The Great Indian Democracy

The Great Indian Democracy

The 17th parliamentary elections, the greatest of Global spectacle that herald the democratic traditions of independent India, are over and as we head towards the D day of counting, less than 8 hours hours from now, it is time to pay respect to the people’s mandate when results are announced and not play politics and blame and tarnish the Election Commission and its paraphernalia that include the EVMs and the faceless hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers of the Election Commission who have tirelessly worked towards making this Himalayan task a grand success time after time and election after elections. Democracy in India has gained from strength to strength and has made much progress over the decades. When we attained independence and declared ourselves Republic in 1950, our erstwhile rulers the British and the rest of the world were highly cynical about our survival, let alone our democracy. From the first elections in 1951-52 to the current 17th election in 2019, we have come a long way and our democracy has grown from strength and the world now treats Indian democracy as a triumphant role model. Let us cherish this.

Notwithstanding the naysayers and losers allegations regarding the so called rigging of EVMs, we the electorates must trust the Election Commission, the Institution which has served the nation incredibly. This is borne out from the recent statement made by our former President Dr Pranab Mukherjee, who praised the Election Commission for conducting the 17th Lok Sabha polls in a “perfect” manner. He went on to say “If we want to strengthen institutions, we have to keep in mind that institutions are serving well in this country, and if democracy has succeeded, it’s largely due to the perfect conduct of elections by all Election Commissioners starting from Sukumar Sen to the present Election Commissioners”. So irrespective of who wins the 17th Parliamentary elections the NDA, UPA or the Third Front, we must all collectively respect the result as a true mandate of the people and not play politics over the results and blame the Election Commission (EC) and the EVMs.

Ever since the era of TN Seshan, in the early 1990s, the EC, like the Indian Army, has arguably become our most respected institution. The respectability of the EC can further be appreciated when we realise that the EC has helped several other nations run their elections better. EVMs have played a significant role in this transition, which has seen a drastic reduction in voting malpractices. Therefore all those who either blame the EC or the EVMs and demand a rollback to paper ballots, I strongly feel are grossly wrong. I do agree that the Murphy’s Law has its own standing and no technology is infallible and therefore credible allegations of EVM tampering must be taken seriously and we must appreciate that the EC does take all such allegations seriously. Demand for rollback to ballot box or dumping the EVMs is like forcing us to go back to horse drawn carriages. Can any of us even imagine doing so. Despite the real risks of road accidents, we don’t abandon motor vehicles, do we. Instead, we implement safety measures like speed limits, seat belts and helmets and so should it be for the EVMs and introduction of the VVPAT is a step in this direction.

Central to the beauty and vibrancy of the Indian democracy are the Indian electorates - the rich and mighty, the powerful and powerless, the poor and the insignificant, the lettered and unlettered, sheltered and unsheltered, the males, females and the transgender’s, the believers and non believers, Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, religious and non religious, young, middle aged, old and the very old - all standing as equals, each rubbing shoulders with one another, in the true spirit of equality and humanity first, who make our democracy thrive. They have all voted and rightfully deserve to get the government that they have voted, so let there not be any politics over the results and let us not believe or encourage the losers who are likely to blame and shame the EVMs and the conduct of the Election Commission. Have we all not heard this idiom “bad workman blames his tools”.

Incidentally, allegations of vote fraud through tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) is not new to the parties or the candidates or only to this election. This tradition began right from the very first instance of the use of EVMs, when the Election Commission tried out a pilot project of use of EVMs in Indian elections during the Kerala assembly elections way back in 1982. The case went right up to the Supreme Court, which in 1984 ruled against the EVMs. However the ruling of the Supreme Court was based on the legal technicality, and not about the functionality or the fundamental suitability of the EVMs. This technical flaw was corrected by a 1988 amendment to the RoP Act, which provided the legal framework for the use of EVMs in Indian elections. Ever since the EVMs have served us very well.

Let naysayers continue to crib, which the losers will, but let us all rejoice the Indian democracy, which the world acclaims.

Jai Hind and Jai Indian Democracy.