The Democracy Even Can Work

Irrespective of some political extremists' views on the flaws that a democratic system inherently nurtures, a serious introspection into the functionality of a democracy can suggest otherwise - the democracy can even work better than any any form of governance that has been existing for long in this world nations. So what really ails the democracy? A very recent press conference of our Prime Minister with leading editors of electronic media that went sobering last week reveals the dark areas that a democracy face while functioning. If Dr. Manmohan Singh's repetitive statement on coalition dharma has at all to be believed, it becomes quite conspicuous that whether a democracy is inherently incapacitate to handle the most difficult situation or it's mended by majority views that a wrong act can even be proved right, in a typical popular argument. Or more appropriately how a coalition government can tighten the noose of a fair governance. What's most astounding fact that emerged from this press conference was that in coalition politics corruption is an assured byproduct, whether you like it or not. Managing many splinter political parties with vested political interests is the most difficult task for any leadership.

While analysing the genesis of recent corruptions that have been erupted from the hob-nobbing of political masters with business class, the singular fact that hammers up one's conscience is how subtly the multi-nodal nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, and entrepreneurs works that nobody in the secondary systems like media and law enforcement body never gets a chance to expose it. Perhaps, that's the perennial beauty of a democratic governance process. At one end, the so called still frame, the bureaucracy, and at the extreme, people leaders, the political class, join the tandem to loot the nation in a sophisticated design, that often we connote it the democracy.

So, what if we change the process of governance in a democracy? Will it be actually easier to transform a rotten system into a truly efficient one? What does it take to achieve this eventually? There are many unanswered questions though at the outset; however, we can give it a try and make this happen. What exactly we need now is to build up a national consensus to drive this mission - expose corruption in whatever form, wherever it takes place, without reconsidering the fact that however powerful political or bureaucratic heavyweights are involved in that dirty transaction. Only then we would be able to bring the truth to the fore. And the primary stakeholder in this mission possible is obviously the media community, apart from the law enforcement department, as the latter is an indispensable part of the democratic system. In a powerful democratic setup, media plays a greater role. If it shrinks from the responsibilities, then achieving this mission would be an extremely difficult proposition.

Of late, it's also observed that media to some extent is a part of lobby mechanism, thanks to the of Nira Radia tapes, which ruthlessly expose the connection of top jurnos of India with ministers and the political class in helping bend the law like Becham. Though it sounds pathetic, but the major section of media, I wish, and everyone do so, is largely seeker of truth. That's the only hope that instills in the minds of people. Lest these octopuses suck the life and spirit of common people in this country, the media should rise above the occasion and start digging the system to unearth the corrupt practices of politicians, bureaucrats, and whoever involved therein. Only then we would say that democracy can even work.