August 2007 Edition
SL Rao
Bangalore
ARUN Maira is one of those unusual business managers who have grown far beyond business. His ability to apply his managerial experiences to problems in different situations is reflected in his book, Discordant Democrats.’ Maira analyses how to make democracy work in India, a pluralistic country with a population of over a billion. India speaks in many languages and dialects and follows several religions, sub-religions and castes. There are huge disparities between people in opportunity and in standards of living. Most educated Indians are frustrated by our tendency to talk rather than act, and we wonder why we cannot be decisive like China. A simplistic answer is that we need a dictatorship. Then we realise that we had the Emergency under Indira and Sanjay Gandhi. It did not work. We know that for a pluralistic nation like ours, democracy with its laborious consultative processes is perhaps the most suitable.
This book shows how to be decisive and quick even in
a democracy.
Maira points out that the pace of communications has increased. New technologies, globalisation and world economic growth, reinforce each other to
improve lives for many more people. At the same time, terrorism on a global
scale, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, environmental degradation
and climate change are consequential threats that have accompanied
recent years of rapid
change.
He says that individual
and group identities have
resulted in prejudices
affecting decisions on
many issues. We need to
think carefully about what
structures and processes
will make for a healthy
democracy in India. Democracy is not merely
about holding regular elections.
Nor is it only about
devolution of powers to
local communities. It
requires respect for
diverse views. We must
find ways to connect the
big city India to small
towns and village India.
They are now alienated, resulting in political tensions.
India has shown over the years that the masses are not indifferent to democracy. But we must find holistic solutions to problems and not tackle each problem
by itself as we have been doing.
We must also not impose solutions but have a process which enables participation by others who are affected. He says the theory that the private sector must be allowed to deal with most problems is invalid since there are many problems that only the government can deal with. At the same time he realises that our present processes to tackle complicated issues mostly aggravate divisiveness. Maira writes that Emperor Ashoka's rules for public discussion should be emulated. Reasoned dialogue requires restraint in speech, not extolling one's own group or disparaging another’s. He advocates the pursuit of the skill of really listening to all shades of opinion. As he says, dialogues are for learning, not debates to be won. He argues for dialogic processes that explore issues, work through them, collaborative decisionmaking and actions, and a recourse to conflict resolution, not the perpetuation of conflicts. In line with the argument in the USA, he asks whether India is a melting pot or a salad bowl. He prefers the analogy of the salad bowl, since singularities are enabled to continue though the dish is one. On the same lines he argues that secularism is about harmony between different communities, preserving their identities and respect for each other, but not giving up all religious ideas.
Thus there is need for other processes outside democratic institutions to build bridges and enable sensible discussions between diverse groups. For sustainable partnerships and alliances, it is necessary that the dialogic process must agree on goals and methods and appreciate each other’s beliefs and values. Only then will you get harmony. Harmony means the loss of some individual freedom as people observe rules of dialogue, not a licence to say anything at any time. Maira makes a valid point when he says that economic measures like GDP growth per capita do not measure happiness. He quotes the US General Social Survey to say that the financial situation is not the only indicator of happiness. Other indicators are: family relationships, community and friends, personal freedom, nature of work, health and personal values. Over 60 years ago when V K RV Rao founded the Delhi School of Economics, he said that he regarded economics as a social science to study man in society, and hence economics must interact with the other social sciences. Maira makes the same point about the need to integrate insights between different disciplines-economics, sociology, political science and so on. Maira emphasises that nations, like well-run and successful corporations, must have a shared vision of the future and develop it in a way that listens to the needs of others.
A notable exemplar of this was V Krishnamurthy in the public enterprises that he ran successfully. Just as shareholder value creation is not an exciting vision for many people in a company; a national vision too must inspire deep commitment. One way to develop such vision is to use the technique of scenario planning. This enables strategists to take a dispassionate view of the forces that will shape the world and test the efficacy of potential strategies within alternative possible scenarios of what the world will be like. A national vision must align aspirations of various groups. Its effectiveness will depend on the maximum involvement of those for whom the benefits are intended and those who can enable or disable the implementation. This is a book written by a thoughtful scholar and presents many insights. It can help readers reflect on what each of us can do to make our democracy a harmonious one.
Want to give feedback on this article |
Disclaimer
The views expressed here are strictly personal and civilsocietyonline.com does not necessarily subscribe to them. We shall endeavour to upload/publish as many of the comments that are submitted as possible within a reasonable span of time, but we do not guarantee that all comments that are submitted will be uploaded/published. Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene, unlawful, defamatory, libellous, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content; or have spam, commercial or advertising content or links are liable to be removed by the editors. We also reserve the right to edit the comments that do get published. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly.
TopYour Feedback on this story...
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
About Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | ©2007 Civil Society
.
........................................Webmaster Vishwanathan ( vishu4@rediffmail.com )