New Parliament building rises amid assault on democratic institutions

India’s political culture has been subverted by power elites. The developments involving the inauguration of the new House should be seen against this context

As a lifelong student of politics and as a teacher who has taught a whole generation of young students to look at the world politically, the Parliament of India has been foundational to my understanding of politics.

It is an institution that has made it possible for our vast and diverse country to govern itself for over seven decades; it is an institution that every citizen feels they have a stake in, and that it is accountable to be them; it is an institution that has given a broadly progressive direction, time and again, whenever it has been pushed into waywardness by various shades of reactionary forces; it is an institution where, even in the face of a numerical majority, it is possible to uphold reason and express dissent; it is an institution whose functioning, even if followed cursorily, can teach one a great deal about democracy.

It is in this vein that I absolutely agree with the honourable chairs of the two Houses when they invoke the national interest to prevail upon the members of Parliament and instil discipline and order into the proceedings. But more on this later.

Transitioning from a professor into a parliamentarian has been quite effortless for me, primarily because of the great affinity the university has with Parliament in terms of pedagogic potential.

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Imagine then the waves of embarrassment and horror that wash over me when I come across the WhatsApp University lessons that are mass circulated to make ordinary people politically ignorant, nay dangerous.

Sample this one, for instance: “Build your Nation… choose strong leadership…Instead of looking for freebies from leaders and voting for those who bring you free goods, choose a leader who will stand to protect you…Remember your country is your family and you need a father who teaches you to grow and beats you to go to school…Don’t choose a leader who comes for a season with gifts bought by the money saved in your own piggy bank.”

This is where we are. No longer responsible citizens but recalcitrant children who need corporal punishment by the “father”. I neither have the space nor the desire to delve into the interrelationship between family, patriarchy, and authoritarianism at the moment, but suffice it to say that such an imagination militates deeply against democratic ideals.

If it is merely a symptom – and one ardently hopes it is – and not a morbid condition, then one has to sadly conclude that it is so because the broader political culture, and the place of Parliament in it, has been deeply subverted by the power elites. By power elites, I mean the nexus between select capitalists, policymakers, manufacturers of public opinion, and those who command and encourage zombie stormtroopers to troll, abuse, and revel in wanton violence.

Our political culture and its democratic institutions are under great threat of being emptied of their potential to inspire, to give direction, to lead.

This is the broader context in which the push to inaugurate the new Parliament building by the head of the executive, the prime minister, instead of the head of the state, the President, needs to be seen. It is a clear signal of executive, if not personal, overreach.

It is a symbolic gesture but as symbolic gestures go, it is a very powerful one that strikes at the spirit of the Constitution.

This dispensation loves to talk about responsibilities instead of rights, but it is ironic that the prime minister who has not deigned to answer any question in Parliament raised by peoples’ representatives feels he has the privilege to dedicate it to the people of the country.

This is why 21 parties so far have decided to stay away from this rather astonishing show of power. The power, one must never forget, belongs to the people, not the government. Only the head of the state, elected by the people’s representatives, can exercise it in this context.

One must also remember that this comes at a time when the space for debate and discussion in Parliament has been continuously shrinking. Important bills have been rammed through without the kind of deliberation they deserve. Record number of members have been suspended in the last nine years. The government has evaded questions and demands for probe on issues of public interest.

That is why, in our joint statement, we have stated that “when the soul of the democracy has been sucked out of Parliament, we find no value in a new building”.

As the people of the country watch, we hope that they will learn from what is happening to their Parliament. Invoking the pedagogic potential of Parliament, I humbly beseech the proud citizens of this country to learn from this teachable moment. As lessons go, it is a cautionary one that the citizens would do well to heed. We still have the chance to salvage and restore our Parliament’s soul.

[The author is Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (Rashtriya Janata Dal)]