Why Swaraj

The public outrage in the aftermath of terrorist attack in Mumbai on 26th November 2008, has brought home the fast sinking public confidence in government. Citizens have long suffered a government that cannot provide adequate education and healthcare; it is too much, however, to endure a government that is miserably failing in protecting the life and property of the people. No wonder confidence in government in general and politicians in particular seems to have sunk to its lowest level in the history of post-independent India. There is a groundswell of public opinion against incompetence and corruption of politicians and bureaucrats. Campaigns for “no criminals in politics” are echoing across the country. There is also growing public consciousness of the need to demand performance and accountability from elected and un-elected public servants. Currently, those who manage to wrest control of public offices have practically no accountability to the public. The citizens have no say in how they want themselves to be governed, apart from performing the 5-yearly ritual of casting their vote to elect an MP, MLA or any other representative.

As our minds grow out of our heavy legacy of colonialism, there is a growing realisation that we inherited from the British too many of governmental systems that were wholly unsuited to our values and needs. In the process, the country has short-changed democracy and citizens’ constitutional rights. The heavily centralized and bureaucratized government that India has built for itself is anything but of the people, by the people, and for the people. The common thread that runs through numerous instances of government failure is lack of societal supervision of and citizen participation in governance. It’s time for political parties to realize that and start working towards greater engagement of citizens in the process of governance. Efforts to engage citizens in governance must start at the local level: in municipalities and Panchayats. Worldwide experience shows that grassroots democracy can successfully kick-start, legitimize and nurture reforms in governance. Brazil’s Workers Party (PT or Partido dos Trabalhadores) initiated people’s participation in preparing municipal budgets as early as the 1990s in the city of Porto Alegre. The impact was truly ground breaking. The exercise became so popular that Workers’ Party won four successive terms in municipal elections in Porto Alegre.

The reforms proposed here can help find answers to some of the serious issues of governance. It addresses a whole range of such issues including those relating to education, healthcare, sanitation, poverty and unemployment, roads, land and industry, etc. This site takes a comprehensive look at all the major issues facing the country today and provides in-depth suggestions and plans for what we believe will help us achieve Swaraj in the true sense of the word.

However, addressing issues of governance through citizens’ participation will entail strong political will and leadership. It will require a deep understanding of the workings of our archaic 61-year old approach to governance, the moral courage to challenge the status quo, an ability to learn from the experiences of other countries of the world, a mature and strategic world view, and a genuine commitment to establishing a platform for peoples’ empowerment. It remains to be seen which of our political parties and its leaders can rise to the occasion.

The people surely are impatient and tired of the same rhetoric. There is little doubt that they are hungry for a new direction.