INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
electoral system was being undermined by the use of money and muscle power and stressed on the need to effect electoral reforms to check the
menace.Addressing the first S B Rangnekar Memorial Oration at the Panjab University, his alma mater, Dr Singh said India's electoral system
has succeeded against great odds and has destroyed feudal systems of government
It has opened up opportunities for the common man, without any social, economic or political privilege whatsoever by birth, to occupy the
highest positions of power, he said."There is, however, today widespread concern that our electoral system is being undermined by money
power and muscle power," he said addressing the gathering."The faith of the people in democratic elections as the best system to select a
government that would govern in the common interest is today being eroded as much by a sustained campaign to attack democratic institutions
and elected representatives as by the increasing political corruption and the capture of political parties and elected office by vested
interests," he said.Electoral reforms to cleanse elections of money and muscle power and to maintain integrity of elected officials are
vital areas for securing and strengthening India's democracy, said the former prime minister.Talking about renewing commitment to democracy,
Ambedkar once worried that the day may come when people may prefer government for the people to government by and of the people
He saw that as a great danger
On this 70th anniversary, we must ensure that we do not fall into the trap of choosing government for the people over government by and of
Democracy."We need to ask ourselves whether we are losing patience with democracy and turning to more authoritarian alternatives that may
well yield superior short-term results but in the long term will end up destroying our country and all the achievements of the last seventy
years," he said."Governance is complex
Its benefits are long term
It requires great patience
Above all, democracy is a system in which people without privilege have a decisive voice in governance
must each ensure that everyone has an equal voice," he said.Dwelling on the issue of equality, Dr Singh said it is the keystone of democracy
"And it is one of the greatest challenges faced by India in building our democracy because of the persistence in our society of feudal,
Assembly about his concerns on the challenge of transforming India into a society based on equality, Dr
Ambedkar said, [In our Republic], in politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality
In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one-man-one-vote and one-vote-one-value
In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of
How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic
We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of
Nehru warned in 1952 in one of his letters to chief ministers, "if poverty and low standards continue then democracy for all its fine
finance minister) and 2004-2014 (as the prime minister) was, above all, a process of opening up new opportunities for people born without
social and economic privilege
This was for me the guiding vision behind our economic reforms," he said.He said democracy is more than a system of governance."Equality,
freedom and fraternity are the three values that constitute the life breath of democracy - its very essence," he said.
