I am a journalist, so I too am a hardcore pessimist. Remember, bad news sells, good news doesn’t. Still, consider the wonder of our democracy. The country is about to elect its 15th Parliament, defying Cassandras of doom—like the London Times correspondent who predicted that 1962 would witness the last election in the country. I am not going into the reasons why our republic continues to progress, albeit fitfully. Instead, I present the following facts.
Unlike the US, where the president gets elected on just 25 per cent of the vote, we will probably have the largest turnout on this globe. Democracy is not merely casting a vote, we also have to examine the level of enthusiasm and public participation. I understand for Vajpayee’s Lucknow seat there are 54 candidates. One can be sure 49 will lose their deposits. Yet, they persist. A separatist leader from Kashmir will contest and take oath swearing allegiance to the Constitution. At least two tea vendors are in the race. The Election Commission has not crumbled along partisan lines, indeed it is unusually vigilant. Sanjay Dutt and Pappu Yadav have been banned from contesting. Varun Gandhi is in jail. Over 700 million voters will take part in a largely free and fair poll. Political parties are on tenterhooks knowing that despite their best efforts to bribe and intimidate they are at the mercy of the electorate.
The writer E.M. Forster in one of his essays offered "two cheers" for democracy. I would increase it by half and make it two-and-a-half cheers for (Indian) democracy.