Is India a shining example of Democracy?

The Panchayati Raj
Democracy thrives in India today largely because it has always existed in some form at the micro level even during the long feudal era. The village council, Panchayat, consisting of village elders played a key role in this long survival of grass root democracy.

The Panchayati Raj (rule) now enjoys constitutional status with built-in mechanism for regular elections and minimum representation of women and members of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. There are over three million elected local representatives, making this the widest democratic base in the world.

The Panchayati Raj helps in purposeful understanding of the masses and articulation of their responses. The Panchayati Raj is perhaps the best means of spreading democracy at the grassroots. Mahatma Gandhi called the Panchayats ‘village republics'; these village republics contribute to making India a shining example of democracy in the world.

What is killing Democracy in India
First is the bureaucracy.
Second is the great Indian Fakes starting from Politicians who are on top of the rung and mulitude of all other Indian fakes from passports to currency.
Third being the state sponsored criminalisation of citizens with a heavy dose of freebies. Some samples- Free TV, free saris, free gas stove, free electricity, free marriages coupled with bribes, money laundering, hawala operations, smuggling, black money, Swiss bank accounts, illegal mining, commissions for contract, terrorists, cash for votes... and you name it... it varies from state to state notwithstanding the scams surfacing at regular intervals at every level of governance. The disparity between the haves and have-nots galloping at a faster rate than growth of population or the GDP!

Ex- Servicemen Army's Ambassadors

Maj Gen AJS Sandhu (4th from left), Brig RS Mathur, President RWA (5th from left) and the author, amongst others
Tremendous good work is done by the Indian Army in different fields, such as border guarding, counter-Insurgency operations, providing aid to the civil authority and succor to flood relief and earthquake-hit people have won considerable goodwill and accolades from all sections of society throughout the country.

Another area where ex-servicemen have carved out a niche for themselves is in the field of improving the standard of living in various segments of society. Where civilian office bearers have failed to make any headway, particularly those dealing with local government agencies responsible for basic infrastructure and security, ex-servicemen have proved to be far more effective. This positive trend seems to be spreading to various rural and urban centres throughout India as well.

Today, ex- servicemen have also made inroads into various village panchayats, decision-making bodies, civic agencies and numerous resident welfare associations (RWAs). While their inroads into the last category are a recent development, it is proving to be very effective.

Take the case of Gurgaon, where basic infrastructure and security related problems are persistent. With the induction of ex servicemen in the RWAs, there is an overall improvement in these core areas. The reason is that ex-servicemen are highly experienced visionaries, dynamic and positive in attitude. Whenever they encounter any obstruction at the lower level, they by-pass minor opposition and contact the higher office bearers in the state to resolve issues. Such spontaneous reaction to various situations has been well appreciated by the corporate world, and today the demand for ex- servicemen is on the rise.
Col Anil Shorey (Retd)
Ex- Servicemen Army's Ambassadors