Let us face it, when we talk of change, we are talking of an upheaval of over 60 years of lethargy and apathy that has set in the system. And bringing about change isn't as easy as a military ruler either. The army is an arm of self defence, and it will only protect the constitution, not disregard it. So our basic constraint to bring about the kind of political rennaissance that we need today is to work within thee frameworks of democracy and uphold the basic principles of the constitution.
- Basics first. A degree of graduation should be mandatory for any candidate contesting the elections. No previous criminal records and a declaration of financial assets (the latter already exists). If there is a lower age limit for candidates, then there should be an upper age limit too. Gone are the days when age=experience=capability. New Dehli shold take a leaf out of corporate India where nothing except ability=capability.
- A two party political system. We donot want innumerable regional parties, coalition politics, or a day when Mayawati can call herself the next Prime Minister.
- An extension of point 2, I have an entire procedure in mind. (I have learnt of this from a very learned and experienced professor of Law who had contributed for the Constitution Reammendment Committee. It is something that had been recommended to then President K. R. Narayanan but was never implemented.) If there are more than 2 candidates contesting from any constituency (most likely scenario in our country) , then generally the one who wins has't been voted by the majority. It is just that the vote of the majority was divided and hence, a particular candidate, who had the most votes (not necessarily the majority of votes) wins. In the recommended system, the first phase of elections takes place between all the candidates, then the second phase takes place between the top 2 candidates. Hence, the majority vote counts here. Not a fool proof method, yet it is worth considering.
- A prime ministerial debate on the lines of the presidential debate. Here, the two parties shall field a candidate each as the nominee before the assembly elections, and they shall debate on their policies on law and order, health, education, finance, defence, etc. If a prime ministerial debate is too much to ask for, we can at least demand the stand on each of these portfolios from the candidates of our constituencies. We should be given the chance to make an informed choice.
- Lastly(because of the lack of space, not because of a dearth of ideas) a referendum from the public on all important bills that are to be passed in the Lok Sabha. The reservation controversy may not have happened if the people were allowed to decide.
Signing off for now, waiting for your comments on these points.
I completely agree with all the above mandates which must be made essential for all those pursuing a political career, but however the selection of the leaders must not just be made on the basis of promises he makes to us (in all probability they won't be kept) but also he must be able to properly draft his policies in proper documented manner as to show how he plans to achieve his goal. Also for sensitive posts like the defense minister, home minster, candidates must have prior experience in these fields. Tell me how does a civilian who has no information bout our country's defense systems formulates defense policies for our country?...like the late Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw said "I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defense of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor; a gun from a howitzer; a guerrilla from a gorilla." Highly specialised and trained men should only be incharge of these internal ministries, probably someone with an army background. Lastly people should be more active politically and question the moves of these leaders wherever necessary. Questioning government's steps is different from what our current news channels in India and Pakistan are doing; there is a virtual war going on between the two. There is a flooding of news channels with unconfirmed reports from their 'sources' claiming troop buildup in indo pak border, threatening tone used by our External Affair Minister. This is a time to realize that we live in a world of Democracy and it is our duty to uphold its values in word and spirit. Claiming a President's rule and army running this country is absurd. If you don't believe me then ask any country which has army chief as their head of state.
ReplyDelete"If there is a lower age limit for candidates, then there should be an upper age limit too. Gone are the days when age=experience=capability"
ReplyDeleteBang on target.. We need more young and fresh minds to become leaders.But as long as they serve the same old parties and ideologies,nothing is going to change,because they will be restricted by their party's agenda. We need completely new ideas, I think there was some party started by some IITans some time ago, don't know what happened to the party though..and the people of our nation need to support them and vote for them so that they don't fade into oblivion like the party i mentioned before