'Beauty of the Democracy'

A famous saying of Abraham Lincoln ‘democracy is a form of government of the people, by the people and for the people’ when uttered by the politicians of our countries, it remains nothing but only a worn out cliché. No doubt there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people, but only when they are aware of their potentialities. In the absence of such consciousness they are more likely to make grave mistakes by just growing ecstatic over the songs of democracy. For the awareness of their potentialities it is must ideologically they are so enlightened hardly to be deceived. In our countries the people are mostly unlettered with no sense of a political system and extremely ‘uneducated’ about democratic philosophy. In autocracy one man makes mistakes while in immature democratic atmosphere we see a whole community making grave mistakes.

Opposition is one of the four pillars of democracy. Its existence is needed to keep watch over the policies of the government and have a check over its wrongdoings, never letting it going against the interests of the country and the people. But unfortunately in the countries, ideologically undeveloped, the ruling and opposition parties remain busy in the game of mudding the clean waters of the other side causing a damage of credibility and harming the prestige of the adversaries. This game of defiling each other by the politicians of both sides, who are used of disgrace, casting dirty clouts out of their doors to wash in public, actually a insipidity but thought beauty of the democracy.

In democracy there are some basic things demanding unanimity and compatibility. Emergence of divergences in the ways to handle the problems is not unlikely but defending the ideological and geographical boundaries of the country, solving the problems of the people, raising the living standard must be a common goal of all without dispute. Priorities of the political parties in their policies may be different but what is weird is to letting the situation go beyond the difference of views and policies starting disrobing each other in the public. Character assassination of the opponents seems the favourite hobby of our politicians. Here political difference means getting loggerheaded on the issues to such an extent that they feel not ashamed in vilifying and mudslinging. They ignore the sports man spirit. With their childish attitude to permanently remain in combat, they give their nation a message of only disunity and bitterness.
The Quran lays a golden principle to follow:
“Help you one another in righteousness and piety but help you not one another in sin and rancor.” (Al-Maidah: 2)

Applying this Quranic canon on how to deal with the government, actually the performance, way of governance and deliverance is basic criterion to decide whether to strengthen its hands or lower it to the ground. If sincerity and devotion of the rulers is indubitable, defence of the territories of the country is assured, national assets are protected, country is on the track of progress, moral and cultural values are well preserved, law and order situation is satisfactory, security of lives, properties and honor of the citizens is guaranteed, facilities of health and education are provided to the people equally without any discrimination, basic needs of life are made easily available to all the habitants of the country, then there remains no reason to imprecate the government in the name of the beauty of the democracy.

And if the ruling elite is incompetent, deceptive, and selfish, corruption and plunder is on its high, law and order situation is in its worse, lives and properties are not safe, nepotism and favoritism from lower to highest level is a common practice, integrity of the country is at risk, the government fails to stop hoarding of the stock, black marketing, profiteering and is unconcerned on unavailability of the necessities of life in the market and people have hard time to live. The government is unable to stop unwanted meddling of external powers in the internal matters of the country, endangering the sovereignty of the nation, if cultural sway of the big powers is given an easy let, then it would be lack of sense of honour if the role of a courageous opposition is not played.

This condition, according to the Quranic principle, is Ithm and Udwan (sin and rancor). It is very enough for the government to lose its right of getting cooperation and support. If the circumstances are reduced to such a stage then the dissenting voices and resisting the policies of the government is not for the ‘beauty of democracy’ but becomes a moral obligation and religious enjoinment.

In the circumstances when the national dignity and interests are put at stake, it is the call of honesty, exercise of conscience, and demand of patriotism that none from the opposition parties and even from the ruling party should fail to raise their voices against the damaging acts of an irresponsible and incapable government. Apart from the differences of manifestoes the opposition parties must be committed and resolved to play the role of the watchdog to keep the system of check and balance work properly and keep a vivid and critic eyes not to let the ruling elements go against the national interests.

Unfortunately we, in the Muslim countries, have different traditions of relations between the regimes in power and their opponents. Ruling groups perhaps thinking it ‘beauty of the democracy’ on getting vexed by the opposition come on tit for tat terms to drive the opposition to the wall. They are plunged in the evil efforts to disgrace all those who criticize the policies of the government and oppose it for good. The opposition also has not any enviable track record. It is subject to exploitation. Mostly tamed, bribed or stoops to the tactics of the government. Expediencies or apprehensions overcome and daring opposing voices gradually go passive. And all this on the both sides is done in the name of ‘beauty of the democracy.’