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| Controlled Democracy: Farooq's dangerous formulation | | |
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 8: NC president and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah made a number of controversial and unwarranted statements in the just-held HT Leadership Summit. He not only shared the views of Pakistani politician Asfandyar Wali Khan, but also suggested that the time has come for controlling democracy in India. He reportedly called for a "controlled democracy" in India, as advocated by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the Leadership Summit on December 2. Before him, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had taken on the NC for regulating democracy in Kashmir. The venue was the same. She had slammed what she called "regulated democracy" in Kashmir that has, according to her, "created Frankensteins out of those who wanted to be in the political mainstream". In this context, she particularly referred to the rise of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Syed Salahuddin.
Farooq Abdullah needs to explain what exactly he meant by controlled democracy. Did he mean unbridled legislative and executive powers for those ruling the country and Jammu & Kashmir? Did he mean suspension of the civil liberties the people enjoy in India under the Indian Constitution and to an extent under the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution? Did he mean the revival of the political system in the country similar to the one that existed in Jammu & Kashmir before August 9, 1953, when his father was removed from the office of Prime Minister and put behind bars on the charge of "sedition".
It needs to be underlined that before May 1954, the ruling elite in Jammu & Kashmir used to exercise extraordinary legislative, executive and judicial powers. So much so that the Council of Ministers was considered the final interpreter of the constitution (read Jammu & Kashmir constitutional Act of 1939). The Jammu & Kashmir High Court of Judicature had to endorse all the interpretations of the Council of Ministers on constitutional matters. In other words, the state had a committed judiciary. Similarly, the people had no say whatsoever in the governance of the state. The Press was gagged. The ruler's words were the law. Everything was tightly controlled. Those opposed to the official policies were dubbed as rebels and dealt with accordingly. It was only after May 1954 that certain steps were taken to establish democracy in Jammu & Kashmir. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad started the process and S M Sadiq gave a fillip to it.
It is also important to note that Farooq Abdullah and his NC wish to reverse the process Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad started to give democratic orientation to what could be termed as a local oligarchy, established by Sheikh Abdullah in order to enjoy unbridled powers and rule unopposed. The manner in which he used the Press and Publication Act of 1932 to control dissent and impose restriction on the right to question the official misdeeds is just one example. The demand of the NC for the restoration of pre-1953 position in Jammu & Kashmir needs to be viewed in this context. His suggestion for the "controlled democracy" should also be viewed in this context. The fact of the matter is that the NC simply cannot swallow dissent. It also doesn't want to share with the other. JKPCC president Saif-ud-Din Soz was absolutely right when he only some two weeks ago expressed identical views on the NC leadership.
It is time for Farooq Abdullah and similar other leaders to learn to live in modern times and appreciate the people's right to oppose, protest and expose the wrong-doers and have a real and effective say in the governance of the state. For, no one is going to accept his controlled democracy concept. Those who try to control democracy get isolated like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah
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