Concept: Democracy is all about people. And the word people is supposed to include all the people, cutting through all the barriers of caste, creed and religion and social, economic and political considerations. Democracy is about a social order, where everybody has sufficient opportunities for socially productive work and has the freedom to utilize his talents, physical capabilities and resources for the satisfaction of his urges, aspirations and inclinations. Democracy provides ample space for everybody for the realization of his dreams, be they intellectuals, capitalists, workers or farmers. Democracy makes it possible for everybody to have his own pie and helps in the development of a congenial environment, so that, everybody has the freedom to shape it and expand it. Democracy is about enjoying the fruits of one’s labour in a free and unfettered manner, without any fear and outside hassles. In a democracy, people stand together, work together, shoulder to shoulder and feel concerned for each other and for the welfare of the community and for the growth and development of the country.
In a democracy, there is a mad rush for work and all hands have ample opportunities to pick up something satisfying and to contribute for the optimum utilization of individual talents and resources and to blend them harmoniously with the the growth and development of the country. A dynamic, creative and resourceful individual, with a flair for blazing trails, can set up industries or establishments or other conglomerates, which can provide opportunities for work for hundreds of people or thousands of people or hundreds of thousands of people. In a democratic set up everybody functions and contributes and can look up for all the opportunities for going up the ladder and those of them, who happen to have the tenacity to weave some workable dreams, can aspire to realize those dreams someday, thereby, providing a multiplier effect for the development of opportunities of work for the teeming millions scattered all over the globe.
Democracy encourages unity in diversity. There are no class conflicts between rich and poor and labour and capital. Democracy dismantles all man made barriers between man and man based on social, economic and political considerations or affinities based on caste, creed and religion.
Dreams of the people: Every individual has a dream. He aspires to be happy and satisfied. This is the starting point for an unending struggle for survival and for putting in all his talents, resources and energies in the pursuit of doing something good and satisfying. Doing something better and doing something, which makes him happy and brings in a sense of fulfillment. Everybody has a built in little spark, which kindles all the dreams, which consciously and sub-consciously shows the way and ultimately lights the path and blazes trails. Every individual is a unique creation of nature. Nature does not differentiate between individuals. The bounties of nature are freely available to everybody. Basic needs of all individuals are generally very modest. Eighty to ninety percent of the people living in developed countries seem to be happy and satisfied with their lot. Most of the developing countries are catching up and it seems that twenty to thirty percent of the people in these countries are in a position to lead satisfying lives comparable to people living in the developed countries. Without getting into the jugglery of numbers, we may say, that, in spite of tremendous strides in the development of science and technology and explosion of awareness and knowledge based information in every nook and corner of the world and of course, outlays of billions of dollars for regional growth and development and for the improvement of the lot of the impoverished people, the stark fact remains, that, more than fifty percent of the people of the world find it difficult to lay hands on bare necessities of life and are either resigned to their fate or continue to hope against hope for better days in future. The simple question is, whether, those of us, who have been fortunate enough and who feel that they had a reasonably good run in life and are happy and satisfied, feel, that every person living on this planet should have a reasonably conducive environment, so that, he may get sufficient opportunities for crossing the hump for the realization of his dreams.
Democracy: Democracy is commonly identified as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Naturally, the emphasis seems to have shifted, from the development of a happy, prosperous and dynamic society, where every individual breathes freely and has ample opportunities for the utilization of his talents and resources, to the formation of a system of government. All democratic governments are supposed to be facilitators, but, unfortunately most of them assume the role of regulators and gradually, instead of providing service to the people, they start regulating the lives of the people. Before the second world war, the world was dominated by colonial powers. By the end of the war, most of the colonial powers did not have the necessary strength and resources to continue their domination and consequently, most of the countries became independent and adopted the so-called democratic institutions and democratic systems of government. People were declared as supreme and all powers were supposed to be vested in the people. Democratic constitutions were framed. Representatives of the people were elected. Popular governments were formed. Growth and development plans were prepared. Gradually, power and power games started grabbing all the attention and the people or the common men lost their shean. Churchill, the greatest democratic leader of the modern times, writes in his memoirs, that, “ Democracy is the worst form of government, other than those that have been tried so far.” Pandit Nehru has written in his autobiography, that he has valued all the democratic values throughout his life, but, he is not sure, that, majority is always right. After all, what is wrong with democracy. It seems unfortunate, that, functioning democracy is something very different than, what democracy stands for.
Growth of modern society: Since times immemorial man had been hunting for water, food and shelter. As times rolled on, he settled down near sources of water and agriculture took roots. Gradually, the families grew into tribes, which emerged as close-knit living units. Further pressures led to the development of hamlets, villages, neighbourhoods, towns, cities, states and countries. Initially, when the man was alone, he had all the freedom and he willingly did all that was needed for survival and keeping him happy and satisfied. As the family or the tribe grew, the work was shared by all members of the family or tribe from considerations of survival, safety and security and the man willingly surrendered part of his individual freedom in the best interests of his family or tribe. As the civilization grew, more and more functions began to be shared and the man continued to shed substantial parts of his freedom from considerations of common good of his kith and kin and associated communities and countries. With the growth of the modern society and the modern state, welfare of the people got into the centre stage and started cornering all the attention and lime-light. Specialized agencies and functionaries cropped up and rules, regulations and laws started monitoring and regulating the lives of the people. Naturally, the individual, who was enjoying all the freedom and was master of his actions, found that, there was an irreversible erosion of his personal freedom.
Conclusion: Rags to riches stories can be found scattered at all the nooks and corners of the world. Hard work, efficiency, competence and an unending obsession to get out of the heap are the passwords. No constitution, laws, rules, regulations, doles, grants, subsidies or affirmative action, preferential treatment and reservations can replace the internal urge of a man to keep moving and surge ahead. All hands need work and opportunities for work and there is no dearth of opportunities for useful productive work in this ailing world. In a democratic set up there is perfect unity of purpose, in spite of wide ranging contradictions and diversity. Everybody works in tandem with the community and the state, for bringing some glow on the faces of the people and for the development of fraternal relations in the community and strengthening the safety, security and prosperity of the state. There is freedom for expression, creativity, productivity and innovation, which do not leave any time or space for social, economical and political wranglings, strikes, bunds and agitations and all those things which plague the so-called functional democracy to-day.