Democracy revisited
Rethinking Democracy, Rajni Kothari, Orient Longman, Rs. 195.
TO contest one's own formulations in public is no mean job; especially when they have been articulated forcefully. But, scholar-activist Rajni Kothari sets out to do just that in his monograph Rethinking Democracy. A tad disillusioned with democracy's failure to create a benevolent society, he reflects on how it evolved over the years with specific reference to India and offers an alternative.
Despite his disillusionment and the contradictions of Indian democracy, Kothari is of the view that India has "forged a truly democratic future for itself"; thanks partly to the country's age-old accommodating tradition that pre-dates the modern formulation of unity in diversity. And, instead of allowing disillusionment to turn into cynicism, he holds on to his belief that all hegemonistic tendencies ought to be challenged; including the new world order that the U.S. seeks to establish in the guise of democracy.
India-specific, his advise is that there is a need to think beyond the "merely political and tap the deeper psycho-spiritual dimensions of Indian reality". This, according to Kothari, will help the nation understand its fast-changing realities better than "vague conceptions of democracy and democratic politics".
Though the book hit the stands only in August-end, Kothari appears to have signed off much before the change of guard at the Centre. For, there is no mention of the United Progressive Alliance — the first Congress-led coalition at the Centre — despite an entire chapter on the party and its overriding influence on Indian polity.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Literary Review
