(From previous issue)
American author Zig Ziglar put it well when he said the following: “Humility will open more doors than arrogance ever will”. Indira Gandhi paid the price with an election defeat soon after the emergency.
To refresh public memory the opposition at that time included among others the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the then political arm of the RSS and the forerunner to the present BJP. They were able to defeat Indira Gandhi with the powerful campaign message: to choose between ‘democracy and dictatorship’. It is ironic that now it is under Prime Minister Modi and the BJP-RSS that the country is going through a similar trial.
Will India emerge stronger or weaker after recent political events and impositions? Whatever may be the outcome, the consequences, both political and otherwise, will be crucial to the future of the Indian state.
Conclusion
Perhaps as a reminder to the powers that be, as defined under Article 1 (1) of its constitution, India is a ‘Union of States’. It is the numerous states with their sub-national identity that makes the Union. The Union does not exist for its own sake. It exists through the integration and participation of the States in what has been recognized as the world’s largest functioning democracy.
It is true that ‘national interest’ is paramount. Yet as eminent political scientist Rajni Kothari put it: an aggressive approach to the establishment of one central authority and the suppression of all plural identities provides a ready recipe for disintegration rather than integration. The challenge lies in keeping the country intact and of creating, out of its disparate parts and varied elements, a nation with a broad vision and consensus.
The only way out is perhaps a reaffirmation of the time honoured principle of ‘unity in diversity’, which in many ways reflect India’s approach to democracy and federalism. The constitution itself has allowed space for sub-national identities. It has provided safeguards that enable harmony with a larger national identity.
Correspondingly, persuasion and not coercion should be the way forward. Quoting Rajni Kothari, a country as vast and pluralistic as India can be effectively united only through a participant and accommodative model of politics. As someone said, it is impossible to rule India from New Delhi.
And finally, the constitution of India is a unifying document—one that holds the key to keeping the country together. The founding fathers created a piece of miracle when they drafted the constitution and no force should be allowed to subvert the ideals on which India was founded.
(Concluded)
Along Longkumer
(Along Longkumer is a founding Editor of The Morung Express, a Nagaland based English newspaper. A senior journalist, now involved with the group The Naga Rising, he is a keen observer of Indian politics, the Constitution and current affairs around the globe.)