THE HEALTH AND EDUCATION

1. NEW RESEARCH: HEART INFLAMMATION RISK AFTER COVID-19 JABS IS VERY LOW, FINDS STUDY

THE CONTEXT: According to the latest study at National University Hospital, Singapore found no statistically significant difference between the incidence of myopericarditis following the Covid-19 vaccination and other vaccinations (56 per million).

THE EXPLANATION:

• The overall risk of heart inflammation (myopericarditis) following Covid-19 vaccination is very low, affecting 18 people per million vaccine doses, a study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine has found.
• The researchers found no statistically significant difference between the incidence of myopericarditis following the Covid-19 vaccination and other vaccinations (56 per million).
• THE CONDITION: Myopericarditis is a condition that causes inflammation of the heart muscle and, in some cases, severe permanent heart damage. It is most often caused by viruses, but in rare instances can also occur after vaccination.
• DATABASE: The researchers looked at more than 400 million doses from global databses, and analysed more than 20 studies with reported incidences of myopericarditis following any type of vaccination between January 1947 and December 2021.
• Of these, 11 studies looked specifically at Covid-19 vaccinations, covering over 395 million doses – nearly 300 million of which were mRNA vaccines. The rest of the studies covered other vaccinations such as smallpox (2.9 million doses), influenza (1.5 million doses), and others (5.5 million doses).
• FINDINGS: Among COVID-19 vaccinations, the risk of myopericarditis (18 cases per million dases) was higher for those who received mRNA vaccines (22.6 per million) compared to non-mRNA vaccines (7.9 per million). Reported cases were also higher in people below 30 (40.9 per million), males (23 per million), and following the second dose (31.1 per million).
• According to the specialist,“The occurrence of myopericarditis following non-Covid-19 vaccination could suggest that myopericarditis is a side effect of the inflammatory processes induced by any vaccination and is not unique to the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins in Covid-19 vaccines or infection.

2. UGC ALLOWS ENROLLING FOR TWO DEGREES

THE CONTEXT: According to the new UGC guidelines, from the academic session 2022-23, students will have the option to pursue two academic programmes simultaneously at the higher education level.

THE EXPLANATION:

• It will essentially allow students to simultaneously opt for two programmes at the undergraduate, diploma and postgraduate levels. Both degrees can be in physical mode, or one offline and another online, or both offline. But it will be optional for the universities to adopt these guidelines.

What are the subject combinations that a student will be allowed to take up?

• According to the UGC, the permitted combination of subjects will vary from one institution to another as different institutes set different criteria for admissions. However, it will be possible for a student to pursue a degree in humanities and sciences at once, or two degrees falling in the same stream.
• For instance, if a student is already enrolled in a BSc mathematics degree and also wants to pursue a bachelor’s degree in History, He/She will be allowed to do so. If a university offers an offline BCom programme during the evening shift and a full-time BA programme during the morning shift, a student may enroll in both programmes.

What are the possible combinations in terms of modes of study?

• The move allows a student to pursue two academic programmes, one in full-time physical mode, and another in open and distance learning mode. They can also join a programme in a physical mode in a university, along with another programme in an online mode. The third choice for students is that they can pursue two online degrees simultaneously.
• On the question of attendance, particularly in case of a student choosing the purely offline mode, UGC noted that in such cases, students and colleges will ensure that class timings for one programme do not overlap with that of the other.
• Also, the guidelines will not apply to MPhil and Ph.D. programmes. Students can only pursue a degree or diploma course in distance mode/online mode at institutions that have been approved by the UGC, and concerned bodies of the Government of India.

Will admission eligibility criteria and attendance requirements be revised?

• The eligibility criteria for each of the programmes will remain unchanged and admissions will be conducted based on the existing UGC and university norms. If a student aspires to pursue a specialised degree in any domain but the minimum criteria require her to have basic knowledge of the subject, then she may not be able to enroll in that particular course.
• Since all academic programmes have minimum attendance requirements for students to be able to take the exams, universities may have to devise or revise the attendance criteria for these courses. “UGC does not mandate any attendance requirements and these are the policies of the universities.

 THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. INDIA WILL MISS ITS 2022 SOLAR POWER TARGET: REPORT

THE CONTEXT: A report, jointly prepared by two energy-research firms — JMK Research and Analytics and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis — says India will likely miss its 2022 target of installing 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity. This is because rooftop solar lagging behind.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is India’s solar policy?

• Since 2011, India’s solar sector has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 59% from 0.5GW in 2011 to 55GW in 2021. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), also known as the National Solar Mission (NSM), which commenced in January 2010, marked the first time the government focussed on promoting and developing solar power in India.
• Under the scheme, the total installed capacity target was set as 20GW by 2022. In 2015, the target was revised to 100GW and in August 2021, the government set a solar target of 300GW by 2030.
• India currently ranks fifth after China, U.S., Japan and Germany in terms of installed solar power capacity. As of December 2021, the cumulative solar installed capacity of India is 55GW, which is roughly half the renewable energy (RE) capacity (excluding large hydropower) and 14% of the overall power generation capacity of India. Within the 55GW, grid-connected utility-scale projects contribute 77% and the rest comes from the grid-connected rooftop and off-grid projects.

What does the report say?

• As of April, 2022 only about 50% of the 100GW target, consisting of 60GW of utility-scale and 40GW of rooftop solar capacity, has been met. Nearly 19 GW of solar capacity is expected to be added in 2022 — 15.8GW from utility-scale and 3.5GW from rooftop solar. Even accounting for this capacity would mean about 27% of India’s 100GW solar target would remain unmet, according to JMK Research.
• A 25GW shortfall in the 40GW rooftop solar target, is expected compared to 1.8GW in the utility-scale solar target by December 2022. Thus, it is in rooftop solar that the challenges of India’s solar-adoption policy stick out.

Rooftop Solar: ·         Rooftop solar is a photovoltaic system that has its electricity-generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building or structure. ·         Rooftop mounted systems are small compared to ground-mounted photovoltaic power stations with capacities in the megawatt range. ·         Rooftop PV systems on residential buildings typically feature a capacity of about 5 to 20 kilowatts (kW), while those mounted on commercial buildings often reach 100 kilowatts or more.

What are the reasons for rooftop solar adoption not meeting targets?

• In December 2015, the government launched the first phase of the grid-connected rooftop solar programme to incentivise its use in residential, institutional and social areas. The second phase, approved in February 2019, had a target of 40GW of cumulative rooftop solar capacity by 2022, with incentives in the form of central financial assistance (CFA).
• As of November 2021, of the phase 2 target of 4GW set for the residential sector, only 1.1GW had been installed. The disruption in supply chains due to the pandemic was a key impediment to rooftop solar adoption.
• In its early years, India’s rooftop solar market struggled to grow, held back by lack of consumer awareness, inconsistent policy frameworks of the Centre/State governments and financing. Recently, however, there has been a sharp rise in rooftop solar installations thanks to falling technology costs, increasing grid tariffs, rising consumer awareness and the growing need for cutting energy costs.
• These factors are expected to persist giving a much-needed boost to this segment, the report notes. Going ahead, rooftop solar adoption is expected to proportionally increase as land and grid-connectivity for utility solar projects are expected to be hard to come by.

Challenges:

• Factors impeding rooftop-solar installation include pandemic-induced supply chain disruption to policy restrictions, regulatory roadblocks; limits to net-metering (or paying users who give back surplus electricity to the grid); taxes on imported cells and modules, unsigned power supply agreements (PSAs) and banking restrictions; financing issues plus delays in or rejection of open access approval grants; and the unpredictability of future open access charges, the report notes.

How critical is solar power to India’s commitment to mitigate climate change?

• Solar power is a major prong of India’s commitment to address global warming according to the terms of the Paris Agreement, as well as achieving net-zero, or no net carbon emissions, by 2070.
• Prime Minister at the United Nations Conference of Parties meeting in Glasgow, in November 2021, said India would be reaching a non-fossil fuel energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030 and meet half its energy requirements via renewable energy by 2030.
• To boost the renewable energy installation drive in the long term, the Centre in 2020 set a target of 450GW of RE-based installed capacity to be achieved by 2030, within which the target for solar was 300GW.
• Given the challenge of integrating variable renewable energy into the grid, most of the RE capacity installed in the latter half of this decade is likely to be based on wind-solar hybrid (WSH), RE-plus-storage and round-the-clock RE projects rather than traditional solar/wind projects, according to the report. On the current trajectory, the report finds, India’s solar target of 300GW by 2030 will be off the mark by about 86GW, or nearly a third.

The study speculates that the government, in the short term, will aggressively push for expediting solar capacity addition to achieve the 100GW target by 2022 by re-allocating some of the unmet rooftop targets to utility-scale projects.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

4. INDIA TO GROW AT 8%: WORLD BANK

THE CONTEXT: According to World Bank, India is projected to grow at 8% over the current fiscal year (April 1- March 31), and 7.1% over the next (FY 2023-24) fiscal year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The country is estimated to have grown at 8.3% in the fiscal year that just passed, following a contraction of 6.6% in the year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• For the South Asia region, growth is expected to be slower than projected, by 1 percentage point, at 6.6% in 2022 and 6.3% next calendar year.
• This is due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has impacted the region, when it was already experiencing “uneven and fragile” growth, rising commodity prices, bottlenecks to supply and financial sector vulnerabilities.

External shocks

• “Given these challenges, governments need to carefully plan monetary and fiscal policies to counter external shocks and protect the vulnerable, while laying the foundation for green, resilient and inclusive growth”.
• It highlighted, that there is limited space for fiscal stimulus and supply bottlenecks are of greater significance than insufficient effective demand.
• The impact of sanctions on Russia would be on the South Asian region, the report noted the impact was indirect, rather than direct, given the relatively low proportion of imports and exports that go to and from Russia and Ukraine. The indirect impact was via the global impact of sanctions on commodity and financial markets.
• All countries in the region will face challenges ahead, despite “solid” GDP growth during recovery, as per the report. In the case of India, household consumption will be constrained due to the incomplete recovery of the labour market and inflationary pressures.

Greener fuels

• The report suggests that countries in the region move towards greener fuels and commodities as a response to rising fuel prices and the introduction of green taxes. This would also be a new source of government revenue. Also, It noted that the green tax recommendation applied to both firms that were polluting as well as energy prices.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES/INITIATIVES IN THE NEWS

5. NOD TO EXTEND GRAM SWARAJ SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a proposal to continue the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), a scheme for improving the governance capabilities of Panchayati raj institutions, till 2025-2026.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The CCEA, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister, approved the extension of the scheme that ended on March 31, 2022 at a total financial outlay of ₹5,911 crores, of which ₹3,700 crore would be the Centre’s share and ₹2,211 crore the States’ share.
• “The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.78 lakh rural local bodies to develop governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] through inclusive local governance with focus on optimum utilisation of available resources”.
• The scheme would work towards “poverty free and enhanced livelihood in villages; healthy village, child friendly village; water sufficient village; clean and green village; self-sufficient infrastructure in village; socially secured village; village with good governance; engendered development in village”.

Strengthening the panchayats

• The government said panchayats would be strengthened and a spirit of healthy competition inculcated. No permanent posts would be created under the scheme but “need-based contractual human resources may be provisioned for overseeing the implementation of the scheme and providing technical support to States/UTs”.

VALUE ADDITION:

About Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

• In continuation of “Gram Swaraj Abhiyan”, which started on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, Govt. of India has extended it in 117 Aspirational Districts identified by the NITI Aayog.
• This campaign which, undertaken under “SabkaSath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas”, is to promote social harmony, spread awareness about pro-poor initiatives of the government, and reach out to poor households to enroll them as also to obtain their feedback on various welfare programmes.
• During this Abhiyan, a saturation of eligible households/persons would be made under seven flagship pro-poor programmes namely, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya, Ujala scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Mission Indradhanush. In addition, 5 priority are related activities under Education, Health, Nutrition, Skills and Agriculture also been identified as per district plan.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched?

1. Bohag Bihu – Sowing festival
2. Kati Bihu – Crop protection
3. Bhogali Bihu – Harvest festival

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR 13TH APRIL 2022

Answer: C

Explanation:

• The electoral college for the election of President of India is made up of all the elected members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs) and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories (MLAs).

[WpProQuiz 201]

 

THE CONTEXT: Of late, many reports/indices have downgraded India’s position on various aspects of democracy. There are also allegations that the Indian State has curtailed the freedoms of individuals, the media, and civil society and undermined the independence of accountability institutions. Such developments, along with the results of recently concluded State Assembly elections, have led to a view that India has become an electoral democracy and that the electoral wins have been used to undermine the constitutional democracy. This article examines this claim in detail and suggests a way forward.

A WORKING DEFINITION: ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY

ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY:

• An electoral democracy refers to a polity governed by a democratically elected government.
• In such a system, there are regular free and fair elections based on universal adult franchise, multi-party competition, the peaceful transfer of power, etc.
• Electoral democracy is also known as procedural democracy, formal democracy, etc.
• The electoral process provides legitimacy to governments which can be used for achieving lofty objectives or for other partisan purposes.
• Although electoral democracy is necessary, it is not sufficient for establishing a constitutional democracy.

CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY:

• In a constitutional democracy, the authority of the majority is limited by legal and institutional means so that the rights of individuals and minorities are respected. Constitutional democracy is the antithesis of arbitrary rule.  It may be also called substantial democracy, liberal democracy, etc.  It is a democracy characterized by:

1. POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY. The people are the ultimate source of the authority of the government, which derives its right to govern from their consent.
2. MAJORITY RULE AND MINORITY RIGHTS. Although “the majority rules,” the fundamental rights of individuals in the minority are protected.
3. LIMITED GOVERNMENT. The powers of government are limited by law and a written or unwritten constitution that those in power obey.
4. INSTITUTIONAL AND PROCEDURAL LIMITATIONS ON POWERS. There are certain institutional and procedural devices that limit the powers of government.

WHAT ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL VALUES OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY?

BASIC RIGHTS:

• Protection of certain basic or fundamental rights is the primary goal of government. These rights may be limited to life, liberty, and property, or they may be extended to include such economic and social rights as employment, health care, and education.
• Documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the Fundamental Rights, and DPSP of the Indian Constitution enumerate and explain these rights.

FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND EXPRESSION:

• A constitutional democracy includes among its highest purposes the protection of freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.
• These freedoms have value both for the healthy functioning and preservation of constitutional democracy and for the full development of the human personality.

PRIVACY AND CIVIL SOCIETY:

• Constitutional democracies recognize and protect the integrity of a private and social realm comprised of family, personal, religious, and other associations and activities. This space of uncoerced human association is the basis of a civil society free from unfair and unreasonable intrusions by the government.

JUSTICE: A constitutional democracy promotes:

• DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. The fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of society.
• CORRECTIVE JUSTICE. Fair and proper responses to wrongs and injuries.
• PROCEDURAL JUSTICE. The use of fair procedures in the gathering of information and the making of decisions by all agencies of government and, most particularly, by law enforcement agencies and the courts.

EQUALITY: A constitutional democracy promotes:

• POLITICAL EQUALITY. All citizens are equally entitled to participate in the political system.
• EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW. The law does not discriminate based on unreasonable and unfair criteria such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs, affiliations, class, or economic status. The law applies to the governors as well as the governed.
• ECONOMIC EQUALITY. Constitutional democracies have differing conceptions of the meaning and importance of economic equality. At the very least, they agree that all citizens should have the right to an equal opportunity to improve their material well-being. Some constitutional democracies also attempt to eliminate gross disparities in wealth through such means as progressive taxation and social welfare programs.

OPENNESS:

• Constitutional democracies are based on a political philosophy of openness or the free marketplace of ideas, the availability of information through a free press and free expression in all fields of human endeavor.

ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY VS CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY-AN ANALYSIS

In a large part of the world, the electoral aspects of democracy are being used to undermine the non-electoral dimensions of democracy. This process can be called the battle between electoral democracy and constitutional democracy. Democracies don’t normally die as a result of military or executive coups these days. Processes internal to the democratic system can severely weaken democracy itself, even causing its collapse. Today, such contradictions exist in Turkey, Poland, Hungary, and Russia, to name just a few countries. Donald Trump also attempted something similar in the US. It is also alleged that such a process is underway in India.

OTHERING THE OTHERS: ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE ASIAN REGION

As early as the 1950s, Sri Lanka imposed a “Sinhala only” policy on the Tamil minority of the country. By the 1960 and 1970s, the Sinhalese majority gradually established its hegemony via electoral means, completely marginalizing the Tamils. In the 1980s, a civil war was born as a consequence. In Malaysia, following roughly similar policies, the Malay majority side-lined the Chinese minority. Internal tensions and aggravations rose, but, unlike Sri Lanka, a civil war did not. The minorities pursued their interests by entering into coalitions with political parties within the larger parameters of the polity.

HOW IS ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY USED TO UNDERMINE CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY?

MIS USE OF ELECTORAL SUCCESS:

• Electoral win provides authority to the elected government to frame laws and policies to implement its ideological agenda.
• Although nothing is wrong in this as long the government acts within the bounds of the constitutional limitations, serious problems emerge once this is breached.
• The triumph in elections can be used in three ways — in executive decrees, in legislative chambers to formulate laws, and on the street via vigilante forces.

SECTARIAN LEGAL AND POLICY ACTIONS:

• The government will simply claim that as it has won the “free and fair elections” it must be free to govern as it pleases without any boundation.
• In other words, electoral success means approval and legitimization of the parties’ agenda, policy choices, and manifesto. I say, a party that is known for its illiberal and communal outlook comes to power with a brute majority, which means the people’s acceptance of what the party stands for.
• This majority is then used by the party to frame legislation and public policies to further the illiberal and communal agenda.

FREE VOTE BUT PROGRESSIVE UNFREEDOMS:

• Differently labelled as right-wing populism, majoritarianism, or illiberal democracy, the core of this politics consists of: –
• Using election win to attack – via legislation — the idea of minority rights and undermine – also via legislation — standard democratic freedoms such as the freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of religious or cultural practice.
• A freely conducted vote can thus be used to cripple the other freedoms that modern democracies also value and the electoral democracy essentially degenerates into an electoral autocracy.

THE REASONS FOR INDIA BEING CALLED AS AN ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY

POTENTIAL MISUSE OF WINS IN ELECTIONS:

• The campaign for the UP election by the incumbent party has a fair share of communal attacks on the minorities.
• It is held that the five-year rule of the party also saw discriminatory legal and administrative actions against the minority community, mob lynching, attacks, and arrest of human rights activists and journalists, custodial deaths, illegal encounters, poor Covid management, mounting unemployment, etc.
• Yet a victorious plurality of UP’s electorate was willing to ignore the incumbent party’s failures and transgressions and returned the same party to power.
• Though minority rights are enshrined in India’s Constitution, election victories can now be used to create laws or government policies that begin to precisely attack those rights.
• Fake news, misinformation, post-truth, and hate speeches have taken the political and social discourse to a new low in India.
• Electoral win is one of the means by which electoral democracy can be a vehicle for an assault on constitutional democracy.

WEAKENING OF THE GUARDIAN OF THE CONSTITUTION:

• Generally speaking, the courts are the final custodian of constitutional proprieties in a democracy and can frustrate a legislative or executive attack on the Constitution.
• But that depends on whether the judiciary is willing to play its constitutionally assigned role. Judicial interpretation can go either way – in favour of the government or against it.
• India’s judiciary has of late — and earlier as well — been an unreliable defender of the Constitution and citizens’ rights. For instance, an erstwhile CJI has given a free pass to the executive through ” sealed cover jurisprudence”, and a former Judge of the SC has been alleged to be always favouring the government.
• A cursory glance of the major Constitutional cases like revocation of Art 370, CAA 2019, etc pending in the SC for a couple of years, points out the unwillingness of the SC to scrutinize executive actions.
• The selective appointment and transfer of judges of the higher judiciary also shows the lack of judicial independence.

THE FALLING RANKS IN GLOBAL INDICES:

• For a couple of years, India’s standing in almost all the indices/reports dealing with democracy and its features has been consistently falling. For instance, in the recently released freedom in the World 2022report by the American non-profit organization Freedom House, India was described as ‘partly free’ and given a ‘Global Freedom Score’ of 66 out of 100, the same as Malawi and Bolivia. India was assigned a score of 33 out of 40 on the criterion of ‘Political Rights’, and 33 out of 60 on that of ‘Civil Liberties’.
• In V-Dem Institute’s latest Democracy Report 2022, India continues to be categorized as an ‘electoral autocracy’, a status to which it had been downgraded for the first time in last year’s Democracy Report. Last year’s report, however, had expressly stated that India could belong to the higher category of ‘electoral democracy’ by designating it as ‘EA+’. However, in this year’s report, it has been designated ‘EA’, indicating that there is no uncertainty about its status. In previous years’ reports, India had been classified as an electoral democracy.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND MEDIA FREEDOM:

• Human rights violations are also on the rise, especially among minorities, human rights defenders, activists, etc. For instance, an octogenarian under trial prisoner suffering from Parkinson’s disease and other complications was denied even medical bail, and he died in judicial custody.
• The encounter policy of a state in India is infamous for providing what they call instant justice as also for its “ freedom of religion law” that has set off a culture of “ mob-vigilantism”.
• In another state, the controversy over the wearing of a particular type of dress by the students of a community has been used to further polarising society and polity.
• The media is being harassed and victimized by foisting sedition charges, raids by investigative agencies, and even by stopping transmission of a TV news channel allegedly on the ground of national security violation.
• The controversial IT Rules, 2021 are also held to be another attempt at media censorship by the executive.

ATTACKS ON THE CIVIL SOCIETY:

• Civil Society repression has also significantly increased in India not least by the FCRA amendment. Amnesty International had to shut down its operations due to repeated harassment by the government. Recently, the NSA, Mr. Ajith Doval, has characterized civil society as the “fourth frontier of war”. The space for civil society activism and action has been declining substantially in India.

CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH AND INEQUALITY:

• Constitutional democracy is also social and economic democracy. But in India, the wealth, opportunities, and life changes seem to concentrate on a chosen few.
• As per the Oxfam Inequality report 2021, the collective wealth of India’s 100 richest people hit a record high of Rs 57.3 lakh crore (USD 775 billion). In the same year, the share of the bottom 50 percent of the population in national wealth was a mere 6 percent.
• What is particularly worrying in India’s case is that economic inequality is being added to a society that is already fractured along the lines of caste, religion, region, and gender.

ARBITRARY USE OF CRIMINAL AND PENAL PROVISIONS:

• The special criminal laws dealing with terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, national security, etc, are being liberally used and misused.
• Section 124A, UAPA, NSA, and PMLA have been held to be applied for offenses not actually attracting the rigours of these laws.
• With their stringent bail conditions, the accused suffers from prolonged incarceration and the process itself becomes the punishment.

VIOLATION OF FEDERAL PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION:

• The federal relation between the Union and the States has been severely strained in recent times. It is alleged that the Union is trying to undermine the federal provisions of the Constitution.
• By intruding into the State’s sphere of competence, exploiting the positions of the governors, amending the All-India Service rules, delaying financial compensation, deploying central agencies against opposition leaders, etc the Union is trying to make states its appendages, it is alleged.

HOW JUSTIFIED IS THE DICHOTOMY OF ELECTED AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT?

INDEPENDENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY INSTITUTIONS:

• In India, the accountability enforcing institutions have been functioning independently. There are legislative constraints on executive aggrandizement through motions, debates, votes, committees, etc. The bulwarks of the Constitution, like the ECI, CAG, UPSC, etc, have carried out their constitutional mandate without executive interference.
•  India also has the mechanism of Social Accountability through Social Audit, Citizen Charter, RTI, etc, which are effective tools at the hands of the general public and the civil society to demand executive answerability.

JUDICIAL REVIEW AND ITS IMPACT:

• As judicial review is an essential aspect of constitutional democracy, the higher courts in India have reviewed the legislation and executive actions.
• For instance, in 2021, the SC has read down part of Part IXB of the Constitution due to the lack of legislative competence of the Union. In the case of Pegasus, the SC has established a committee of inquiry to uncover the truth.
• In Covid-19, the HCs and the SC have been consistently taking the executive to task for ineffective management of the pandemic.

A VIBRANT CIVIL SOCIETY AND MEDIA:

• India has the largest civil society ecosystem working in multiple areas free from any illegal constraints.
• The media is also thriving in India and the print, visual and social media have been growing in the country.
• The government does not regulate the media, which is essentially self-regulated and enjoys freedom from governmental interference.

MAJORITY VS MINORITY BINARY IS NOT APPROPRIATE:

• The majority vs minority dichotomy is not an appropriate description of Indian society that is known for multiculturalism.
• The Constitution itself provides specific fundamental rights to the minorities, both linguistic and religious, and the government has taken steps to promote the welfare and development of minorities.
• For instance, the Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for the welfare of Minority Communities, etc. have been implemented by the Union government for their educational and economic empowerment.

BIASNESS IN GLOBAL RANKINGS:

• The global rankings have a western bias, as articulated by the External Affairs Minister and their methodology is highly suspect.
• These indices fail to capture the Indian way of democracy and hence do not provide an accurate picture of the country.

THE WAY FORWARD

BUILD A GENUINE ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY:

• The weakening of other democratic forums and procedures has made elections crucial to the well-being of India’s democracy. This explains the need for a heightened focus on the electoral system, party system, and electoral politics.
• Thus, there should be studies and research on the Election Commission, electoral laws, reforms, legislations, and judicial decisions pertaining to elections. Genuine electoral democracy is a must for constitutional democracy.

INSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY OF THE LEGISLATURE:

• In Indian Parliamentary democracy, the legislature has not been truly independent of the executive in that the executive control of the legislature is a feature of Indian democracy. Thus, in effect, law-making becomes the function of the executive.
•  But, to exercise legislative control over the executive, the Parliament should reinvent its institutional integrity, which is a step towards strengthening constitutional democracy.

DEVELOP CIVIC CITIZENSHIP:

• There is a difference between being a citizen in a constitutional democracy and being a subject in an authoritarian or totalitarian regime. In a democracy, each citizen is a full and equal member of a self-governing community endowed with certain fundamental rights, as well as certain responsibilities.
• Constitutional democracy requires informed and effective participation by citizens who understand and have a reasoned commitment to its fundamental principles and values, as well as a familiarity with its political processes.
• Competent and responsible citizenship require not only knowledge and understanding but the development of intellectual and participatory skills essential to civic life.

TOLERATION OF DIVERSITY:

• The State and the society should respect the right of others to differ in ideas, ways of life, customs, and beliefs.
• Citizens should appreciate the benefits of having people of diverse beliefs and ethnic and racial backgrounds as a part of their community, as well as an understanding of how and why diversity can exacerbate tensions.

NEED AN ETHICAL ADMINISTRATION:

• The administrative apparatus has a duty to uphold constitutional principles and should not act as a regime force of the executive.
• The administrative leadership needs to show the way so that the rights and freedoms of people are not sacrificed for personnel aggrandizement.

THE CONCLUSION: Although it may be true that India has seen some slide in aspects of democracy, it would not be right to hold the Union government alone responsible for it. The decline in democracy has been a worldwide phenomenon, as documented by reputed institutions. However, given India’s strong democratic foundations, independent institutions, vibrant political culture, and media landscape, India can address the problems. Constitutional democracy is a work in progress and hence a systemic approach should be initiated by keeping the Constitution at the center. The judiciary, legislature, and the citizens have a solemn duty to speed up this process.

Questions:

1. Distinguish between electoral democracy and constitutional democracy. Do you think that India has become an electoral democracy? Argue.
2. “Constitutional democracy is hollow without electoral democracy” Comment.
3. How does electoral democracy undermine constitutional democracy? Explain with examples.