Senior Advocate and Member of Parliament Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Friday delivered a talk on Institutional Pillars of Indian democracy..Organised by an informal collective of Supreme Court lawyers, ‘Friday Group’, the talk was delivered in Library 2 of the Supreme Court at 3:45 pm..In his speech, Singhvi dealt with 10 important pillars of the Indian Democracy, which in his opinion, are of vital interest and importance in our everyday lives..He opined that it was sheer luck that India has still remained a strong democracy, and that the sequence of Gandhi followed by Nehru was a remarkable beginning for the Indian democracy..He spoke at length on secularism, terming it as the first pillar of Indian Democracy. Though it is subject to different opinions, it continues to be important, he opined..“We don’t do any favours to anybody by saying we are secular, but we actually need it for self-preservation and survival in this country because India is the most diverse country. Secularism is a vehicle to manage diversity which is vital for India. It is the binding force in India, given its diversity.”.The second pillar, according to Singhvi, is federalism, which is a vehicle to manage diversity. Comparing it to a safety valve of a pressure cooker, he said that it channelizes dissent, dissatisfaction and discomfort at the local and the state level. He spoke at length on different concepts that evolve from it such as linguistic federalism, fiscal federalism, decentralisation, judicial review etc. He also noted,.“India in 2017 is far more federal than the Constitution permits us to be.”.Speaking on socialism, he opined that the Nehruvian model of socialism outlived itself by 10 years. He said that since the last 15 years, a new brand of socialism known as contemporary socialism has evolved in the form of social welfare schemes like MNREGA, Swastya Bima Yojna, Food Security Bill etc..Singhvi also spoke on parliamentary democracy as an institutional pillar, which is a cherished ideal and should not be taken for granted. According to him, growing narrow-mindedness is taking away the freedom and spirit of the same..“There is hesitation, suspicion, finger pointing, restraint and there is a feeling of being spied upon. I am not talking politics but all across.” .He went on to say that a Member of Parliament individually has no power to legislate and cannot initiate any legislation. Citing an example of the Private Members Bills, he said that these never becomes Acts. According to him, MPs have very novel ideas, which must be allowed to be aired and that party discipline should not overpower them..Terming the judiciary as the sixth pillar of the democracy, Singhvi referred to an article he wrote in Times of India, in which he termed the Supreme Court as the world’s most dynamic court. He said that it is a system, which invented the doctrine of basic structure, formulated the PIL and one whose boundaries of judicial review can even make other countries blush. He highlighted corruption and clearing of backlog as two major problems which needed to be addressed..“Roughly 25-33% vacancies prevail in the lower and higher judiciary at any given point of time. A country with a population of more than a billion has only 1100 High Court judges..What is the point of having big lectures, big seminars, foreign tours, study tours, if you cannot plug a simple thing like that?” .He, therefore, said that there should be a non-lawyer, non-judge managerial officer who will notify a successor, six weeks before the incumbent retires..“You cannot countenance a situation where you will exclusively claim the power to appoint and blame others. At the end of the day you, are the ultimate appointing authority. Then no excuse is permitted…But when I send you a recommendation you delay it. How can it happen?….…These are managerial matters. Somebody once said war is too serious a matter to be left to Generals. I believe law reforms, is too serious a matter to be left to lawyers and judges…”.He later spoke about the press and termed it as the seventh pillar. Though everyone respects the press for its phenomenal achievements, the press today is driven by vices. He gave examples such as paid news and conflict of interest within the press and said that there is a toothless body governing the press, which is composed of people who give grand reports of no value and which are hardly taken into consideration..He then spoke at length on the Election Commission, CAG and the Army as other pillars, which are largely responsible for keeping democracy intact. He exalted the CAG by terming it as a very professional institute, which is full of bright and very good people. He suggested that the ECs and CAGs should not be given post-retirement benefits, because doing so may dilute their credibility..He described the Army as a behind-the-scenes, omnipresent, omniscient protecting force..“The Army is that kind of a body where it is okay only so long it does not taste blood once. Once a lion tastes blood, it becomes a man eater. Prevent the lion from tasting blood. The Army is not a recognized force in any major democracy in the world, and there is where the strength lies.”.He also opined that giving political posts to the Army overtime may cause problems..“Do not give political posts to army personnel post retirement. Overtime, it will create a problem. Do not drag them into politics.”.In conclusion, he said,.“These are the pillars which you and I take for granted. These are the things which we must therefore value more than ever before and look at with constructive criticism not to detonate but to improve.”
Senior Advocate and Member of Parliament Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Friday delivered a talk on Institutional Pillars of Indian democracy..Organised by an informal collective of Supreme Court lawyers, ‘Friday Group’, the talk was delivered in Library 2 of the Supreme Court at 3:45 pm..In his speech, Singhvi dealt with 10 important pillars of the Indian Democracy, which in his opinion, are of vital interest and importance in our everyday lives..He opined that it was sheer luck that India has still remained a strong democracy, and that the sequence of Gandhi followed by Nehru was a remarkable beginning for the Indian democracy..He spoke at length on secularism, terming it as the first pillar of Indian Democracy. Though it is subject to different opinions, it continues to be important, he opined..“We don’t do any favours to anybody by saying we are secular, but we actually need it for self-preservation and survival in this country because India is the most diverse country. Secularism is a vehicle to manage diversity which is vital for India. It is the binding force in India, given its diversity.”.The second pillar, according to Singhvi, is federalism, which is a vehicle to manage diversity. Comparing it to a safety valve of a pressure cooker, he said that it channelizes dissent, dissatisfaction and discomfort at the local and the state level. He spoke at length on different concepts that evolve from it such as linguistic federalism, fiscal federalism, decentralisation, judicial review etc. He also noted,.“India in 2017 is far more federal than the Constitution permits us to be.”.Speaking on socialism, he opined that the Nehruvian model of socialism outlived itself by 10 years. He said that since the last 15 years, a new brand of socialism known as contemporary socialism has evolved in the form of social welfare schemes like MNREGA, Swastya Bima Yojna, Food Security Bill etc..Singhvi also spoke on parliamentary democracy as an institutional pillar, which is a cherished ideal and should not be taken for granted. According to him, growing narrow-mindedness is taking away the freedom and spirit of the same..“There is hesitation, suspicion, finger pointing, restraint and there is a feeling of being spied upon. I am not talking politics but all across.” .He went on to say that a Member of Parliament individually has no power to legislate and cannot initiate any legislation. Citing an example of the Private Members Bills, he said that these never becomes Acts. According to him, MPs have very novel ideas, which must be allowed to be aired and that party discipline should not overpower them..Terming the judiciary as the sixth pillar of the democracy, Singhvi referred to an article he wrote in Times of India, in which he termed the Supreme Court as the world’s most dynamic court. He said that it is a system, which invented the doctrine of basic structure, formulated the PIL and one whose boundaries of judicial review can even make other countries blush. He highlighted corruption and clearing of backlog as two major problems which needed to be addressed..“Roughly 25-33% vacancies prevail in the lower and higher judiciary at any given point of time. A country with a population of more than a billion has only 1100 High Court judges..What is the point of having big lectures, big seminars, foreign tours, study tours, if you cannot plug a simple thing like that?” .He, therefore, said that there should be a non-lawyer, non-judge managerial officer who will notify a successor, six weeks before the incumbent retires..“You cannot countenance a situation where you will exclusively claim the power to appoint and blame others. At the end of the day you, are the ultimate appointing authority. Then no excuse is permitted…But when I send you a recommendation you delay it. How can it happen?….…These are managerial matters. Somebody once said war is too serious a matter to be left to Generals. I believe law reforms, is too serious a matter to be left to lawyers and judges…”.He later spoke about the press and termed it as the seventh pillar. Though everyone respects the press for its phenomenal achievements, the press today is driven by vices. He gave examples such as paid news and conflict of interest within the press and said that there is a toothless body governing the press, which is composed of people who give grand reports of no value and which are hardly taken into consideration..He then spoke at length on the Election Commission, CAG and the Army as other pillars, which are largely responsible for keeping democracy intact. He exalted the CAG by terming it as a very professional institute, which is full of bright and very good people. He suggested that the ECs and CAGs should not be given post-retirement benefits, because doing so may dilute their credibility..He described the Army as a behind-the-scenes, omnipresent, omniscient protecting force..“The Army is that kind of a body where it is okay only so long it does not taste blood once. Once a lion tastes blood, it becomes a man eater. Prevent the lion from tasting blood. The Army is not a recognized force in any major democracy in the world, and there is where the strength lies.”.He also opined that giving political posts to the Army overtime may cause problems..“Do not give political posts to army personnel post retirement. Overtime, it will create a problem. Do not drag them into politics.”.In conclusion, he said,.“These are the pillars which you and I take for granted. These are the things which we must therefore value more than ever before and look at with constructive criticism not to detonate but to improve.”
