A reality check on 66th National Democracy Day (Commentary)

By Deepraj Sanyal / Kathmandu: Today is the 66th National Democracy Day. The nation has been marking the day every year in commemoration of that historic day on Fagun 7, 2007 BS when democracy was proclaimed in the country, ending the more than a century long Rana autocracy.

Over the years, the country has experimented with one or the other form of democratic polity since that historic day. Even the party-less Panchayat system of rule was called democracy by its proponents. Like in other parts of the world, the word democracy holds different meanings for different people and rulers as suits them, yet it is considered the better among the different types of governance systems that are in practice around the globe.

An objective assessment of Nepal’s experience in democracy all these years shows that real democracy has become a chimera for the common man. Although the masses were exhorted and motivated by the political leadership to fight for democracy and civil rights, and many a struggles launched, we find that the real fruits of democracy remains elusive. The country has made momentous political gains after the movement for democracy each in 2007, 2015, 2046 and 2063 BS, but that still remains to be translated into economic development bringing improvement in the life of the poor citizen. The people have had the taste of parliamentary democracy for about a decade after the revolution of 2007 BS, of the Panchayat democracy for three decades after that, of constitutional monarchical parliamentary democracy since 2046 to 2063 BS and now the taste of the so-called loktantrik version of democracy after 2063 BS after a tumultuous transition. The country is now already a federal, democratic republic and in the phase of institutionalizing the loktantra (full-fledged democracy).

In this context and as the country celebrates yet another Democracy Day today, it would be in order to carry out a reality check of the kind of democracy that we are practicing against its fundamental principles. Apart from the oft quoted definition of democracy given by American statesman Abraham Lincoln that democracy is the ‘rule of the people, by the people and for the people’, political scientists have outlined the basic principles of democracy to further elucidate on it. These fundamental principles are: the rule of law, freedom of the press, respect of human rights, active political processes and enlightened citizens. Let us take each one these principles and see how we fare in that and make an assessment of how democracy has been functioning in our country.
1. The Rule of Law: The principle of the rule of law implies that nobody in the state is above the law and that the law applies equally to the common man as it does to the highest of authorities. Laws represent the will of the people. It means that everyone must obey the law and be held accountable if they violate it. However, the stark reality is that we have lot of laws but lack the rule of law. Experience tells that Nepal’s political system has been suffering from this malady from the beginning.

2. Freedom of the Press: Freedom of the press is that ingredient of democracy which promotes good governance and accountability, which are vital in a democracy. By freedom of the press is meant the unrestricted press. Although Nepal’s constitution has guaranteed the freedom of the press, the Fourth Estate is not as free as it should have been. There is kind of self-censorship in practice and some unexplained factors that inhibit the freedom of the press. The current situation in the country in the context of press freedom is as such. Moreover, the Press in our country seems to be partisan and influenced by party interest or the investors’ interest coupled with business interest.

3. Respect of human rights: In a democracy, the people are the most important and the purpose of the government is to serve the needs of the people. So, respect to human rights is the core value of democracy. Everyone knows the kind of human rights situation in our country is. According to human rights situation reports made public by reputable national and international independent organisations, Nepal fares badly in this aspect too.

4. Active political process: This is another key aspect of democracy. To keep the democracy functioning and rejuvenating it, there is need of active political processes like regular elections, political participation and the like. In Nepal’s context, although election to the Constituent Assembly has been held, it is almost 15 years that local body elections have not been held. The local bodies are the units that take governance to the grassroots and these have been lacking their political representatives for many years now, depriving the people of their fundamental right to elect their representatives. On other political processes too, the picture is not so rosy.

5. Enlightened citizens: This means that the citizens must be educated and must understand the purpose of democracy, how and why we have it. This requires a high literacy rate. An informed citizenry understands its rights and duties and can make constructive contribution to the state. The situation in our country on this aspect is also not quite encouraging with high illiteracy. Moreover, in a multi-party democracy like ours, it is the duty of the political parties to educate the people properly. Our political parties are hardly doing that. Take for instance the federalism issue. The citizens should have been properly educated on what federalism is, why we need it, how it’s going to benefit the country and its demerits. But our political parties failed to do the needful in educating the people on federalism and this very issue failed the first Constituent Assembly. Still the country is divided on this issues and a lot of confusion remains.

An effective civil society and civic action can be put under this rubric. A vibrant and neutral civil society can play a crucial role in a democracy by way of positive civic action. One thing that we greatly lack is a strong and neutral civil society which can take civic action at times when people’s fundamental rights are infringed upon by various actors.

A snap review of the five basic principles of democracy alone shows how Nepal fares in the democracy index, pointing out to the fact that we have a long way to go institutionalize real democracy in our country. As we are now in the phase of implementing the new constitution, it is high time our political parties and leaders realize where we are in terms of building a sound political culture and nurturing democratic principles. Unless democracy is augmented by a robust economy and an improvement in the living standards of the people, it cannot be sustainable. So, the need of the hour is to make a solemn vow on this Democracy Day that we will realize a democracy that is truly ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’. It may take long to institutionalize democracy and build a commensurate political culture, but we can at least begin now and this day as we implement the new constitution. RSS