Democracy, Elections and Politics: Musing on ADC Election

Orient Thansing Ramshan *

Voting for 16th Lok Sabha election 2014 at Imphal on 17 April 2014 :: Pix - Jinendra Maibam

The simplest definition of democracy, that even a layman could understand, taught in our schooldays is, 'the government of the people, by the people and for the people'. This was the definition given by Abraham Lincoln more than a century ago but not very surprisingly, the same concept still echoes far and wide in our present political realm as well.

And the realm of the study of political system, democracy as a form of government, stands out tall for its adaptability, flexibility and its presumptuous accountability to the people. When we talk about democracy, there immediately emerge several questions – what type of government is the best form of government, which is that government that governs its citizens the best, what type of government best look into the welfare of the people and so on. Very often democratic form of government is also known as a responsible form of government.

Why a responsible form of government? Because those who are elected to power or who manned the government are held responsible for the development that is taking place in the country, be a good development or a bad one. And when we talk about representative form of government the word election automatically ushers in. How can one actually say that a country or a nation is following the ideals of democracy?

Well, to be very precise, when election is taking place at regular intervals, may be after four or five years, we can, for sure, say that it is a democratic form of government. This is where we find a conspicuous departure from the dictatorship or an autocratic form of government, wherein the voice of the people is completely ruled out.

Election thus becomes the lifeline of modern democracies. Accumulation and dissemination of the knowledge of 'political education', even to the ordinary people, is made possible through the activities of election.

When election draws nigh, issues are usually raised and public opinions are generally sought on the policies and performances of the government, especially by the opposition party, wherein they try to look for the loopholes and its failures and try to explain to the people as to how they (the incumbent government) have misled the masses and lied to the people by having promised many great things to be done for the people if they should be voted to the power, and yet had totally failed to live up to the promises they had made.

The party in power would, in their best way, try to cover up their failures and rather show to the people the achievements that they have made in so many fields and the number of strides they have actually taken towards the development of the nation as a part of their 'pre-election campaign plan'. For instance, in the 14thLokSabha election 2004 campaign trail, the BJP led NDA government came up with their robust manifestos under the caption "India Shining" as a run up or the said election.

But electoral politics in India is such an unpredictable and a tricky phenomenon that they were defeated in the ensuing election by the Congress led UPA party, which eventually formed the government with DR. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister. When election is round the corner, what immediately comes to our mind is actually the notion of a great tussle among the politicians with all their maximum articulation of rhetoric politics in mobilizing the people.

But the general misconception and ill-feeling towards the notion of politics that 'it is bad' iswell understood from the fact that people generally regard politics as a 'noisy violent affairs'. And when people think of politicians there comes in their minds an 'unscrupulous rabble rouser' who talks a lot but does little.

Has the general masses been able to understand the true culture of politics in relation with the electoral politics, within the ambit of the democratic institutions – elections, adult suffrage, fundamental rights, directive principles, political parties, pressure groups etc., - is a question that necessitates a deeper analysis by the masses.

Back in 1972, when Manipur attained its statehood and the first general election of the state was to be held, the need for empowering the hill people politically was also strongly felt. This resulted into the creation of an Autonomous District Councils for the hill people of Manipur under Article 371C of the Indian constitution. Thus inclusive politics was outrightly mooted from the very inception of statehood of Manipur.

That the District Council Act of 1972 was discriminatory for the tribals as certain clauses were found amiss and that some articles need to be amended of which it eventually led to the boycott of ADC election for some twenty years or so, is now a thing of the past. Now, the fifth ADC election is round the corner and every tribals who have attained the age of 18 years would be exercising their franchise on June 1 when the fate of many intending candidates would be decided by casting of a ballot paper.

Electioneering and canvassing on a massive scale by various political parties in all the hill districts is in full swing. Hill people must understand the fact that this kind of election would usher political empowerment in their land. Twenty and more years have been wasted by boycotting ADC elections where hill people have missed a great deal of economic and political benefits when compared with that of the valley people.

Now that everything has fallen into line, we expect the district council to deliver the goods. Everyone desires for a change in every aspects of our daily lives. Can the candidates bring about the desired change for the hill people when they are voted to power? This is the question that needs to be answered by candidates who would be elected at the end of the day.

Village Politics as I see

The rural masses are in general illiterate and as a result they are very much ignorant about the democratic ideals of modern government. They do not know much about the electoral politics as such but they do know that they should vote for the right candidate who can bring about a change in the village. And so village development becomes the prior concern for every adult citizen of the village.

Thus economic development of the village becomes the single most important issue during election as the majority of the people in the village are, in one way or the other, engaged in agricultural activities. Village politics is sometimes juxtaposed within sectarian political orientation. This obviously means that in every village there ought to exist different ideological bearings among competing groups which tend to oscillate due to personal differences on certain issues pertaining to the development of the village or perhaps due to one's inherent inclination towards a particular ideology.

There is also a tendency of 'isms' inherently wedded among the village folks within themselves. The personal differences between two influential persons in the village sweeps across the length and breadth of the village, resulting in polarization of their issues further and thereby inflicting division on family lines. This gives a different dimension to the nature of the village politics.

So the issue of giving votes to a particular candidate or a party is sometimes decided by the prevailing situation of the village. The hill people or the tribals are a group of people who take pride in their long cherished tradition and culture, which is inextricably interwoven into the fabric of the social set-up of the village. And so they love their village dearly.

They could do anything to safeguard the dignity and pride of their own villages. This can starkly be seen from the stone monoliths or a huge tree post called 'Tarung' in case of Tangkhuls, erected in front of the chiefs of each clan. And so the love for the village is in a way reflected in the electoral politics of the village itself. Development for 'my village' comes first besides many other issues. What can a politician or the candidate in the fray do for the locals, is the question that pops up in the minds of every villager.

All said and done, the ADC election is just knocking at the door and preparation for the said election is at its peak. Everyone, young and old, is politically conscious because it is not a surprising thing to see the villagers talking and gossiping about the pros and cons of voting for their candidates at their different work places. I find myself so enthusiastic to cast my invaluable vote for my candidate because this is the first time I'm going to exercise my franchise in the ADC election.

Twenty to twenty five years ago I guess I must be busy playing marble with my friends in the village street. And the previous district council election was a farce because not a single person casted their votes.

But I'm so thrilled this time around that grass root level democracy is going to be put into place in my own hometown. My only worry is that some non state actors might meddle with the prevailing political scenario and change the political landscape again like the way they have done in the past Assembly elections.

My heart, therefore, goes out to our dear revolutionary brethren not to interfere with the ensuing district council election. God, the almighty, has given enough rationale to everyone of us to be able to discern the good from the bad. We know whom we should vote for, which party we should go for and why we should vote for and so we don't certainly need their guidance in choosing the party or the candidate.