Colour of Democracy – V
Colour of Empowerment

About 48 hours have passed since the conclusion of Day I of the election test match. The first show has been quite impressive – overall 81% voter turnout in the three districts, with even 100% turnout being recorded in some constituencies! For the time being, lets put the issue of false votes/claims aside and take these figures at face value. More importantly, as the news channels telecast the pictures of the affair, I noticed something really inspiring – more than half of the voters standing in the long queues were women. Now, that’s what I call empowerment people!! Thumbs up to universal adult franchise! Inspiring as well, because none of the voters paid any heed to the threats or intimidations of the Maoists. To bring this out more clearly, let me take a short detour to a couple of our neighbouring countries. One is in turmoil while the other is quite tranquil. The one thing that is common to them is revolution – violent in the first one, silent in the second.

The first country in question is Nepal – where the political unrest has become a daily affair since the ‘royal coup’, but something that continues to snowball nonetheless. King Gyanendra seems to possess an irresistible urge to hold on power (even though it is common knowledge that his writ does not run beyond Kathmandu). The common people of Nepal want just the opposite – power in their hands. Here again, a large number of the pro-democracy protesters includes women – a fact that does not escape notice. Besides, Nepal has its share of Maoists as well. But, there is a slight difference here – these Maoists do not favour a complete boycott of the ballot (even though they have resorted to the bullet), unlike their Indian counterparts. But, the king refuses to grant a ballot. On the other hand, in spite of the Indian Maoists’ call for boycotting the elections, the voter turnout is 81%. This is a real complex of ironies!

Now, lets turn to the other country – Bhutan. An absolute monarchy has been in place for quite some time and nobody in Bhutan has had any problem with this arrangement. But, now King Jigme Wangchuk wants to abdicate and usher in democracy in the country in two years’ time. The country is all set to unveil its first written constitution around the same time. Till now, the people of Bhutan are quite flummoxed by this move of the king. But, they seem to be enjoying the gradual liberation (as a part of the overall process) – opening up of the media, access to the Internet etc. The economic growth of Bhutan has been quite impressive as well – overall growth rate crossed 8% in the last financial year. Maybe this buttresses the positivity of this change.

The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate this – democracy means different things to different entities. For some it is an entirely new phenomenon – untried and untested, while it is an oasis in the desert for others. But, regardless of perceptions, one thing is common – democracy has its own value. We, as Indian citizens, have been endowed with this valuable entity for more than five decades since independence. Still, we seem to be missing this value of democracy somehow. In spite of all the failings of our polity, this value does leave a mark in the psyche of the many who throng the polling booths, without any fear, to express themselves. That is the colour of empowerment –brighter than the brightest. This should make us……..a little bit wise.