Author: Rajesh Tandon
Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip in Queensland, Australia, 1954[/caption]
During the winter holidays, I watched the Netflix serial ‘Crown’. It is based on the life and times of the current monarch of the United Kingdom—Queen Elizabeth II. The serial has taught me two lessons.
First, the current head of state of the UK has had to learn to make several personal sacrifices in order to strengthen the ‘dignity of the institution of monarchy’ over the past seven decades.
And second, that it is possible to produce such a searching and penetrating serial on the life of the present Queen and head of state, and make it available for viewing so freely around the world.
But on second thought, I think the second lesson is an extension of the first. Providing freedom and space for expression about itself is part of ‘maintaining the dignity of the institution’ of monarchy.
[caption id="attachment_3238" align="alignright" width="300"]
Washington Post building[/caption]
Then last week, I saw the Hollywood film ‘Post’. The film portrays the dynamics of freedom of the media in an authoritarian era of American democracy — the Nixon years in the early 1970s. The first woman publisher of the Washington Post, Katherine Graham, overcame ‘strong’ advice from her Board, comprising of her husband and men from her father’s era, and went ahead with the publication of certain Pentagon Papers which showed systematic attempt to hide the truth about the Vietnam war. In providing a judgement on a petition filed by the Department of Defence against her, the learned Supreme Court supported the Post by pronouncing that “…the role of media in a democracy is to serve the governed, not the governors”.
How relevant are both these stories to the times we live in India, and the world today?
In recent years, many basic institutions of India’s democracy have been allowed to weaken and degenerate. Despite all the fanfare when launched 25 years ago in December 1992, panchayats and municipalities remain ‘still born’. These building blocks of grassroots democracy have never been endowed with functional mandates and resources to discharge their constitutional responsibilities. And the mess in our cities and villages is for all to experience!
Over the past 70 years, several statutory institutions have been created to improve the conditions of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households, minorities, women, children and people with disabilities. Taken together, these number nearly 200! None of these institutions have been provided adequate capacity and resources to fulfil their constitutional duties.
As developmental roles of national and state governments have expanded, hundreds of training institutes — rural development, water, sanitation, environment, agriculture, health, education — on every conceivable theme — have been set up. Initially funded through international aid, physical infrastructure exists, but professional activities have degenerated. And we continue to complain that government functionaries lack capacities across the board to perform their jobs effectively!
Even the fundamental pillar of India’s democracy — parliament and state legislatures — have become increasingly dysfunctional, with no adequate time for sessions, analytical debates and participation of elected representatives to effectively, responsibly and thoughtfully conduct legislative business for the future of India.
I can, and so can you, list many more such institutions which have democratic and constitutional mandates to function in the best interests of all Indian citizens, and which have been systematically eroded of their dignity and capacity to perform.
Individuals matter; inspiring, thoughtful, knowledgeable individuals provide leadership in, and to, all such institutions. Visionary leaders build, nurture and strengthen institutions. But, individuals matter, because institutions matter.
Strengthening the ‘dignity’ of institutions to serve the ‘governed’ is the biggest governance challenge facing India today.
Photo credits:
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip: Wikipedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StateLibQld_1_210936.jpg
Washington Post building: Max Borge, https://www.flickr.com/photos/maxmborge/8042224968
PRIA’s MobiliseHER team traveled to Bangalore during the week of June, 10 – 14, 2024. The aim of the visit was to gain relevant insights into the civil society ecosystem in Bangalore and meet different organisations to understand the city through a lens of gender and inclusive mobility.
Working at PRIA, often leads us to various cities across the country. Each trip is an opportunity to witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of different communities.
Mr. Yedukrishnan V has recently joined PRIA after gaining valuable experience in the development sector. Drawing from his journey in the social sector and personal encounters in Kerala, he emphasises the importance of participatory governance and research in empowering marginalised communities.'
