Bizarre talk
Some proposals, and even statements, recently made by Anna Hazare will not help to promote the cause of the civil society which he had come to lead, agitating for the creation of a strong Lokpal bill.
In fact some views expressed by him in public with full seriousness are even bizarre. In a Republic Day appeal to the country he put forward the idea of setting up a referendum commission, which will function like the Election Commission, and periodically test the views of the people through a nationwide vote on every important legislative proposal. He also wants gram sabhas to be empowered to the extent of being placed above state Assemblies and Parliament. These are not just impractical ideas. They also show an ignorance and confusion about the system of representative democracy in the country.
The idea of direct democracy which the referendum proposal or the empowerment of gram sabhas embodies is quintessentially Gandhian and is an ideal. But large and complex modern societies cannot democratically organise themselves and function like village groups. The will of the people is expressed through elections, and representative bodies from panchayats to Parliament are repositories of that will. Legislation and governance are their function. Governments and elected bodies betray that will but the solution is not to look beyond them and make them irrelevant. They should be corrected and strengthened and that is the only way to deepen democracy. Anna Hazare’s civil society movement had tried to create an office in the form of a Lokpal within that system to cleanse government. He seems to have got carried away by the public support he received during the agitation.
Hazare also showed an unacceptable streak in his thinking when he endorsed slapping of corrupt politicians. In this also there is an implicit refusal to accept the processes of democracy and the rule of law. The idea of swift and summary justice and corporal punishment, without the sanction of law, for corrupt politicians or other wrong-doers may have populist appeal but it is not sanctioned by law. Democracy may not be the most efficient form of government but with all its faults it is the best. What Hazare should do is to strengthen it. He will only invite ridicule and lose credibility and support if he continues to make absurd and unrealistic demands.
