Make democracy real

We take it for granted, being a democracy. Often we argue about whether a certain move, a policy, a law will prove to be the undoing of our democratic systems. Even so, we take it for granted that, however flawed, we are a political democracy at this point of time.

A democracy is a system whereby all citizens have a vote, and a majority vote decides who will make decisions for the rest of us for a given number of years. By definition and in form, that is all it promises. Our constitution, however, offers us more than just a system of governance. It offers us rights and freedoms. The freedom to move where we will, speak what we will, assuming we are not endangering someone else’s rights and freedoms along the way. If we do, then we are breaking a law of one kind or another.

This makes for complex situations. Say, I want to play music at midnight but this interferes with the neighbours’ right to sleep peacefully. Say, someone else wants to strip in a public place but you may feel that this is a violation of your right to not witness human nudity.

Or, say, I am a starving construction worker and I want to block the metropolitan traffic as a way of protesting the high price of pulses and onions, but this interferes with your right to get to work on time. You might say, I could stand on the sidewalk and shout slogans instead. But if I don’t block traffic, or at least slow it down, my protest is likely to be ignored by the authorities. After all, the point of a protest is to get noticed and the fastest way of getting noticed is by disrupting routines, causing a hubbub, making a few people uncomfortable, especially those who are already comfortable and complacent.

A good democracy is one that allows us the right to make others uncomfortable, as long as we are not physically damaging them or their property. Which means that if I believe that you are immoral or indecent for wanting to strip down to your birthday suit as a form of protest, that’s okay. I can think and say what I believe. But if I assault you in response, that is not okay.

Therefore, in a real democracy, a small group of 13 activists can march about carrying placards, asking that cities be safe for women. The Delhi police should not prevent them from walking about with placards saying “Keep men at home after 8”. They certainly should not rough up the men who join such a march.

We all owe each other certain basic currencies of citizenship. I do owe it to my fellow-citizens to not murder them, or prevent them from earning an honest living. But I do not owe anyone the convenience of reaching to work swiftly, on smooth, protest-free roads, especially if your work and your air-conditioned offices demand the sacrifice of my children’s health.

Therefore, a real democracy does not send in 6,000 armed policemen to deal with a bunch of unarmed villagers who do not want a nuclear energy plant in their backyard. The villagers of Kudankulam (in Tamil Nadu) do not owe it to the rest of us to put up with radiation risks. Sure, the government and other promoters of nuclear energy can scream about how their fears are unfounded. They can promise jobs as compensation. But to send in policemen or paramilitary to deal with a non-violent protest, or arrest protesters for sedition is unconstitutional. And in a real democracy, it would be illegal.