The majority governance
has always the tendency towards down-playing of
the voice of the populace and of ruling with impunity, as is the case of a
military regime.
How hollow the myth of the invincibility of Mr Modi, is glaringly demonstrated by
the power of the Indian voter in a recently concluded General Election in the
country. That the religious sectarian majoritarianism in a democratic polity can
ultimately be routed and make the obstinate politicians to bite the dust, has been
proved.
Paradoxical, though it looks, given the results of the aforesaid election,
people of our nation are witnessing a change which has come “wearing the
deceptive mask of continuity” (S Kulkarni).
Shrinkage in power, prestige, popularity
and arrogance has heralded
a transformation in the Indian politics, presaging the
beginning of the end of
the Modi era and a decade of his fascistic policies.
With a
reduced authority and
a diminished legitimacy, the coalition dispensation at the
centre will now have to bend its insolent might and humbly serve the legitimate
aspirations of the voter.
The politics of communal polarisation of the BJP led
government will now place
its checks and balances before the people and hopefully
hold in check, even though
it garnered a majority place but not an absolute number
on its own strength, its compulsive power politics.
The people, mostly the
commoners, have given their verdict so that the Indian democracy can now breathe
easy, that the Constitution which was under threat in the past one decade be well-
protected and the religious harmony return to its earlier position.
The collective
wisdom of the electorate has offered an opportunity to the elected leaders to govern
with political stability and has given a mandate to stand by the principles of the
Constitution, and not merely offer obeisance of deep respect to the Book (for the
nation to see) as Mr Modi did when he was installed as the Prime Minister of the
country for a third time.
The country has mandated the new coalition government to
govern with consensus. With this re- democratisation of India might be gained.
The election result has upheld the strength of a Republic. Deep meditation
at
Swami Vivekananda statue before the television viewers did not in any way profit;
neither the guarantee sops had any positive impact on the ordinary voter.
The one,
who acclaimed as incarnate-divine, did not manage to win an absolute majority even
in the name of God and in the name of the new Ram Mandir! What an irony! In a
Republic, it is not God but people decide their destiny by casting their conscientious
vote. God never plays dirty politics! In a Republic the political game is not played by
a handful
of mighty ones, but by all the responsible citizens.
The social media which
considered Rahul Gandhi as a mere “Pappu” became the man of the match. Whereas
the self- acclaimed and self-certified “god-incarnate” became a laughing stock with a
brute majority! After a ten-year period of so called Amrithkaal proclaimed by Modi
is now a diminished leader on whose face was seen a smile for the first time on the
evening of his installation as Prime Minister.
The over- confident, the absolute one
who could do all things and who thought he could vanquish all his opponents,
including the men of his company, the man who chest-thumped at every speech
mocking his enemy, is now bereft of arrogant pride and left to move about on
“crutches” to walk the talk, even though brazenness is still observable in his posture.
What a paradox! What a contradiction!
With this election result the all-powerful Prime Minister and his coterie are no
longer, hopefully, be able to misuse the law machinery and punish the innocent or
use any kind of coercive instruments of governance against the opponent. The
media can now free itself from their unquestioned obedience to the autocrat and
reassert their independence for the good of the country. The judiciary can now
judiciously adjudicate justice to the oppressed needy and the orphaned. That the
hegemonic governance has come to an end is what the General Election hass clearly
proved. “Moral authority and legitimacy of Modi has been diminished and, that
opens up democratic spaces” (Y Yadav).
Majoritarianism in a democratic political system has no ground for governance.
This
is what the electorate has professed in their choice of a new government in
our nation. The majority governance in a political field has always the tendency
towards down-playing of the voice of the populace and of ruling with impunity, as is
the case of a military regime. The leader of the majority sits on the electoral success
and ‘his way’ becomes ‘my way’. People fear the
devil and, in some instances, civil
disobedience and mass- movements emerge in order to pull down authoritarian
regimes. India did not arise to that situation while the majoritarian rule lasted for
ten years. Majoritarianism in governance turns to be centri-petal because it can
subject citizens and hold them under ones thumb, depriving them of basic freedom.
The majoritarian power vested on Modi by his party led him to usurp the place of
the temple high priest at the opening of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Ram Mandir is a
beautifully architectured monument for the country, even
if it is a worship house for Hindus, and not the property of Modi. His own party
leaders could not oppose the move of Modi holding the centre stage in the
consecration of the temple. In a majoritarian ruled country the Prime Minister could
also proclaim himself as god-man in order to woo the voters or practice meditation
and perform yoga before the television channels. Religion can never be misused in
public by a public personality as the Prime Minister of a country. But, the Indian
Prime Minister did it all the way in his ten-year tenure.
Religion could have been his
private affair, but he did
not considerate it as such. Instead, he ventured to
mesmerize the ordinary believer to his own down fall. This is the bane of a
majoritarian government and its leader.
There were, however, majoritarian
governments in the Indian democratic history. They were consensus minded ones.
The coalition of several parties could better perform governance because of shared,
discussed and disputed over conclusions arrived at by diverse minds and interests.
Will our newly formed alliance government learn the lessons from history?
Kapil Sibal is of the respected opinion that India is a country of coalition in every
sense of the word, in every field of life.
In his opinion such a country can progress
only with a coalition formed government even though the one who has to hold the
flock together will face constant threats
to unity and stability.
Modi stood out
in
his popularity on the world platform but failed to respect the opposition
both
inside and outside the parliament. However, the General Election has pulled down
the mighty and has humbled the ruler to work with a coalition of unlikely minded
people. In this governmental structure Mr Modi, though he plays
an important role,
is only a symbol of unity and not the ultimate authority.
No ‘high way is my way’
will work.
Consensus matters! The Prime Minister who condemned coalition
governments or opponents in the government is now under the axe. Coalition led by
Modi underscores the Indian diversity and
a plural democracy. “Enforcement of
uniformity cannot be the aim of a federal polity, and the people have spoken
of this
issue loud and clear in 2024...
Notwithstanding its shortcoming, the 2024 elections
turned out to be proof yet again of the vitality of India’s democracy and its electoral
system...India has once again proved to itself and the world that it is vibrant,
functioning democracy” (Editorial, The Hindu, June 5, 2024).
The electoral success of the past ten years had convinced the Modi government that
his party and his government had democratic legitimacy. But “democratic legitimacy
is
not about just winning elections. It is about winning fair elections...democracies
require the citizens, as a whole, to be able to choose between all political actors and
parties – that they can essentially compete on equal footing” (Y Aiyar, N Sircar).
The
Indian voter read the election no more from the view point of Modi and his
personality cult but from the undermining of democracy when the opposition was
hardly given a voice in the parliament and if the opposition spoke out, it was all
shoved under the parliament rug. Modi’s democratic credentials were so pharisaic
that the voter eventually read the truth so that he would be somewhere down the
line. And so it happened!
Looking ahead, with the newly formed government at the centre, the political
centralisation will not go well anymore for the reasoned and the seasoned voter of
our country. If one chooses to ignore the call, resistance may open up and disastrous
consequences may arise. Instead, as the verdict has pointed out, the economic issues
such as unemployment, inadequate livelihood, price-rising phenomenon of essential
goods and human rights need to be attended to rather than involving in sensational
power politics, mud-slinging
at the Opposition, in personality cult and religious
intolerance.
The alliance of the Opposition parties, on the other hand, need to keep
close watch over their unity, their public statements and their common programme
in order to save the country from oppressive power systems and protect their
rights. A Government of coalition with the coalition Opposition will hold high the
truth that the people are the centre of democracy.
