Let India Awake Into That Heaven of Freedom

THE GLOBAL economy is going through a churn. Authoritarian governments are rising on all continents.

- Arun Maira

Globalisation of trade has stalled. Geo-political tensions are increasing. Amidst these gathering storms, what shape should the Indian economy and democracy take? India must become a more just, more

inclusive, more sustainable and more economically vibrant society. India must be a beacon of hope. For this vision to be realised, institutions will have to be reformed: institutions of democracy, as well as market-capitalist institutions of the economy.

An inclusive democracy

In this vision of India, democracy will become deep and will become inclusive. Democratic governments are expected to be Governments Of the People, For the People, and By the People.

We have the largest electoral democracy in the world. We conduct elections on a scale that no other country does. Our governments are elected by the people. Therefore, we have governments Of the people in our states and at the national level.

People want their governments to be For the people too. Indians are protesting that their governments are not accountable to the people. They are demanding transparency. They want to know what was done with the money that was supposed to be spent to improve public services and public infrastructure. This is the core demand of the anti-corruption movements. Therefore, governance reforms to make governments accountable to citizens have become imperative.

Deep democracy is Government By the People. A democracy where citizenship is not merely the right to vote members of Assemblies. But a democracy in which citizenship is also the active management by people of their own affairs in their communities and local bodies. Not an election time democracy, but a deliberative democracy in which citizenship is the right to understand the rules, and to shape the rules by which society governs itself.