On January 26 every year, India commemorates the adoption of its Constitution considered to be a cornerstone of democracy. The nation exults in patriotism and revelry as it recalls the historic transition to a Republic in 1950. The Constitution of India replaced the British colonial Government of India Act 1935 and empowered citizens to choose a democratic government. It guaranteed fundamental rights to all citizens of this country, regardless of their political beliefs.
While India marks its 73rd Republic Day, Goa stands on a threshold of an important election, one which is destined to give concrete shape and definition to the future of the State. This Republic Day provides an ideal moment to look back, while we prepare to take a giant leap into the future. It is a time to reflect on the preamble of the Constitution and its guarantees to the common citizens. It is a time to introspect on democratic values and loopholes while we launch ourselves into collective action. It is a time to think of the times when leaders have let down democracy and presented us with autocracy. It is a time to recollect the many times when people's mandate has been violated and vote banks exploited for selfish political gains.
While the focus of any election is on the voter, we as a State have consistently failed to moderate and dwell on the kind of legislators that are being voted to legislate. It is most unfortunate that a State that is being considered as a tourism hotspot and an International destination holds the notoriety of electing individuals that have multiple criminal records and also poor academic profiles.
Sadly, the Representation of People's Act 1951 does not prescribe minimum educational qualifications for people's representatives. We live in a nation where the educational background is essential to any career, except for a political one. We are raised in a system that doesn’t find a correlation between formal education and qualities required for competent political leadership.
The Election Commission of India has made it mandatory for political parties to upload details of criminal cases of respective candidates and have also asked for reasons behind selecting candidates despite the criminal history. However, the lust power has been so overwhelming that many leaders have found favour on the sheer winnability count. One of the national leaders who was down in Goa on a recent weekend campaign was candid enough to admit that there are not many "clean faces" available. This shows the ugly side of our democracy. And probably, this is why Goa continues to be muddied in unprincipled politics that defeats the spirit of democracy.
President Ram Nath Kovind, in one of his Republic Day speeches, had stressed the fact that an election is a collective call to wisdom and a collective call to action. He spoke of how an election represents the diverse and yet singular urges of the people, and why the act of voting has to be considered sacred.
While we rise to salute the tri-colour this Republic Day, we need to ponder over the shortcomings in our democracy, the leaders we are electing and our failures as citizens.
