The Walk of Life

My 2nd speech at Toastmasters

Hi, a very good afternoon to all of you… Sydney J. Harris said “Demoocracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are powers that ought to be.” Last week Angesh talked about PP – “Power of Publicity”. This impelled me to think of a bigger PP, namely “Power of People”. The 15th General Elections being conducted this year are a celebration of the same phenomenon. So I thought I’d talk about a democracy, its different facets, and most importantly, the role we play in a democracy.

A democracy is a form of government where citizens hold power directly or indirectly. It is derived from the Greek work “demokratia”, which in turn was coined from “demos”, meaning people, and “kratos” meaning rule or strength. In short, democracy means rule by people or popular government. There are two major characteristic features of a democracy. One is that of equality - all citizens have equal access to power. And the second is that of liberty. All citizens have universally recognized freedoms. Moreover, freedom of speech, freedom of political expression and freedom of press are important so that the citizens are informed and are able to vote in their personal interests.

When I started reading about democracy, the first question which popped into my mind was “When did it all start, and how did it evolve into the present-day democratic system?” The answer to the first question turned out to be, as early as 2nd millennium BC. Arwad, a small island which is a part of the present-day Syria is one of the first known democracies in the world. Closer home, the city of Vaishali, which is a part of Bihar now, was one of the first known governments in the world to have elements of the present-day democracy. In the earlier days of democracy, not everyone had the power to vote. Only males of certain tribes, or families were allowed to vote.

During the medieval ages, many bands and tribes also followed the principle of democracy. A very interesting fact regarding these democracies is that this system was not based on the principle of majority. The leaders needed to reach a consensus while making decisions. Also, all the tribe members were expected to share communal duties and participate in the decision-making process. There used to be one “big man” or “big woman” who was influential. However, that influence was conditional to their continuing to demonstrate good leadership. In other words, bushmen were not only more informed and more proactive than us, they also had greater powers!!

During the 18th century, the founding fathers of America decided to root the American experiment in the principles of freedom and equality for male land-owners. They adopted a constitution which provided for an elected government. Democracy became a way of life, but not for women, slaves and free black people. It was only later that these people got the right to vote. In 1893, New Zealand became the first nation to grant universal suffrage, or right to vote.

During the 20th century, most of the democracies were formed as a result of wars or rebellions. There was a wave of decolonization and most of the newly freed countries started forming democratic governments. India emerged as the largest democracy in the world and still continues to be so. Presently there are 123 democratic nations and there is an upward trend in this number.

A major criticism against democracies is that it is a majority rule. So in the absence of a responsible government, it is possible for the majority to abuse the rights of the minority.

Another major criticism is that many voters are irrational. They might be highly uninformed about some issues or have a strong bias towards something. For example, members of a labour union are very passionate and informed about labour policies. They might come together and lobby the government to adopt policies favourable to the labour unions, but not to the rest of the population. In Winston Churchill once stated “The best argument against a democracy is a 5-minute conversation with the average voter.”

This is where we, informed and responsible citizens come into picture. It is our duty to know about different political parties, their manifestoes, their ideologies, the policies – economic or otherwise – propagated by them. Only when we know all this can we make the right decision.

Tata Tea showed a very hitting advertisement as a part of its Jaago Re initiative. It shows a young voter questioning a candidate on his policies. The voter puts it to him very aptly. We give interviews when we take up a job. You have applied for a very important job – that of running the nation. So it is quite obvious that you will be interviewed. This brings to front the role of an active citizen in a democracy.

In fact, we would do well to learn about activism from our counterparts across the border. Pakistan may shelter terrorists. However, the Pakistani citizens have shown us what the power of people can do. They forced a dictatorial president, Pervez Musharraf to conduct free and fair elections. They forced a stubborn President, Zardari to reinstate the sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. They showed the world that when citizens come together and fight against corrupt power, even dictators have to bow to them. The day we Indians recognize the power of a billion + population, we also become the best democracy in the world – of the people, for the people and by the people.