An ideal political system

“Voulez-vous avoir de bonnes lois; brûlez les vôtres, et faites-en de nouvelles.” - Voltaire

A political system is a system of politics and government. It encompasses but is not limited to the legal system, economic system, cultural system and other social systems. It is a complex system of categories involving the views: who should have authority, how religious questions should be handled, and what the government’s influence on its people and economy should be. Anthropologically, political systems can be un-centralized like bands or tribes, or centralized like chiefdom or state. Supranational political systems like empires or leagues too crop up and then lose relevance from time to time in the history of man. The sociologists consider three types of political systems- authoritarianism, monarchy and democracy.

This discussion sprouts from observing apparently far too many aberrations occurring in almost all components of the Indian political system. Criminals and corrupts have infested our legislature, judiciary and executive to a very great extent and are influencing the functions to serve their petty interests. Therefore, interest to which this discussion addresses is, with specific reference to India, figuring out who should hold the power in the relationship of the government and its people and how the government’s power should be used.

India suffers, or, apparently chooses to suffer from the burden of huge population and technology lead onslaught of globalization. We have too many and too lengthy rule books which we fail to enforce. We do not have public figures that can inspire us. Our so-called leaders sitting at the helm of affairs, for short term and quick gains, tend to play upon the parochial sentiments of language, region, caste, creed and ethnic groups. And all this happens in the name of democracy.

We also suffer from the problem of succession- choosing the right heir to the retiring incumbent. We do not have an effective system of succession in place. We display a strong liking to rule of families- be it Thackerays, be it Pawars, be it Gandhis, be it Karunanidhis, be it Yadavs, or be it Abdullas. Many a time incompetent persons in terms of vision and dedication to nation get appointed to high posts of judges, ministers, bureaucrats through nepotism, manipulation, money power, or even criminal record.

We also betray utter confusion at the top most level about the functions of state- like inconsistent and rudderless taxation regime, blood-sucking (pubic money) PSU, too many ministries and controls, white elephant of a bureaucracy, etc.

As a student of general management, I borrow some concepts into this discussion to present my views.

Growth of the nation is synonymous with how well the society manages and keeps changing. I will prefer not to use ‘evolution’ in place of ‘change’ as I believe one thing can lose its relevance sometimes and become relevant again when the situation demands. The change is an eternal thing and as a nation we must learn how to effectively manage the changing times. The change should be extremely relevant to the needs of the times, it should be popular and acceptable, it should be sponsored by an inspiring figure, it should be led by a competent person, and it should be guided and advised by a totally unattached scholar or researcher or theorist. This last concept of an unattached scholar is very much akin to the old concept of a ‘Raj Guru’. It is very essential to detach the doer from the guide. In the given system and times, the problem is who should play which role and how to ensure that the suitable person is appointed to each role?

It is quite obvious that our President should be a figure who inspires and commands respect. As head of state he should lead, or, rather lend credence to all that a state does. We should carry out a one-time, nation-wide activity to choose the most respected citizen of India as our president and authorize him to choose his successor after a five year term. This will, no doubt, mimic monarchy but will eliminate election manipulations, nepotism and puppet presidents.

Next we can elect our Prime Minister directly and not through the members of Parliament, to free him from any pressure of regionalism, caste-ism and communalism. To maintain balance of power, Parliament can act as veto power to the Prime Minister and vice versa. This will be similar to US constitution. The main function of the Parliament will be to generate consensus across the nation so that the actions of the executive led by the Prime Minister are whole heartedly adopted and accepted by the masses. The Parliament should not have any say in the day-to-day functioning of the executive. However, it should play the role of a detached consultant to the executive through framing laws. Judiciary should not be allowed to interpret the laws. It should just ensure compliance of the laws and rules, and interpretation of the rules framed by the executive. The judicial establishments may extend their advice to the executive on the formulation of policies, but it should not be binding on the latter.

Last but not the least, following the adage, “that government is best that governs the least”, our central government should not have more than four ministries- defense, equality and justice, foreign affairs and trade, and education and research. These functions should be the exclusive domain of the centre and should not overlap with state governments and all other remaining powers should rest with the state governments. This will weed out any possible dissentions in the center-state relations, while common education and defense will ensure the retention of nationalistic values. In addition to this, a professional consulting firm should be hired to oversee the process of demolition of old laws and creation of new rules and constitution.

Such a system will not only minimize graft and dishonesty in the corridors of political power, but will also produce a future crop of citizens that is sensitized and well in sync with the needs of the nation. I hope that India, by working on the lines of the aforementioned changes, climbs out of the pit of corruption and misery it currently finds itself in.