The recent spate of abductions, and murders just before the elections in Bihar and the allegations and counter allegations between the rival political parties there, has once again brought the debate on the viability of democratic process at the centre stage. According to Tocqueville, a modern democracy tends to wipe away most forms of social class or inherited status that bind people together in aristocratic societies. Men are left equally free, but weak in their equality since they are born with no conventional attachments. The vice of modern democracy is to promote excessive individualism, that is, a preoccupation with one's private life and family, and an unwillingness to engage in public affairs. Americans combated this tendency towards excessive individualism by their propensity for voluntary association, which led them to form groups both trivial and important for all aspects of their lives. This stood in sharp contrast to his native France, which was beset by a much more thoroughgoing individualism than the United States. As Tocqueville explained in The Old Regime and the French Revolution, on the eve of the Revolution "there were not ten Frenchmen who could come together for a common cause." It was only by coming together in civil associations that weak individuals became strong; the associations they formed could either participate directly in political life (as in the case of a political party or interest group) or could serve as "schools of citizenship" where individuals learned the habits of cooperation that would eventually carry over into public life.
Tocqueville's reference to social groups by which he meant civil society lies at the heart of democracy. Civil society is defined as the sphere of association in society in distinction to the state, involving a network of institutions through which society and groups within it represent themselves in cultural, ideological and political senses. Implicit in the idea of civil society is the notion of it as a sphere of peaceful civility in contrast to the coercion, authoritarianism and violence. Democracy is seen as involving not merely the formal establishment of certain rights, institutions and procedures - important as these are - but also the consolidation of the social relations which support these. These supports include the development of an educated middle class and a framework of civil institutions which can support democracy.
If one looks at the things happening in Bihar then it can be said that perhaps the heart of democracy is missing and that is why political violence has become the order of the day. In the 1970's the JP Movement created an upswing resulting in mass mobilization. Unemployment and corruption was the major plank on which JP's 'total-revolution' was based. It threw the state machinery out of gears and at the same time resulted in the entry of a new breed of politicians who had no political foresight. Neither JP nor his followers could generate an alternative model and the Total Revolution utterly failed. The negative consequence was that the individuals became directionless and uncertain about there possible role in the system. They fell prey to the emotive as well as populist appeals of the new leadership. The politicization of caste further aggravated the problem as it led to a large section of people participating in the democratic process without having any idea of what it really is. Atul Kohli in his work 'Democracy and Discontent' agrees that the involvement of the previously passive group in mainstream politics in Bihar led to contending violence between them and those who were opposed to it. This he believes is one of the reasons for the crisis of governance, or which I believe is "the collapse of authority".
The middle class started migrating out of the state in search of better educational and job opportunities. The leftovers are engaged in a political struggle for control of the state in terms of forward caste versus the backward caste and also a simultaneous socio economic struggle of the landless castes against the landowning forward and backward castes. Meanwhile the emergence of caste based militia has further perpetuated the crisis. Since the educated middle class which is said to be the check on democratic despotism is missing from the state the situation is worsening day by day. It has not only resulted in the relative underdevelopment of Bihar but also in the loss of the community feeling. Corruption has become a virtue and democracy functions in the name of manipulated and orchestrated "people's will". The state civil and police bureaucracy has become highly politicized, fragmented, casteised as well as communalized. With it the chances of any impartial governance has gone down.
What is needed in Bihar is nothing else but the revival of civic associations to imbibe sense of civic citizenship. The middle class Bihari's who have expanded and excelled in various arenas all over the world have a special responsibility on them. One can not sit back in the private realm and just be an onlooker. It is time to act. Organic individuals are invited for this humane project. This is a common cause. Fortunately the media has taken the lead. The exposure by the mass media about growing immorality and distortion of politics will catalyze the movement by displacing sectional and parochial content in politics with the social content. The agitation by school children in Patna is a pointer to that direction.
About the Author
Chandrachur Singh teaches at Hindu College, University of Delhi. He is the author of 'Human Rights : Acts, statutes, and Constitutional Provisions'. He has participated in a number of international and national symposiums and conferences. He can be reached at chandrachurleo@rediffmail.com.
