1. India is an agricultural country.
2. Democracy is an industrial political system.
3. In 1947, our leaders made the disastrous mistake of imposing an industrial political system on an agricultural society.
4. Whatever problems we see in Indian democracy today – corruption, violence, casteism – are the result of this anomaly.
5. Our leaders opted for universal adult franchise in 1947. Instead they should have put two restrictions:
a) You can vote if you have completed primary education.
b) You can contest elections if you have completed a degree.
6. With these two modifications, Indian democracy would have been a success.
7. India is the world's largest democracy, yes. It is also the world's most corrupt, violent and casteist democracy.
16 April 2011
15 April 2011
Democracy: A Modern/Industrial Political System
Q: What is democracy?
A: Democracy is a political system in which the people choose their rulers.
A person can choose who his/her ruler should be only if he/she has a certain minimum level of knowledge/awareness. That is, if he/she has a certain minimum level of education.
In the Agricultural Age, education was only for the elite. The masses were uneducated (because they were farm labourers).
The Industrial Revolution changed all that. Factories needed literate workers. So the Industrial Age saw the birth of mass education (or universal education).
With an educated population, the condition for democracy was satisfied. Thus democracy was born.
Thus, a literate/educated population is a pre-requisite for democracy. In fact, it is an educated population that is the fundamental feature of democracy – not elections.
Universal education and democracy go together. They are two sides of the same coin.
A: Democracy is a political system in which the people choose their rulers.
A person can choose who his/her ruler should be only if he/she has a certain minimum level of knowledge/awareness. That is, if he/she has a certain minimum level of education.
In the Agricultural Age, education was only for the elite. The masses were uneducated (because they were farm labourers).
The Industrial Revolution changed all that. Factories needed literate workers. So the Industrial Age saw the birth of mass education (or universal education).
With an educated population, the condition for democracy was satisfied. Thus democracy was born.
Thus, a literate/educated population is a pre-requisite for democracy. In fact, it is an educated population that is the fundamental feature of democracy – not elections.
Universal education and democracy go together. They are two sides of the same coin.
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