India: A banana republic in the making?

Pratim Ranjan Bose

The question intrigues me. What is the fate of Indian democracy?

No doubt, India followed a road less travelled in world history. No country of significance gave universal franchise a chance till they were rich.

But, India followed a completely different growth paradigm. In 1947, it adopted democracy in its full vigour, with a per capita of less than $ 100!

Sixty-Six years down the line, India has many reasons to feel proud of its decision.

Come what the detractors say, the common Indians are far richer than they were even three decades ago.

A quick scan of consumption pattern in remote villages and the agricultural wages will tell you that the proverbial “poor” Indians are no more as poor.

It doesn’t mean they are rich. It only means, their capacity to spend has increased, substantially, especially in the last 20 years.

You cannot miss the same person from Kanchanpur in Bankura (We

st Bengal) who had a loincloth as the only earthly possession, some 30 years ago, is today clad in cheap trouser and shirt often with a mobile phone in his pocket.

Getting a cycle and a Santosh radio in dowry is passé. Today television sets and motorcycles are common in every village. The landscape that was once dominated by thatched mud huts were now dotted with aesthetically less sober concrete houses.

No doubt that the country did grow through democracy.

I am consciously keeping away from statistics. Because, I have great doubt if they portray the correct picture.

Statistics not the only barometer 

And, the high ratio of open defecation and India’s informal economy are two examples of such inaccurate information about the populace.

Ask those who are associated with various campaigns to promote personal hygiene among rural Indians, and you will know its not money but culture that primarily comes in the way of ensuring sanitation.

Too many of us, perhaps most us even the large metros, are yet to be convinced that they should not pee in public.

I see it more as a problem that persists due to lack of political will and intervention.

The political nature of the problem is more evident in the status of informal economy, often described as the biggest growth churner for the country. (Economist did a cover story on India’s informal economy a couple of weeks ago).

The contention is not new. Many economists insist that India’s key economic measures are more a figment of imagination than reality as is evident in low and stagnant income tax base (only 2 per cent of population file IT returns) vis-à-vis the ballooning GDP numbers.

Clearly, large proportion of the population, earning in higher numbers than ever, are keeping out of the tax net. And, I am not merely referring to “kulaks’, as communists often point out. Right from your fish seller to the auto-rickshaw driver, too many potential tax-payers are suspected to have kept out of the net.

Run a check at the local vegetable market and you will find those vendors are huge investors in dubious financial schemes, more out of greed to keep the money growing illegally than lack of awareness. The environment is created and protected by politics. 

The other India

Clearly there is another India, within India. And, chances are high that the other India is getting stronger and, dictating public policies like never before.

 It is this India that is playing a crucial role in bringing corrupt and more corrupt governments in power at the Centre or in the States for last so many years.

A corrupt BJP- government was replaced by more corrupt Congress government in the Centre in 2004 and given a second term in 2009. In West Bengal, a less democratic government was replaced by more intolerant one that is riding high on popularity.

I have given only two examples. But scratch a little and you will find the picture is more or less same everywhere.  

It is this India where identity politics is getting more predominant and dictating terms on every thing that comes in the way, be it selection of judges or appointment of school teachers. The future generation is to be moulded as Muslims or Dalits not as Indians.

Merit is the last priority in this paradigm and, violations is measured in the light of his or her identity. Legal-justice system is put on the back foot in the face of public trials.

It is not merely the so called super-rich who are taking advantage of corruption. But, you me and our neighbours, every aspiring Indian is perhaps caught by this web. ‘Public’, as our politicians often refer the electorate, decide what is wrong or right.

True, people should have larger say in deciding policies that should govern their lives. But, does it mean people should have power to legitimise the illegalities.

The result is evident in daily life. It is now accepted, across the country, that auto-rickshaw drivers will break traffic rules; admission in schools to take place against payment of huge donations; doctors should earn their fees in cash to keep out of tax net; property developers fund elections; judgments are compromised; media is carrying news for money; elected governments are intolerant to criticism and; politicians are corrupt.  

Contradictions within?

Can India survive such gross compromise of democratic values that, we were told, thrives on free speech, justice for all, strengthening of institutions acting without fear and so on?

The issue may not be of concern to India alone. Corruption is rampant in Europe (A European Commission study determined that corruption costs the EU's collective economy $162 billion a year, an amount comparable to the bloc's budget, says Bloomberg). The US is after the life of Edward “WikiLeaks” Snowden, for letting the world know the viciousness of American planning.

Yet, there is something distinct about India. You have a country here that is equivalent to the US and Europe put together in terms of population. It is the flag bearer of democracy in the entire emerging world, which is now dominated by a totalitarian China. The success of Indian democracy will determine the future of democracy in tomorrow’s world.

The big question is will it be able to survive the test? Or should it end up creating a ‘Banana Republic’ in the garb of electoral democracy? If it fails the test; rest assured, the world will be headed for more troubled times.

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