Democracy under attack

Despite its shortcomings democracy is widely hailed as the best-known system of governance known to mankind. It ensures participation and will of the people to prevail. Historians believe that democracy took birth in the bazaars of Athens around 430 to 420 BC. The democratic order has come under siege on several occasions throughout human history. Currently, the democratic order in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is also under attack.

Once the hostilities size, reviews and reflections will appear. In the recent past there have been two major attacks on this man-made system created to serve the masses, in the words of Abraham Lincoln: “ Of the people, by the people, for the people”. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister (PM) of India, proclaimed emergency on June 25, 1975, which ended 21 months later on March 21, 1977.

Elections were held from March 16 to 20, 1977 in which she not only lost her own seat, but her Congress Party was also voted out. Earlier on October 16, 1970, under the War Measures Act, emergency was declared in Canada by PM Pierre Elliott Trudeau, which was supported by the premier of Quebec and Mayor of Montreal. In both instances there was a brutal crackdown on civil liberties.

After the enactment of Magna Carta in June 1215, civil liberties were taken very seriously in the entire West. It was the first written document that established the principle that the king and his government were not above the law. Unfortunately, in this part of the world, lawlessness of the powerful prevails. In India, Indira Gandhi had no hesitation in crushing the opposition.

She went all the way into sending troops into the Golden Temple in Amritsar in which 400 people, including 87 soldiers died. General Pervez Musharraf, the fourth usurper, committed the same mistake by entering the Lal Masjid in Islamabad.

The British as a matter of principle never entered any religious site in the Indian Sub-continent. At best they surrounded the place and weakened the resistance to bring them to the negotiating table. It seems after independence the Sub-continent has decided to revoke the Magna Carta and gone back to the Imperial Dark Ages where authority prevailed over law.

In Canada the attack on democracy was taken very seriously as it was an un-imaginable act in the free world where people were picked up from their homes by the armed forces. After the storm settled, it was decided to bisect the brutal act to avoid all such adventurism in the future as liberty is life for the people of the free world.

A team of researchers (Benjamin Barber, Patrick Watson) were given the task to document ‘The Struggle for Democracy’. A TV series together with a book with the same title was published in the year 1988. It traces the birth of democracy from the noise of the bazaars of Athens to the Parliament Houses that rule over us today.

Communication, debate, discussion and free will of the people laid the foundations of the democratic order. Direct democracy where the citizens participated worked very well; it was the indirect or representative mode that has seriously dented the system. After about 2500 of its birth, it is time to revisit democracy to understand the detours.

Today, only Switzerland practices direct democracy through its system of ‘Cantons’ (CH) or Home of Cantons as proudly displayed. The country has no standing army, there is a concept of Citizen Soldier where every able body person is trained to defend the soil.

There is stability and unmatched economic growth making it the most livable country on the globe. In the USA, the oldest constitutional democracy of the world, individual freedom is taken very seriously.

Human rights are protected by the constitution, which include Right to bear Arms, Right to Travel, Freedom of Speech, etc., to mention a few. In over two centuries only around eighteen amendments have been made in the original document ratified in Philadelphia in 1776. Till today it is hailed as a miracle of democracy.

On November 05, 2024, the country elected a new President to lead the nation. Hopefully, transition of power will be smooth.

Nations must learn from their mistakes, but it seems in this part of the world sanity is rare. Ballot must prevail over the bullet for democracy to flourish. Due to the atrocities committed by Indira Gandhi she met a tragic end. She was gunned down by her own Sikh bodyguards. The Military Action in 1975 by Bhutto after dismissing the elected governments in Balochistan and NWFP (now KP) seriously derailed the democratic order in the country, which eventually resulted in his own downfall. Pervez Musharraf had to leave in disgrace.

He was tried and convicted for treason under Article 6 of the constitution. He lived in self-exile till his death last year. President Richard Nixon had to resign due to the Watergate Scandal. He had used his office to break into the headquarter of the Democratic Party.

Pierre Trudeau stepped down in remorse and retired from politics. His son Justin Trudeau is now heading the government in Canada with lessons learnt. Patrick Henry has listed several major atrocities committed against democracy in the recent past.

Threats include poverty, pollution, nuclear age, apathy, authoritarianism. Attack on democracy should not be taken lightly as human will and freedom are badly bruised by such dastardly acts by a few powerful misguided individuals. Eventually, the will of the people prevails.

The Magna Carta of 1215 is a living document that even the kings had to follow centuries ago. To avoid blunders, history is a good guide to follow. Democracy will survive unless a better system of governance is discovered by human intellect.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024