Democracy vs. Rajtantra 3
A democracy, one would argue, would pave the way for a more liberal and tolerant regime and people would be aware of any transgressions in an era of fast communication. Dissent can be voiced and people can throw away elected representatives if they do not function properly. Secularism and pluralism are encouraged. Just puase, look around, and think. You are living in a democracy, are these the traits around you? The media, which is supposed to be the watchdog of a democracy often connive with the ruling elite as they propagate certain ideologies and hate campaigns against others. Media exhibit certain biases against specific classes, creeds and communities as they are controlled by organizations and insititutions which have their own vested interests. Thus news and opinions promoted are often false or worse, selectively false. Ruling classes often suppress information, esp. the ones which would be detrimental and inimical to their interest. Power and money play the supreme role and people have almost taken bad governance for granted because the substitutes are often no better. The two largest democracies in the world, India and US, also feature in the top ten list of countries in blocking or censoring, along with certain dictatorships around the world. One may argue that the flaw lies in execution, not in the concept, but that is the moot point here, that whether the concept is at all perfected and can there be a better model of Governance, irrespective of the mode of governing.
However the old age Rajtantra, contrary to the popular belief, fared much better because there was hardly any repression of news and information. News always percolated to the bottommost layer, in absence of any controlling agency which had the monopoly of distributing news. That would be a result of societal gossips, information leaked from sources in the palace, official communication from the king (which may be biased), the barber ( in ancient days a person belonging to this profession was the Reuters) and so on. The point is, in most cases the news would be informal, coming from diverse sources and varied in nature, just like the role the social media like blogs and twits play today. Thus there could not be any censorship or suppression.
Unlike in a democracy, in a Rajtantra there would be very less opposition to the ruling elite. While this could be disadvantageous when the ruling class was ruthless and ineffective, it mattered not when the same ruling class was paternalistic, as the checks and balances that existed have already been discussed. In many cases the distant villages which had a decentralized set up (Panchayats) were insulated from the misrule and led a relatively peaceful life. In a way this was a blessing, because there could not be any opposition for the sake of opposition and which were driven by vested interests, a characteristics which manifests very strongly in a democracy. If, for instance, the media has very strong biases against a community or an ideology, it can, in a democracy, render every person belonging to that ideology and community, esp. the leaders, as villain and “manufacture” news to suit their agenda. In present age of democracy, media, which has monopoly over information distribution, is controlled by various business groups, religious bodies, even political parties, and hence can propagate news that would suit their own vested interests, and in the name of liberalism, there often exists bigotry and intolerance. Even good works of persons or communities which have been dubbed as “villain” are ignored or questioned and the bad works are highlighted more prominently than those who fare better in the eyes of the media.
Thus democracy in its present form is limited in multiple ways. One can argue that in the present age dictatorships are no better and around the world monarchies and dictatorships are giving way to the rule by the “people”. However we are certainly not concerned about that, failed system of Governance was around when democracy was still in its infancy and the failure lies with the model that the countries around the world are following for delivering sustainable and effective governance. The objective here is not to point out flaws of any one system over another but to point out that perhaps its the time for trying out the model of Governance which existed in India in ancient period, by making it acceptable in form and content to the present age.
So to conclude with Swami Vivekananda – the whole world is looking expectedly at India to provide a model of good governance. It should not borrow a failed model of Western democracy and disappoint everybody by being a failed state itself.
Looks like our political leaders have done exactly that. Perhaps SV saw this coming and thats why he sounded the warnings.
However the old age Rajtantra, contrary to the popular belief, fared much better because there was hardly any repression of news and information. News always percolated to the bottommost layer, in absence of any controlling agency which had the monopoly of distributing news. That would be a result of societal gossips, information leaked from sources in the palace, official communication from the king (which may be biased), the barber ( in ancient days a person belonging to this profession was the Reuters) and so on. The point is, in most cases the news would be informal, coming from diverse sources and varied in nature, just like the role the social media like blogs and twits play today. Thus there could not be any censorship or suppression.
Unlike in a democracy, in a Rajtantra there would be very less opposition to the ruling elite. While this could be disadvantageous when the ruling class was ruthless and ineffective, it mattered not when the same ruling class was paternalistic, as the checks and balances that existed have already been discussed. In many cases the distant villages which had a decentralized set up (Panchayats) were insulated from the misrule and led a relatively peaceful life. In a way this was a blessing, because there could not be any opposition for the sake of opposition and which were driven by vested interests, a characteristics which manifests very strongly in a democracy. If, for instance, the media has very strong biases against a community or an ideology, it can, in a democracy, render every person belonging to that ideology and community, esp. the leaders, as villain and “manufacture” news to suit their agenda. In present age of democracy, media, which has monopoly over information distribution, is controlled by various business groups, religious bodies, even political parties, and hence can propagate news that would suit their own vested interests, and in the name of liberalism, there often exists bigotry and intolerance. Even good works of persons or communities which have been dubbed as “villain” are ignored or questioned and the bad works are highlighted more prominently than those who fare better in the eyes of the media.
Thus democracy in its present form is limited in multiple ways. One can argue that in the present age dictatorships are no better and around the world monarchies and dictatorships are giving way to the rule by the “people”. However we are certainly not concerned about that, failed system of Governance was around when democracy was still in its infancy and the failure lies with the model that the countries around the world are following for delivering sustainable and effective governance. The objective here is not to point out flaws of any one system over another but to point out that perhaps its the time for trying out the model of Governance which existed in India in ancient period, by making it acceptable in form and content to the present age.
So to conclude with Swami Vivekananda – the whole world is looking expectedly at India to provide a model of good governance. It should not borrow a failed model of Western democracy and disappoint everybody by being a failed state itself.
Looks like our political leaders have done exactly that. Perhaps SV saw this coming and thats why he sounded the warnings.
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