Guard against majoritarianism, says President

Guard against majoritarianism, says President: New Delhi, 17 MarchPresident Pranab Mukherjee today said the country 'must always guard against majoritarianism' and that India needed a strong Opposition standing guard. The President cautioned against overcentralisation of power, and said a...

President’s anguish

This refers to the report “Guard against majoritarianism, says President” (Business  Standard, March 18).  Pranab Mukherjee’s call to restore the democratic functioning of legislative bodies and mention about the significance of the role of opposition in democracy need to be taken seriously by the political leadership of the country.
The concerns and anguish expressed by the first citizen about In-house conduct of legislators in recent times and overall deterioration in the standard of debates in parliament over time in effect give voice to the simmering anger of the common man in India. Read with this the treatment meted out to Irom Sharmila who contested Assembly election in Manipur and collected all of ninety votes which made her say that in today’s India even Mahatma Gandhi may get defeated in elections.
It is history that the British handed over India to Indian National Congress and that party’s pre-independence clout made it difficult for any opposition party think in terms of coming to power until there was crisis of leadership in Congress. The era of the coalition-politics that followed left the electorate wondering whether there was any difference in ideologies of different political parties other than sharing power!
But, history or the congress background of the President should not make us brush aside the anguish expressed by him about reducing number of working days of parliament or the lack of respect of parliamentarians to disciplined and efficient proceedings inside parliament. Perhaps, the political parties should work out a consensus on having the ‘pandemonium hours’ everyday only after completing the business scheduled for each day. The present practice across legislatures (from parliament to local bodies) is to start with protests on some current sensitive issue, create confusion by demanding skipping of question hour and make the Chair adjourn the house latest by noon. It will be perilous to delay corrective measures and the President’s expression of anguish need to be seen from this perspective.
M G Warrier, Mumbai

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NAVAGRAHA STOTRAM

NAVAGRAHA STOTRAM* According to astrology, the positions of the nine planets in the twelve constellations of the zodiac and their movements are considered to be quite significant. The nine planets ‘Navagraha’ affect every aspect of human life. They play an important role in the activities, physical and mental health and life of any individual. The unfavorable positioning of any of these planets can be the cause of problems, bad health, and stagnation for many people. However, there is a solution to avoid the ill effects of the position and movement of the ‘Navagraha’ in our lives. Navagraha mantras (or stotram) are simple mantras which work as powerful healing tools to reduce the negative effects of any of the nine planets. These mantras are Hindu holy hymn addressing the nine planets. Benefits Of Navagraha Stotram And The Way to Practice The Navagraha Stotram is written b y Rishi Vyasa and is considered to be the peace mantra for the nine planets. They are powerful m
Read more

THE SUNSET OF THE CENTURY

*SUNSET OF THE CENTURY: Rabindranath Tagore THE LAST SUN OF THE CENTURY SETS AMIDST THE BLOOD-RED COLOURS OF THE WEST AND THE WHIRLWIND OF HATRED. THE NAKED PASSION OF SELF-LOVE OF NATIONS IN ITS DRUNKEN DELIRIUM OF GREED IS DANCING TO THE CLASH OF STEEL AND THE HOWLING VERSES OF VENGEANCE. THE HUNGRY SELF OF THE NATION SHALL BURST IN A VIOLENCE OF FURY FROM ITS OWNSHAMELESS FEEDING FOR IT HAS MADE THE WORLDITS FOOD, AND LICKING IT, CRUNCHING IT AND SWALLOWING IT IN BIG MORSELS, IT SWELLS AND SWELLS TILL IN THE MIDST OF ITS UNHOLY FEAST DESCENDS THE SUDDEN HEAVEN PIERCING ITS HEART OF GROSSNESS…   *Note: “The Sunset of the Century”, translated by the poet, from Naivedya; The English Writings of   Rabindranathtagore, Volume II,Delhi 1996, page 466. Quoted in his article ‘Critiquing nationalism’ by K Satchidanandan (Frontline, November 14, 2014). The article takes you to a much broader spectrum. HAPPY READING(READ MORE STAN
Read more

The King of Ragas: Sankarabharanam

                       The King of Ragas                      --------------------------     Long ago  serpents were put to lot of hardships.They  were afraid of other animals. They had to seek refuge in the hermitage of sage Saraba.The sage was a true devotee of Lord Shiva.He used to pray Shiva with melodious songs. As he sang a particular raga the snakes were much inspired and they began to dance,. Slowly the serpents became friendly with the sage. They brought water in their mouths for the pooja.They secreted  a special fluid in which the flowers got stuck to their bodies.The sage was much astonished by the service of the snakes.As the sarpas became very close to the sage ,they requested him to help having Darsan of Lord Siva. As requested by the sage Shiva appeared in the form of  a  Kapalika and stayed in the ashram.The music and dance of the snakes continued. The snakes rendered service to the kapalika as they considered him  a Shiva bhakta.Shiva was much pleased with t
Read more