"Hazare's critics have correctly argued that the creation of yet another complicated government institution will hardly fix corruption. But this view does not account for two factors. First, harping about the naiveté of his campaign and the complexity of corruption is an evasive tactic that will only preserve the status quo. Second, it is scarcely believable that Hazare's team does not recognize that corruption is a systemic problem. The limited nature of their campaign reflects the fact that they were as unprepared as the government to deal with the level of popular emotion that Hazare unleashed. During his current fast, Hazare has sought to broaden the campaign to address the question of land rights and a wider cross-section of Indians has joined the protest.
More than a century ago, in his Hind Swaraj, Gandhi examined the institutions of representative democracy and found that they sometimes limit people's participation in the affairs of the government. For example, in both India and the United States, two large and mature democracies, politicians need significant amounts of money to run an election campaign. One outcome is a serious imbalance between the relative abilities of ordinary citizens and special interests to influence policy making and governance. Hazare and his supporters may be inadequate to the task of transforming Indian politics, but that, in itself, does not make their campaign spurious. India's democracy needs renewal, and it is exceedingly unlikely that the impetus will come from within the political establishment. In that sense, the current protests take on great significance. In the weeks ahead, a new chapter on the unique and ongoing story of Indian democracy may well be written."
- More Here
More than a century ago, in his Hind Swaraj, Gandhi examined the institutions of representative democracy and found that they sometimes limit people's participation in the affairs of the government. For example, in both India and the United States, two large and mature democracies, politicians need significant amounts of money to run an election campaign. One outcome is a serious imbalance between the relative abilities of ordinary citizens and special interests to influence policy making and governance. Hazare and his supporters may be inadequate to the task of transforming Indian politics, but that, in itself, does not make their campaign spurious. India's democracy needs renewal, and it is exceedingly unlikely that the impetus will come from within the political establishment. In that sense, the current protests take on great significance. In the weeks ahead, a new chapter on the unique and ongoing story of Indian democracy may well be written."
- More Here
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