Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Equality and Social Justice: ideals Inequality and Social Injustice: realities
Historical underpinnings
Constitution framers beliefs in equality, liberty and fraternity Optimism about the transforming role of the state Choice made for equality and liberty, constraints on fraternity recognized
Countering
Substantive democracy?
Politically engaged equal citizens, ability to exercise citizenship rights; holding leaders accountable in substantive democracy Constraints on fraternity led to postponement of issue of substantive democracy Formidable barriers posed by stratification Stress on procedural democracy has skewed evaluation of Indian democracy
Core values: Equality, autonomy, freedom Depending on which of these three values get stressed particular models of democracy emerge
Autonomy
Representative Liberal Pluralist Participatory
Freedom Libertarian
Political participation & legal equality led to political mobilization Identity politics strengthened; particularities stressed in competitive environment making claims on state (language/ region/ religion) Further strengthened with political assertion of the historically-disadvantaged non-SC/ST broadening of democracy Trends towards centralization by mid-70s
Procedural democracy: ++
Political participation and contestation have increased. Success in procedural democracy. Constraint: permanent majority and minority. Equality enshrined in Constitution: equality before the law, and equal protection of the law (with the former qualified by provision of advancement of backward communities). While there are frequent breakdowns, guarantees of freedom are generally sustained.
Substantive democracy: -
On dimensions of accountability/responsiveness, Indian democracy weak. Transparency (RTI); panchayati raj. Political equality compromised by inequalities in distribution of power and resources in society. Obstacles to exercise of equal rights: patriarchy, caste inequalities, socio-economic deprivation, multiple identities leading to multiple oppressions.
Challenges
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Diversitynegotiating recognizing cultural plurality and endorsing equalityunresolved issue; freedom of religion, cultural rights of minorities, compensatory discrimination, universal citizenship rights vs community rights Civil Societyunderstand the difference between the prescriptive and descriptive dimensions of civil society. Civil society as a bridge between citizens and the state, between democracy in formal governance and the absence of conditions necessary for democracy
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Developmentdemocracy and development not mutually exclusive, addressing human dimension of development, in spite of slower negotiations; this challenge perhaps now more important since 1991 New agenda: Inclusive development
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Accelerated growth in recent times and an exacerbation of inequalitiesregional, social and economic Benefits accruing more to those areas where the infrastructure, resources, human capital and influence were already well established
Governance challenges
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Public investment in infrastructure Social policies (land, social security, financial inclusion) Inclusive governance Dealing with social violence as symptom of exclusion Dealing with impatience with corrupt systems