Coup d'Etat & the state of les pays d'Asie
So Thailand has now gone the way of dozens of countries before. A democratically elected government has been overthrown by a military leader under the pretext of "unifying" the country and the constitution and the entire government structure will be rewritten from scratch.
From the actions in Thailand, I derive a sense of pride however, regarding the state of affairs in my own country. As those who know me know, I am a travel buff and I frequent travel forums and related things on the internet. I have grown extremely sick and tired of some Europeans and Americans who go on and on in these forums about how India is such a crappy place compared to the sleek, gleaming facilities to be found in Thailand, Singapore, and even China.
If economic status were the only measure of a country's status, then yes, I agree that India lags far behind these own countries. But if the rule of law, respect for human rights, and a stable political structure, India's robust and strong fifty-year old democracy is lightyears ahead of any other country in Asia, perhaps save for Japan and Malaysia (though Malaysia with its archaic Islamic laws has more to do on the human rights issues).
I'm just going to comment on some of the countries which have been most often compared on travel forums to India by ignorant people ...
South Korea - $20,590 per capita GDP, which is 33rd in the world. However, post WW-II, South Korea was ruled by first a series of autocratic regimes, then a weak, short-lived democracy, then a military general, and then another military general until lasting democracy was established in 1988, less than 20 years ago.
Thailand - $8,300 per capita GDP, which is 69th in the world. From 1932 onwards, Thailand was governed by a series of military dictatorships with a few periods of short democracy in between. Democracy was fully restored in 1992 and all seemed well until yesterday, when another coup d'etat just threw Thailand back into the 1980s.
Let me digress a bit. The current Thai government was overthrown by the urban elite, despite the fact that it is the legitimately elected government in the country and the prime minister still has the vote of the poor and the rural masses. Someone should tell the Thai elites that democracy extends to all citizens, not just the rich, educated ones living in their cities. I mean, yes, there are reports that Thaksin was exceedingly corrupt and seeked to manipulate government offices to gain power, but look at India. The corrupt politicians here are usually replaced in office by slightly less corrupt politicians through a democratically elected process. A coup d'etat will not solve corruption, I can guarantee the Thais that.
Singapore - $29,900 per capita GDP, which is 22nd in the world. However, Singapore since independence has been ruled by a single party and is in effect a single party state. It has been ranked by Reporters without Borders as 140 out of 167 countries in the 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. It also puts people to death (possession of banned drugs can and will get you a death penalty) that it makes Texas look like a pinko-liberal paradise.
And finally, let's get back to India.
India - With a per capita GDP of only $3,344, which is 122nd in the world, yes, there is a lot of room for improvement. But India's democracy, as established in the constitution with effect from January 26, 1950, India's Republic Day, gives its citizens all the fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens of Western democracies. Except for a one year period in the mid-1970s when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency citing a CIA plot to overthrow her (a very real possibility considering India's close ties to the Soviet Union as well as the CIA's penchant for overthrowing democratically elected governments that dare to disagree with Uncle Sam (pre-Shah Iran, Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, among others)), India has had uninterrupted democracy with one government respectfully stepping aside for another when ordered to do so by the people.
In addition, India has an independent Election Commission to oversee elections and curtail election fraud, something which even the United States does not have where elections largely rest under the auspices of individual states (do I need to remind anyone of Katherine Harris and the pregnant chads in the 2000 presidential election?).
A look at the Freedom Map below will reveal India's unique position among her neighbors, which vary in levels of autocracy.
So yes, we legitimately in India have the right to complain about a lot of things, and there are a lot of things that are screwed up in India. Let's never deny that. Corruption and injustice is almost all-pervasive, but let's also remind ourselves that perhaps the most important commodity of all, freedom, is there to be had by every Indian. Things could be a lot worse, India has to only look towards her neighbors for proof of that.
But when it comes to democracy (India is the world's largest liberal democracy), just as in protection of wildlife, every Indian or person of Indian descent should hold his or head held up high. There's certainly a lot to be proud about.
From the actions in Thailand, I derive a sense of pride however, regarding the state of affairs in my own country. As those who know me know, I am a travel buff and I frequent travel forums and related things on the internet. I have grown extremely sick and tired of some Europeans and Americans who go on and on in these forums about how India is such a crappy place compared to the sleek, gleaming facilities to be found in Thailand, Singapore, and even China.
If economic status were the only measure of a country's status, then yes, I agree that India lags far behind these own countries. But if the rule of law, respect for human rights, and a stable political structure, India's robust and strong fifty-year old democracy is lightyears ahead of any other country in Asia, perhaps save for Japan and Malaysia (though Malaysia with its archaic Islamic laws has more to do on the human rights issues).
I'm just going to comment on some of the countries which have been most often compared on travel forums to India by ignorant people ...
South Korea - $20,590 per capita GDP, which is 33rd in the world. However, post WW-II, South Korea was ruled by first a series of autocratic regimes, then a weak, short-lived democracy, then a military general, and then another military general until lasting democracy was established in 1988, less than 20 years ago.
Thailand - $8,300 per capita GDP, which is 69th in the world. From 1932 onwards, Thailand was governed by a series of military dictatorships with a few periods of short democracy in between. Democracy was fully restored in 1992 and all seemed well until yesterday, when another coup d'etat just threw Thailand back into the 1980s.
Let me digress a bit. The current Thai government was overthrown by the urban elite, despite the fact that it is the legitimately elected government in the country and the prime minister still has the vote of the poor and the rural masses. Someone should tell the Thai elites that democracy extends to all citizens, not just the rich, educated ones living in their cities. I mean, yes, there are reports that Thaksin was exceedingly corrupt and seeked to manipulate government offices to gain power, but look at India. The corrupt politicians here are usually replaced in office by slightly less corrupt politicians through a democratically elected process. A coup d'etat will not solve corruption, I can guarantee the Thais that.
Singapore - $29,900 per capita GDP, which is 22nd in the world. However, Singapore since independence has been ruled by a single party and is in effect a single party state. It has been ranked by Reporters without Borders as 140 out of 167 countries in the 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. It also puts people to death (possession of banned drugs can and will get you a death penalty) that it makes Texas look like a pinko-liberal paradise.
And finally, let's get back to India.
India - With a per capita GDP of only $3,344, which is 122nd in the world, yes, there is a lot of room for improvement. But India's democracy, as established in the constitution with effect from January 26, 1950, India's Republic Day, gives its citizens all the fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens of Western democracies. Except for a one year period in the mid-1970s when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency citing a CIA plot to overthrow her (a very real possibility considering India's close ties to the Soviet Union as well as the CIA's penchant for overthrowing democratically elected governments that dare to disagree with Uncle Sam (pre-Shah Iran, Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, among others)), India has had uninterrupted democracy with one government respectfully stepping aside for another when ordered to do so by the people.
In addition, India has an independent Election Commission to oversee elections and curtail election fraud, something which even the United States does not have where elections largely rest under the auspices of individual states (do I need to remind anyone of Katherine Harris and the pregnant chads in the 2000 presidential election?).
A look at the Freedom Map below will reveal India's unique position among her neighbors, which vary in levels of autocracy.
So yes, we legitimately in India have the right to complain about a lot of things, and there are a lot of things that are screwed up in India. Let's never deny that. Corruption and injustice is almost all-pervasive, but let's also remind ourselves that perhaps the most important commodity of all, freedom, is there to be had by every Indian. Things could be a lot worse, India has to only look towards her neighbors for proof of that.
But when it comes to democracy (India is the world's largest liberal democracy), just as in protection of wildlife, every Indian or person of Indian descent should hold his or head held up high. There's certainly a lot to be proud about.
posted by Vivek at 7:09 AM
4 Comments:
But even india, apart from some certain progressive states, is pretty much a dictatorship, where voting is a sham... but you're right, we're still better off than some other states around us.
and vivek, what happened to those puppies? post a pic if u can, u dumb dog. its been so long since i saw wild puppies. remember the ones in the pet shop and how they would scratch against the cages?
btw, if we live together next year, we got to live in a pet friendly place. a puppy maybe and probably a cat. what say?
Hail India, hail Indian democracy! That freedom map looks impressive from an Indian standpoint. Sure things are not perfect in India, but as you mentioned, look at what the EC could do in Bihar and WB to ensure free and fair elections, commendable stuff.
No, voting is not a sham. Remember that article about West Bengal that I showed you, where even the villager lugging sacks of rice all day for $2 a day said he would prefer the vote rather than an increased standard of living like China in exchange for giving up the vote?
Even in a state like Bihar, a dominant government (namely Lalu's) was voted out of power and a new one came to power as dictated by the Constitution of India.
As for the puppies, they're still there. They've grown larger and uglier now. Two of them have died, so four left. They're starting to split up and establish larger home ranges now. I've taken some videos where they were really young. Will show them to you in December.
Well, I am not going to get a dog during grad school because I know I won't have the time to devote to it. And also, we were torn about who would get custody of goldie! Can you imagine if it was a dog?
You can get a cat, but I'll be mean to it every chance I get.
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