It was unimaginable, in scale and reach, at the inception of the Republic, says Vice-President Hamid Ansari
President Pratibha Patil on Sunday paid rich tributes to the Indian parliamentary system, saying the country had proved wrong sceptics on the survival of its democracy.
She underlined that “democracy cannot be allowed to falter, it is the very essence of our nationhood.”
Addressing members of both Houses of Parliament at the Central Hall to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, (after the first election in 1952 on May 13), Ms. Patil said: “Sceptics, in those early post-Independence days, doubted whether democracy in such a large and diverse country could possibly survive. We proved them wrong.”
On the achievements of Indian democracy, she said that in accordance with the Constitution, representatives to Parliament, the State Legislatures and the local bodies had been chosen through electoral exercises which had been fair and open. “Our record has been remarkable and there is widespread acclaim about the tenacious manner in which we have adhered to democracy.”
The big challenge to democracy was to proceed towards being a vibrant but healthy democracy. “It is, therefore, necessary to walk ahead carefully, with determination, so that the main aim of establishing a progressive and healthy democracy is never lost sight of.”
Parliament was the repository of the people's will. Therefore, their growing aspirations and expectations needed to be translated here into policy decisions and necessary legislation. Discussions could be difficult and divergent, yet solutions had to be found through discussions in Parliament, and through established practices.
Democracy could be sustained when there was sensitivity to the national interest, social objectives and towards one another, she added.
Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said the functioning of India's Parliament, based on universal suffrage, was a testament to its brand of democratic politics. “It was unimaginable, in scale and reach, at the inception of the Republic.”
He wanted the MPs to respond meaningfully to awakened expectations of a new generation in a changing world.
Sixty years were a good time to assess the working of Parliament in two critical areas of its functioning: ensuring accountability and oversight of the executive, and deliberations and law-making. Both tended to exhibit declining efficacy. The institutional mechanisms and procedural norms for ensuring accountability were being progressively underused. “There is a perceptible drop in the working days of Parliament. Deliberation is less frequent; legislation is at times hasty.”
An impression was gaining ground in some quarters that diligent parliamentary work was less rewarding in political terms, he said.
A functioning democracy
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: “Our Parliament has not just voiced the concerns and aspirations of the Indian people alone, but those of all humankind, of every freedom-loving person who seeks a life of dignity and peace.” How the MPs conducted themselves was a way of showing respect to the values of the institution and to the memory of those who created and built this (Parliament) symbol of freedom and dignity. “Each one of us owes it to those who sent us here to not only represent their views and their interests, but to do so with dignity, compassion and decorum.” The Prime Minister urged the MPs to firmly reject those who would mock the institutions of India's democracy. “We are not a perfect democracy. But we are a functioning democracy with mechanisms and safeguards that allow for the reconciliation of diverse interests and differences of opinion. It is the vitality and vibrancy of our democracy that keeps the nation united and moving on the path of progress.”
On parliament disruptions, he said many people often felt frustrated. “In our own way each one of us shares the blame for this state of affairs.”
Revival of the tradition of reasoned and constructive debate was the “only way to earn the people's respect, lead public opinion and provide media with serious content that will raise the level of public discourse as in other mature democracies,” Dr. Singh said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar reminded the MPs that they were in Parliament to protect people's interests. “Rising above religion, region, caste, language, etc., we are here to protect the interest of people of the entire nation, especially the marginalised who are ignored. This leaves no scope for any kind of lapse in discharging our duties,” she said.
The parliamentarians should not become oblivious, even for a single moment, to the fact that the legislation, policies and programmes deliberated upon in the House decided the destiny of the people.
Four members of the first Lok Sabha were honoured on the occasion: Rishang Keishing (now member of the Rajya Sabha), Reshamlal Jangde (Chhattisgarh), Kandala Subramaniam and K. Mohan Rao (both Andhra Pradesh).
Ms. Patil released some publications which were compilations of speeches made in the Constituent Assembly and others in Parliament. Two commemorative coins in the denominations of Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 were released.
I don't remember coming across a statement speaking so explicitly about survival of
democracy in India from The President. Given the state of overall political scenario of hour country I have a follow up question. How long will and should the present system survive?
We celebrated the Shastipoorthi of Indias parliament and in the central hall of parliament the president, vice president, prime minister and political leaders made touching references. On this occasion.. That was a lively debate and what impressed me most was the speech Of the President of India. We got independence and after this we HAVE PRESERVED OUR DEMOCRACY, and I am proud of that. The population of undivided India was 40 Crores. The population of the independent India was 28 crores and that has grown to 121 Crores on date. Excessive population is our biggest problem and according to the late Dr.C.K.Prahlad, revered management Guru, that is also our biggest asset as well. This is The best time for all political parties in our nation to take the promise for the upliftment of This huge population. We have never tried to invade any country during these six decades.
We were ambassadors of peace and let us work for the growth of the most populated Democracy.
For years the Parliament has not bothered about scams, poverty, drinking water scarcity, unemployment etc., It will remain so for another century. God saves the politicians. Let the devil save the poor.
Yes, we should be proud of sixty years of Parliamentary democracy with all its limitations. If we look at our neighbours we immediately realize how fortunate we are; we are definitely better off in our democratic set up. Yes, we do have elections some of which are won with power of money and muscle. But there is no need to become despondent. We must implement reforms in many areas, particularly electoral, educational, legal and financial reforms, to strengthen our democracy. Future of our country as a united nation is closely linked to the democratic values and hence we must elect politicians who have a complete faith in a federal structure with a stable Central government, unfailing commitment todemocratic way of working and who would make the bureaucracy work for welfare of people of India.
Right that is all we could do in 60 long years. We could only prove skeptics wrong on survival of democracy. There is widespread poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and disease. We are still a developing nation. No one knows when we will develop. And yet all we have managed is to prove the skeptics wrong!
I remain, sir, skeptical.
Truly,
Long live Indian democracy, Long live India
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