The quality of democracy in India is in retreat, renowned economist M. A. Oommen said here on Monday, adding that there are growing attacks on the Constitution and its secular fabric.
Speaking on ‘Indian Development and its Discontents’ on accepting the position of Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Management in Government (IMG), Prof. Oommen, who turns 91 this month, identified growing democratic deficits, inequality and corruption as three areas of discontent in the Indian development narrative.
‘’That the idea of India as plural, inclusive and egalitarian is well articulated in the Indian Constitution; the concretization of it is the great task before all responsible Indians. But this I believe is not an easy task especially in the context of the Hindutva redefinition of India now well under way,’‘ Prof. Oommen said.
The efforts to weaken the checks and balances in Indian democracy ‘‘are ominous,’‘ Prof. Oommen said. The most fatal, he said, is the persistent effort by the executive to weaken the judiciary. ‘‘Democracy is what its people make of it. The choices ‘Of the people, by the people, for the people’ become societally relevant only when the democratic process and the institutions built in to strengthen them are systematically fostered,’‘ he said.
On the growth front, India’s long-term growth record, spread over more than four decades, is impressive, but its ‘instrumental value’ has been unimpressive, according to Prof. Oommen. ‘‘Because this was a jobless growth and did not bring cheer to the 12 million youth annually added to the population. An unfortunate feature of this long growth trajectory is that an increasing share of the GDP has not been channelled for desirable social purposes,’‘ he said.
Local democracy under threat
A democracy such as India can scarcely wait for the trickle-down effect to lift the lives of the people, a large majority of whom are poor, unfree and deprived, he pointed out.
Prof. Oommen rued the apathy shown by the Centre and many States to decentralised democratic governance. The promotion of parallel structures and agencies by Union and State departments for rural and urban development will adversely affect local democracy in the country, he said.
Chief Secretary V. P. Joy, who is also president, IMG Board of Governors, presided. Noted development economist K. P. Kannan, Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation director K. J. Joseph and IMG director K. Jayakumar spoke.
