Is Democracy Suitable for India? A Critical Perspective

MANY PEOPLE HAVE asked me why I am against democracy in India, especially when the Indian Constitution provides for it. My answer is simple: the test of every political system and political activity is just one thing—does it raise the standard of living of the people? Does it give them better lives?

From that standpoint, it is clear that democracy cannot be an end in itself but can only be a means to an end. That end must be raising the standard of living of the people and giving them better lives.

If implementing democracy in India had abolished or significantly reduced poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, lack of healthcare, lack of quality education for the masses, price hikes, casteism, and communalism, I would fully support it.

However, our experience since 1947 shows that these major evils persist in our society even after 77 years, and some argue they have worsened. So, how can I support democracy? What good has it done for India? Many say it has only increased the misery of Indians.

In Book 6 of Plato’s The Republic, the great Greek philosopher Socrates has a conversation about democracy with a man named Adeimantus. Socrates compares society to a ship setting out to sail into the open sea, which may be stormy.

He asks Adeimantus whether anyone on the ship should be made its captain or only the person most skilled in seamanship. Adeimantus has to answer that only the latter should be the captain.

Then Socrates gives another example: suppose there is a choice between voting for a sweet shop owner or a doctor. The sweet shop owner will tell voters, “Vote for me because I will give you lots of sweets, which will delight you,” whereas the doctor will give them bitter medicines and perform painful operations.

Short-sighted and often foolish, the voters will choose the sweet shop owner, forgetting that politicians rarely keep their election promises. And even if the sweet shop owner does give them sweets, it may provide momentary delight but be harmful to health in the long run. On the other hand, the doctor gives bitter medicines and performs surgeries to save lives—that is, for their own good.

Many people have asked me to enter politics and contest elections. But if I did, I would surely lose, as I would be like the doctor Socrates mentioned, who prescribes bitter medicines and performs operations. Who would vote for me?

Hindus, who are 80% of India’s population, will not vote for me because I have often said there is nothing wrong with eating beef, and I eat it myself (where legally permitted, as in Kerala and Goa). Almost the entire world eats beef. Are they all wicked, while only we Hindus are saints?

I have also said that those who call the cow gomata (mother cow) have gobar (cow dung) in their heads, for how can an animal be the mother of a human being? Some say the cow is gomata because she gives us milk. But humans drink the milk of goats, buffaloes, camels, yaks, deer, etc. Are all these animals to be worshiped and regarded as our mothers?

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Muslims, who make up 15% of India’s population, will not vote for me either because I have said several times that sharia, burqa, madrasas, and maulanas should be banned, as these are feudal practices and institutions that must be suppressed if India is to progress, as Mustafa Kemal did in Turkey in the 1920s.

This leaves only Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains, etc., and they too may not vote for me, knowing that I am an atheist. But if I suddenly became casteist or communal and began inciting caste or religious hatred, I would get many votes, as 80-90% of Indians are casteist or communal-minded, with gobar in their heads, and I might even win the election.

So, is democracy suited to India?

Democracy cannot be regarded as an unqualified good in all societies and circumstances. It is only as effective as the quality of education in society.

In India, the education system is mostly very poor, and the vast majority of people (80-90%) have feudal (casteist and communal) mindsets.

When they vote, they do not consider the merit of the candidate, whether he is good or bad, educated or uneducated, or criminal or not; they only see his caste or religion (or the caste or religion his party claims to represent).

That is why there are so many persons with criminal backgrounds in our Parliament and state legislatures. Therefore, democracy is unsuited to India.

US President Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” In other words, he said that in a democracy, the people are the rulers. But everyone knows that India is not ruled by its people but by a handful of corrupt politicians, who have no genuine love for the people but only seek power and wealth and are experts in polarizing society and spreading caste and religious hatred to secure their vote banks.

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