Party Democracy in Democratic India

Party Democracy in Democratic India

We are in the 75th year of Independence. And this is the time to ask a very simple question that is our democracy performing well as envisaged in our Constitution? There are innumerable debates, books, articles & essays , audios and videos in public sphere  discussing the health of Indian Democracy in 75 th year of Independence. But most striking reality is that all those political parties and particularly those who are in power at various levels  responsible for ensuring the hard earned freedom by means of democracy and particularly by Parliamentary Democracy are one of such groups who are consciously avoiding discussions on the health of our democracy. No serious discourse is appearing in media on behalf of politicians, and particularly of ruling politicians of the states and the center. This shows politicians who are one of the major stake holders of parliamentary democracy are consciously avoiding debates on the health of the parliamentary democracy in India.
      After getting Independence India, with the consent of the will of her people adopted parliamentary form of democracy. This was also a natural choice if we look into the history of our constitutional development of democracy which started under the British Rule under the pressure of the National Movement led by the Indian National Congress. And Parliament and State Legislatures were marked and designed as the prime institutions of collective will of the nation and her people. These bodies have two fold identities, one they are the place of collective will of the nation including both ruling party or parties and opposition. Both are the parts of these legislative bodies. In this form Legislatures at the level of Union and the states are the conglomeration of elected  representatives of the citizens of India and in this way they represent mixed ideologies, opinions and interests. The other is that these Legislatures are recognized by their rule making character . Both ruling and opposition sections are equally responsible at the level of their role and importance for rule making. And there is one more dimension that these Legislatures provide skin and skeletons, soul and spirit of the political executive.
     When we comprehend the unique place of  our Parliament and State Legislatures in our democracy we must make aware ourselves about the facts related to the duty being discharged by them. Declining in-house debates, disruptions of sessions, decreasing hours of sitting and compulsory whip are some of the factors which highlight the declining trend of democracy in India. We may object the reports of Freedom House and other international organizations by branding them something like anti-India but can we also deny that Parliament and State Legislatures are failing to sit for long hours to discuss nuances of proposed laws and of issues vexing India and Indians? Here we have statistics and perception both which support this decline. Similarly can we deny that our MPs and MLAs have any right of their own to defy the dictates and wishes of High Commands of their respective parties which show individual MPs and MLAs are more concerned to the compliance of the bosses' whim and will  than to the needs and pains of their individual constituencies? Individual's constituencies and their voters have comparatively very low impact on the subjects of concerns of  MPs and  MLAs. Those who are elected remain faithful to their bosses just to secure tickets for the next time and   are there to serve their party interests as if they have fear of  expulsion. Any of them may be corrupt or unpopular but if that one has support of the respective party boss one can fight elections and  the maximum probability is that will also win due to alleged to the  party and /or of the supreme leader.
   And this is due to total lack of party's internal democracy. This lack makes the elected persons dependent on the party bosses. So even if some one may have some other view he or she has to fall in line of  the  supreme leader. Here we see our party system which is the soul and substance of the parliamentary democracy is being run like a  patriarchal organization with loosly knitted informal relation. This absence of compulsory internal party democracy will never allow Indian democracy to succeed in true sense of democratic spirit and our dependence on some imaginary charisma will continue to exist.

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