indian economy was a gloomy picture backed by massive poverty, unemployment, widespread
diseases, illiteracy and underdevelopment. The Supreme law of the land was
framed and enforced as the Indian Constitution in 1950. Thereby, India was
defined as ‘socialist secular sovereign democratic republic’. So far in these
years after independence, no doubt the Indian growth story is worth applauding
and India has walked miles ahead the gloomy state it was at the time of
independence. It is the world’s fastest growing economy now, 3rd in
GDP (on PPP basis). [1]
However,
the inequalities of income & wealth, poverty still remain a deep concern.
The rift between India & Indians is still wide and static. There has been quest
for economic development, while social development is in process even before
independence. One very important process that has apparently contributed in
this is political development.
Political
Development & India:
Political
Development is an interactive, public decision making and learning process,
within or between government & civil society and is based on power creation
& dispersion. This process leads o
increasing individuals and group autonomy from below, and builds more
responsiveness from above. The Indian political development story is
however the world’s oldest and started primarily from the rig vedic
period. The basic principles of politics, economy, society and people defined
the holy Vedas, kautilya’s arthshastra, the epics of Ramayana, Mahabhartha,
etc have been applauded by the world. Even during the independence struggle the
political development spirit was visibly alive in people. The individuals,
groups and leaders were well connected. But presently Indian people have
lost their fervour in politics. It has become a mere source to express their
outrage of joblessness, poverty, underdevelopment etc. This lack of political
development in India gave way to filthy identity/appeasement & opportunistic
politics in India. Had these not find their place in the Indian growth story
the rift between the haves & have-nots would have been bridged. The
systems would not have deceived people or got corrupt, while ethics &
morals would have been kept intact. And the Indian growth story would have
retained with the icon of golden bird for India. Hence, there is a strong need
for recognised percolating political development in the country.
Political
Development process:
Political development is the state
of the polity which facilitates economic growth, as political and social
conditions facilitate advancement in per capita income.
he term ‘political development’ was
utilized in the 1960s to describe the so-called process of political
modernization of recent independent states after decolonization. The concept of
political development suggests that there is "underdevelopment" and
"development". However, there has been
lack of consensus on defining this concept among scholars. For instance S. Huntington considers
a country’s level of political stability is an indicator of its degree of
political development, but Nelson suggests that political participation is an
important element of this process.[2]
Let us understand the conceptual process of political development:
 |
| Fig1: Political Development Conceptual Process |
The
above diagram depicts the conceptual process of Political Development. It shows
the relevance of Political Development for sustainable & equitable
development, along with Social & Economic development. Involvement of
people, political bodies/representatives & groups/societies from the step1
of beginning to end of attainment of self-reliance is the basic essence of
Political Development.
The
idea behind recognising this process must be quoted here:
Political development theory (in the
north) was first formulated by American political scientists after the World
War II. This theory deals with certain political phenomenon such as
socio-economic and political change. To deal with such problems, ‘the
proposed remedy was to strengthen elite-oriented, centralized political
institutions that might more effectively manage and direct the course of
change. A related problem was that the masses lacked the proper attitudes,
beliefs, and values needed to support democracy and capitalism. The proposed
remedy lay in appropriate forms of socialization and education. All of this
suggests social and political engineering on a very grand scale.”[3]
Politics
in India:
The
present Indian structure was though formed after independence in 1947, but the
legacies are ages old. Among the legacies, first is ofcourse the long British
rule itself that has influenced various institutions, ideas, practices, etc.
Another came from the leaders and associated fellows of the nationalist
movement. Third was the existing social order, social structure & social
conflicts/issues that influenced political movements/ideas. Finally, there was
great body of traditions & culture.[4]
After the Second World War, several
nations got independence, and so did India in 1947. But unlike India, many got
under dictatorship or one-party rule. India was an exceptional case to
establish itself as a democratic nation. Since then if the journey is rewinded,
the nature political development in India can be defined as ‘apparent’. Though
India primarily adopted British Parliamentary form of government where prime
minister holds utmost importance, till date the structure has underwent several
adaptations. Most prominently two can be easily highlighted. One, the
patrimonial system of Nehru dynasty-predominantly till Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination
in 1991, and second, the politics of ‘personal ambition/conflict and
opportunism during the instable coalition period. Politics in India is most
regionalised than in any other federal polity. Thus, reflecting the unrivalled
cultural diversity of the country along with the system of more unitary
features than most federal systems in the world.
Due the process of apparent political
development in India, there have been fluctuations and instability. India
adopted centralised planned development under the Nehruvian period. It started
from socialist measures and underwent rapid industrialisation. Thereafter,
Shashtri advocated liberalisation but his measures didn’t last for long. With
the advent of ‘personality politics’ in the regime of Smt Indira Gandhi, the
politics of India got polluted. Though Smt Gandhi was a visionary leader of
strong mettle. Under her rule India prospered and reaped the benefits of green
revolution. She had understood that growth alone cannot cater to needs of all,
when India has vast inequalities. She called for ‘gareebi hatao’ and won
hearts of poor-needy-deprived sections of the society. But still her visions
could not meet the purpose. The reason I believe is that she couldn’t
understand the complexities of Indian structure and got tangled in politics to
sustain power. There was the need to understand the need for ‘active political
development process’. Due to lack of
mass political development India underwent long period of political
instability. However, in between major leadership came when Rajiv Gandhi became
Prime Minister and made way for several developmental measures to boost the
Indian economy. His steps are landmark in Indian politics. Therafter, the
Rao-Manmohan period, which marked the turning point of India. The New Economic
policy was introduced and India was now liberalised and globalised. However,
political instability continued in form of unstable coalitions. It was the
period when due to absence of active political development in India, politics
of opportunity in form of politics of religion/identity, politics of
appeasement started sowing seeds of debilitation. India is still reaping the
fruits of those trees, and this has now become a threat National Integrity.
Moreover,
it must be noted here that if India couldn’t retain its growth story of 2008
and has drastically come down to phase of jobless growth, debt and deficit, is
also an outcome of lack of active political development in India. Infact, when
growth generated wealth, with more wealth came more corruption! This further
debilitated the nation.
Threats
of absence of active political development:
There is no system in this world
that experiences complete absence of political development. Like, the human
body develops naturally and political development will also take place
naturally. But like it is important to check the development of human body for
healthy development, so it is significant to check the political development
process for apt national development. The apparent political development may
not cater to the needs of a diverse land like India.
When
there is absence of active political development, there is vast probability of
policy paralysis! The plans lack long-term prospects..and there are more
chances of having only top-down approach of policies.
While,
India obviously needs an angle of bottom-up approach in policies to cater needs
of all as one and bridge the vast inequalities. Moreover, the plans should be
holistic and have long-term visions.
For
instance, had the 1991 economic policy come up more strategically, not merely
to meet the economic crisis but also to establish the model for
sustainable-equitable growth model, India would not have been facing the
present economic doom, along with question of productivity concerns of labour,
poverty and low per capita income.
Prospects:
Several civil society groups/associations and
leaders/individuals have been kindling the lamp to political development since
years in order to strengthen the Democratic structure of India. The political
development initiatives were prevalent in India since independence. Recently,
India has seen massive sudden political development. There has been political
awareness coming through campaigns and now leaders are also coming up to make
people politically vigilant.
It
started in 2011 when Anna Hazare and few more activists allied to fight back
corruption against the central government. The mass movement stirred the
spirits of thousands and lacs of Indians. It was for the first time after
independence that Indians at large were actively participating (not merely
talking) to bring about a change. (NOTE: The 1980s movement was ridden only
by section and hence resulted in political instability.)
Thereafter,
a series of active participation started coming up in India, from Anti-rape
laws & juvenile-crime age agitation after the Nirbhaya case to
agitation on criminals in politics hue when ordinance on People’s
Representative Act was passed. Judicial activism in India has also
played a vital role in jerking the ignorant masses on several issues.
Then
with entry of activist, Arvind Kejriwal into active politics with formation of
Aam Admi Party (AAP) public participation in politics in India was tremendous. The
Delhi state assembly elections 2013 hold utmost importance as it marked the
advent of mature democratic politics in India. Eventually, the General
Elections of 2014 showed the tremendous power of democracy. India voted the
highest ever since after independence. Thanks to the active political
development undertaken by various civil society associations/groups, political
parties, leaders and individuals as well.
But
the civil society and media efforts are not sufficient. Sometimes they are
biased too. Hence India education system needs an overhauling. The democratic
essence of India must be inculcated since childhood.
Conclusion:
The
process of political development must be well-knitted along with social
development & economic development models.
India still has to walk long, for ignorance in people towards the system and
the chalta hai attitude has got its roots deep. People must understand
the strength democracy, and their role and responsibilities towards it. After
all, the government you get is what you deserve.
Once Indians build a political rationale, the
systems will work in their favour with least hindrances and the policy process
will cater to the mass needs. India is world’s
largest democracy. It is the land of vast diversities. Therefore, this nation with
apparent political development cannot succeed holistically when government is ‘by
the people, for the people and from the people!’ India needs to overcome from the debilitation
due to identity politics, the loss out of policy paralysis, corruption, etc. in
order to bridge the gap between India & Indians and ensure
sustainable-equitable growth.
Hence,
India needs ‘active-percolating-diffused’ political development
process along with social & economic development.
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