A century has passed since the publication of the autobiography of T.E. Lawrence, popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia. The title “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” is drawn from the Book of Proverbs: “Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars”. How appropriate, then, that in their wisdom, the founders of our Constitution went in for democracy as the form of government that would guide independent India’s destiny. As it transpires, the structure of democracy in India rests on seven pillars, namely (i) legislature (ii) executive (political & bureaucratic) (iii) political parties (iv) judiciary (v) independent institutions (vi) media & (vii) civil society. As of today, all the pillars appear shaky, threatening the future of democracy, although it could be argued that structural weaknesses in the Indian democratic edifice have existed right from 1947.
I. Legislature
Let us start with the legislatures, both at the union and state levels. Cracks appeared in the post-Nehruvian era. 1967 ushered in the Aya Ram Gaya Ram phenomenon, a legacy that continues to the present day. Reminiscent of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions, legislators are tempted by the highest bidders, though other pressures like fear of investigative agencies can also act as triggers for crossovers. Disconcertingly, it is no longer just individual bait: shoals of legislators are willing to defect en masse, lured by the attractions of power and patronage and the fear of state action. The anti-defection provisions in the Constitution have become a dead letter: in no case have presiding officers ruled against defectors. Major legislations are rushed through without adequate public debate and reflection. The quality of discussions in legislatures, especially Parliament, has taken a deep dive. Presiding officers often give short shrift to opposition demands for discussion or to notices for legislative intervention, as in the cases of the proposed impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner and a former High Court judge.
II. Executive
At both the political and bureaucratic levels, there is inadequate engagement with public opinion, especially on crucial policy matters — the CAA, farm laws and the SIR are just some of the glaring instances. Dissent and criticism are brushed off as the handiwork of “urban naxals”, “dimagi naxals” and “anti-nationals”. The use of civil servants, especially those in the investigative agencies, to lodge cases and subject dissenters and political opponents to ongoing harassment has become commonplace. More disturbing is the fact that civil servants, in violation of the oath to the Constitution of India taken by them when joining public service, are more than willing and enthusiastic to implement the orders of their political masters, be it the sudden demolition of structures (by a curious coincidence, mostly owned or occupied by the Muslim community), the interference in prayer meetings of the Christian community and the harassment of interfaith couples on the bidding of lumpen vigilante groups. It seems that the senior bureaucracy of the different services has virtually abdicated its role of pointing out to the political executive the absence of legality in the orders it is asked to carry out. Infrastructure and mineral resource extraction projects are being given virtually blanket permissions, ignoring the voices of caution from environmental experts and groups and bypassing local consultation with affected stakeholders. The ecological consequences are becoming visible, with repeated hill landslides and flash floods, apart from growing desertification of arable lands.
III. Political parties
The initial years after independence saw many stalwarts from different political parties serve with distinction in Parliament and state legislative assemblies and councils. 1967 was the watershed year, when the lure of pelf and patronage led to the mushrooming of political parties, many of them dominated by one family; the Indian National Congress was no exception. Sycophancy became the path for political advancement, with genuflections to the ruling deities in different parties. The system of hereditary succession took firm root in nearly all parties. With hard work and meritorious performance receiving no returns, the decades from the 1990s onwards saw wannabe politicians jumping ship whenever they felt the reward for switching loyalties was higher. Loyalty to the ruling coterie in a party being the sole criterion for continued political survival; criminals and carpetbaggers freely entered the political arena. Winning elections and deriving the benefits from exercise of power has become the sole preoccupation of politicians. Governance, legislative debate and the quality of enacted legislation have suffered grievously. Today, the nation seems to live from election to election: what happens in the five year interregnum between two elections seems to concern neither the politician nor the ordinary citizen.
IV. Judiciary
The judiciary, given the constraints of manpower and the burden of litigation, has often been the lumbering elephant in the room. What has been particularly disconcerting in recent years has been its propensity, especially at the highest levels of the Supreme Court and High Courts, to take an agonisingly long time in deciding issues that impact the life and liberty of the individual as also matters that have a crucial bearing on constitutional issues and on the lives of ordinary citizens. Bail pleas are deferred for months on end, with the draconian provisions in laws like the UAPA and PMLA ensuring that the process itself becomes the punishment. It took years for the accused in the Bhima-Koregaon and the Delhi riots cases to get bail, with some still in judicial custody for more than six years. Father Stan Swamy and G.V. Saibaba were instances where the rigours of incarceration led to their deaths. Even after eight and six years, chargesheets are yet to be filed in the two cases mentioned above. And who can forget most of the AAP leadership in jail before and at the time of the 2025 Delhi elections, denying them the right of participating in election campaigning? The executive has also got away with omnibus clearances of projects that affect the environment, in the absence of meaningful judicial intervention.
V. Independent institutions
At the heart of the crisis today is the severe weakening of nearly all independent institutions, meant to serve as the guardians of democracy. We are witnessing the continued unrest arising from the SIR exercise, with 130 million citizens no longer figuring on electoral rolls. The functioning of the Election Commission has come in for scathing criticism from large sections of society. But it is by no means the only institution that has suffered a dent in its reputation. Information Commissions, the Lokpal, NGT, NCSC, NCW, NCPCR have proved ineffective in acting as a check and balance on executive action/inaction.
VI. Media
In a cruel twist of irony, Lal Krishna Advani, one of the founders of the BJP in its current avatar, observed about the media after the emergency “When they were asked to bend, they crawled.” Today, large sections of the media, both print and electronic, need no such suggestions. They readily genuflect to authority and are more than willing to carry the messages of the government of the day, forgetting their duty of speaking truth to power. The fear of losing government advertising revenues, the apprehension of coercive action and the outright purchase of independent news channels by powerful corporate interests have silenced the media. News anchors and editors compete in displaying their loyalty to the powers that be. Responses of opposition leaders and prominent dissenters are given little coverage, if at all. Independent website based channels face the inquisitions of investigative agencies, while their news reporters have to run the gamut of defamation cases galore. All this while media channels that actively promote hate speech and incendiary comments get away freely. Little wonder then that a substantial section of thinking citizens have trashed both newspapers and television and rely only on internet-based independent media.
VII. Civil society
It is difficult to decide whether civil society is civil anymore. Paraphrasing the Mahatma on Western civilisation, one must say that civil society in the India of today would be a good idea. Whether on TV channels or on social media, haranguing and shrill accusations are the order of the day. Communities, families and friendships have been split down the middle. Dialogue and discussion have been replaced by partisan postures, with each side retreating into their respective echo chambers. Polarisation of society, probably dormant before 2014, has come into the open in recent years, with disturbingly large sections of the “educated” majority community “othering” the Muslim community and lumpen groups and the arms of the state harassing the Christian community on the alleged ground of religious conversion. Governments may change in the future, but the damage to the ruptured social fabric may take far longer to repair. Civil society stakeholders — corporate bigwigs, politicians, bureaucrats, academics, media persons, not to mention the large army of WhatsApp uncles and aunties — have enthusiastically espoused the ruling majoritarian ideology. It might be out of blind adoration, bringing to mind Babasaheb Ambedkar’s warning that in politics, bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship; in many cases, ambition dictates obedience, as well as the apprehension of consequences and/or sheer apathy in the garb of self-interest.
What then?
It is becoming painfully evident that the ailment affecting Indian democracy is not one that a simple medicine of change in government is going to cure. We in India have drifted far away from the noble principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enunciated in the Preamble to the Constitution of India, which alone give substance to the seven pillars above. Unless there is the fullest commitment to these four principles, heart and soul, a just, equitable, free and harmonious society visualised by the framers of the Constitution cannot come into being. Attaching these pillars firmly to the superstructure of democracy is the cement of trust, a trust that has significantly eroded today — between citizens and the state, citizens and the institutions charged with the protection of their fundamental rights and, indeed, between citizen and citizen. Restoring this trust is the sine qua non for the future health of Indian democracy.
