India, democracy and the promised republic

Source: The post is based on the article “India, democracy and the promised republic” published in The Hindu on 8^th August 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Relevance: About the status of India on various parameters on its 75th anniversary.

News: Recently, a commentator has argued that India may not have succeeded in economic terms but has remained a democracy since its independence. But, democracy is not only about the protocols of governance but as much about the outcomes that it produces.

How India should be judged on its 75th anniversary?

On its 75th anniversary, India must be judged by the extent to which it has advanced human development.

This is because Jawaharlal Nehru in his message to the nation on August 15, 1947, mentions the aim of India “To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India. To fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease. To build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions that will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.”

What is the status of women on the 75th anniversary?

Gender-based inequality is rampant in India; within every social group, women are worse off than their men. Women are less nourished, less educated and have a representation in the institutions of governance far lower than their share of the population.

Women participate equally in the elections, but they are denied a place at the high table of governance. This reflects in the very low female labour force participation in India compared to the rest of the world.

It reinforces their secondary position in society by adding economic deprivation to the social restriction that discourages them from working outside the home.

What is the status of Regional differentiation on the 75th anniversary?

China does far better than India on development indicators pertaining to health and education, not to mention poverty. There are States in India which compare quite well with China on human development indicators.

The south and the west of India show greater development because they have witnessed the greater social transformation. The superior human development indicators of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have followed this social transformation. For instance, data released by NITI Aayog in 2021 show multi-dimensional poverty in Bihar to be over 50% while it is only a little more than 1% in Kerala.

What are the other challenges faced by India at present?

a) The freedom of expression of individuals is curtailed, b) India had not achieved sufficient progress in agriculture, c) India’s middle classes have benefited greatly from the economic policies of the past 75 years, but have contributed relatively little to safeguard democracy.

Indians displayed an unusually strong commitment to civil liberties in 1977. It is necessary for India to create “social, economic and political” institutions that can facilitate social transformation. They can also arise from civil society.