Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Democracy in India needs to be revived' that was published in Newsband

Democracy in India needs to be revived

India is supposed to be the world’s largest democracy. But are we a democracy only in name? Look at our Parliament. It today resembles a wrestling arena. India’s future is imperiled if its Parliament is imperiled.

One begins to wonder what the meaning of democracy is when one sees the proceedings and events in Parliament. How the people will have faith in the system? It is time to change the behavior of the politicians.

There is need to enforce discipline which is the blood and oxygen for Democracy that is in Intensive Care Unit inside and outside parliament.  There should be introspection and improvement in behavior of the legislators.

Healthy debates should replace frequent 'Dharnas'. One should evolve and observe a code of conduct for legislators. Besides, the Election Commission needs to ensure that the candidates with criminal background do not get their tickets. One should select and put forth candidates of character and competence.  

We need someone like T N Sheshan to revive democracy in our country. He was the man who could make right rules. We need people of steel to enforce these rules.

Parliament needs more security not just outside but also inside, otherwise the day is not far when a Member of Parliament will enter into house with ‘Revolver’ and excuse will be ‘Self Defense’ from fellow parliamentarian. If one sees the manner in which our Parliament functions today, it won’t be surprising if in the near future the houses of representatives will think of transparent bullet proof covering around their seats to shield them from the atrocities of their fellow representatives who came in through the so called democratic process which profusely permits goondas and hooligans.

The way in which the House proceedings went on during these five years conveys that our democracy is more in form than content. While the pepper spray was irritating to the eyes of those present in the House, the TV black out has shocked the whole nation. Where are we going from here?

If you really want to save parliament, speaker's post should be thrust on a right person. Any member who disrupts the house should be banned with immediate effect and he should not be allowed to complete five years.

Our parliamentarians should learn to behave like the British or American parliamentarians. The quality of parliament behavior cannot be ensured by creating strong disincentives only but by electing law makers who are not criminal law breakers.