Ready to reap the fruits three years hence :: Selling the soul of democracy
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 17, 2012 -

Three weeks hence or so and Manipur would have reaped the fruits, the seeds of which were sown on January 28 and of course in the repoll held on February 4 as well as in the repoll in some polling stations that are most likely to follow soon.

This is democracy and obviously election based on the principle of adult franchise is the key that keep the wheels and the principles of democracy churning.

Election to decide who should be given the responsibility to govern is the common denominator that runs through all the systems that come within the understanding of a democratic Government and as a State of the largest democracy in the world, Manipur too comes under this understanding.

And so it is that Manipur has been witnessing elections to its State legislature down the years, as any other democracy, but the one important question that has been disturbing the consciousness of a handful of people is whether the understanding of democracy has been bracketed only within the parameters of ‘election’ or whether it extends to other aspects of life which a democracy should touch.

Central to the theme of election is power coming from the people and this is the soul of democracy anywhere in the world and when the concept and understanding of this ‘soul’ is compromised then it can only result in the emergence of a distorted version of democracy.

It could be a despotic regime disguised as democracy or it could be the regime of a tin pot dictator assuming the role and title of a people’s representative.

Manipur comes close, too close for comfort, to the distorted and manipulated definition of democracy and if the recently held election is any indication, one does not need to look far why this is so.

The winnability quotient of a candidate has never ever been any of the pressing issues confronting the State and the present Manipur is a fruit of the elections of the past and the future Manipur is definitely going to be the fruit of the present election.

The maths is simple enough. Power supply be damned. Who cares about the rampant corruption ?

It has never, ever been an issue in any of the elections held since 1972. Institutional collapse, which we are today witnessing left, right and centre, has never ever been an issue to vote in or vote out a Government or a candidate.

Governance has never ever been an issue and election manifestoes are drafted, just so that some political big wigs as well as the wannabes can have the opportunity to occupy prime space on the newspapers. Has there ever been any meaningful debate on the election manifestoes released by respective political parties before the election ?

The answer should be obvious to all.

The winnability quotient of a candidate then obviously has to be something, since there has to be something for the voters to decide and here again the answer is not far to seek.

When the very soul of democracy is sold to the devil, then hell is the obvious destination that the people are heading towards and we have already covered quite a good distance towards this destiny, that is if we have not reached it.

The calculation then is not how many people have been mobilised by issues but by how many people have been paid to vote for a candidate and the amount too matters.

This has been the arithmatic of elections all these years and the the fruits are there for the people to enjoy or curse, whichever side of the fence one sits.