Serving vs ruling democracy

Language renderings for a democratic government are redolent of "kingdom" rather than "people service": Rajya, sarkar, arasu, rather than jana seva. India enjoys lively debates about whether Indians are being "served" or "ruled" by our legislators, regulators, and administrators.

- R GOPALAKRISHNAN

Language renderings for a democratic government are redolent of "kingdom" rather than "people service": Rajya, sarkar, arasu, rather than jana seva. India enjoys lively debates about whether Indians are being "served" or "ruled" by our legislators, regulators, and administrators. Since it is an issue of mindset, I advocate four attitudes to reduce the dense administrative miasma for common citizens.

In a digital world, the state should be transparent to the public. The reality resembles the opposite: Citizens become transparent to the state. This view, expressed by Audrey Tang, Taiwan's digital minister, in July 2021, is powerful.

Our legal system fails to deliver timely justice to citizens. Our Election Commission ratings on "Don't trust at all" have risen from single digits to the mid-twenties from 2019 to date (source: Lok Niti CSDS data). Until compelled by the court, the Election Commission did not deliver a list of deleted voters (in Bihar) to the public because "it is not bound to do so by law". Law is about doing the right things but governance is about doing things right! When in doubt, disclosure is best.