The Role of State Constitutions in Protecting ... - International IDEA
The Role of State Constitutions in Protecting ... - International IDEA
The Role of State Constitutions in Protecting ... - International IDEA
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exact outcome is determ<strong>in</strong>ed by the dynamics <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>teraction between<br />
the rules <strong>of</strong> the game and the players themselves.<br />
In design<strong>in</strong>g political <strong>in</strong>stitutions therefore one must ask the follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
question: what are the likely political consequences <strong>of</strong> the proposed<br />
design? What k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> behavior would it encourages or discourage?<br />
Indian experience <strong>of</strong> federalism: a success story or<br />
a cautionary tale?<br />
Year 2002 is a particularly <strong>in</strong>opportune time to foreground the strength <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Indian system with regards to the m<strong>in</strong>orities. <strong>The</strong> massacre <strong>of</strong> nearly 2000<br />
Muslims early this year <strong>in</strong> the state <strong>of</strong> Gujarat right under the nose <strong>of</strong> the state<br />
government (under its benign silence or active connivance, depend<strong>in</strong>g on which<br />
version you believe <strong>in</strong>) has left sensitive Indians rather shamefaced <strong>in</strong> talk<strong>in</strong>g too<br />
loudly about the virtues <strong>of</strong> Indian democracy. It has served to rem<strong>in</strong>d everyone<br />
that the performance <strong>of</strong> Indian system <strong>in</strong> political accommodation <strong>of</strong> social<br />
diversities has left a lot to be desired. But one must not allow the recent<br />
happen<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> Gujarat to determ<strong>in</strong>e the overall impression <strong>of</strong> the last fifty years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> examples from India’s neighbors show that we could have done worse.<br />
No doubt Gujarat is not the only exception <strong>in</strong> the last fifty years. <strong>The</strong>re are areas<br />
like the state <strong>of</strong> Jammu and Kashmir and hill states like Nagaland and till recently<br />
Mizoram <strong>in</strong> the North-East where the pr<strong>in</strong>ciple <strong>of</strong> democratic governance and the<br />
spirit <strong>of</strong> tolerance for expressions <strong>of</strong> diversity were not extended. <strong>The</strong>re were<br />
periods (Mrs. Gandhi's second regime from 1980 to 1984 or the current NDA<br />
government s<strong>in</strong>ce 1998) which constitute an exception to the general trend. And<br />
there are episodes like the anti-Sikh riots <strong>in</strong> 1984, the demolition <strong>of</strong> Babri Masjid<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1992 and the Gujarat massacre <strong>of</strong> 2002 that are a blot on the record <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
democracy.<br />
On balance, however, the Indian elite have stuck to the “salad bow” rather than<br />
the “melt<strong>in</strong>g pot” model <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>tegration <strong>of</strong> diversities. That is to say, various<br />
communities and aspir<strong>in</strong>g nationalities have not been forced to give up their<br />
identity as a pre-condition <strong>of</strong> jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the Indian enterprise. <strong>The</strong>y have been<br />
accepted as dist<strong>in</strong>ct and different <strong>in</strong>gredient <strong>in</strong> the Indian mix <strong>of</strong> multiculturalism.<br />
And, aga<strong>in</strong> on balance, it has worked: legitimate political articulation<br />
<strong>of</strong> social and regional diversities and the mediation <strong>of</strong> compet<strong>in</strong>g claims through<br />
mechanisms <strong>of</strong> political accommodation has achieved what consociational<br />
arrangements for power shar<strong>in</strong>g among different social groups do <strong>in</strong> other<br />
societies. <strong>The</strong>re have been more than one <strong>in</strong>stances <strong>of</strong> majoritarian excess, but<br />
democratic politics seems to have evolved mechanisms <strong>of</strong> self-correction <strong>in</strong> this<br />
respect (the 1997 elections <strong>in</strong> Punjab and the politics <strong>of</strong> Uttra Pradesh s<strong>in</strong>ce 1992<br />
could illustrate that). In retrospect, effective political accommodation <strong>of</strong> visible<br />
diversities might look like one <strong>of</strong> the outstand<strong>in</strong>g achievements <strong>of</strong> Indian<br />
democracy <strong>in</strong> the last fifty years.<br />
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