The Parliament Has Lost Its True Spirit In the Ensuing Cacophony

It was debate that marked the tradition of the House, sadly that discourse has been reduced to banal arguing.

Senior BJP leaders and other NDA MPs participate in protest march from Vijay Chowk to Parliament House to Save Democracy in New Delhi, August 13, 2015. (Photo: PTI)

What Explains the Impasse?

• Unlike old days, at present, if the Parliament functions for a day or so, it becomes a news item
• Non-functioning of Parliament is a symptom of lost objectives, forgetting the very purpose of our independence
• Today in Parliament, we are represented by various political parties still the spirit of India is missing, on all sides of the divide

As India proudly celebrates its 69th Independence Day such revelry would be meaningless if we did not reflect over and look at our past; to have a reality check as to the goals and objectives set up by our freedom fighters and the framers of our Constitution; to check if our direction is on track or if we have derailed ourselves.

Would the framers of our Constitution have ever imagined:

1) That a day would come when “the temple of democracy, the Parliament of India” will not effectively function? That instead of a meaningful debate, there would be acrimony?

2) That our farmers, who feed us and help us keep alive, will be compelled to take their own lives?

3) That our ex-servicemen, who kept awake so that we could sleep in peace, will have to sit on a hunger strike to get their legitimate dues?

Certainly not!

Let me concentrate on the present situation, the logjam in Parliament. I go back in the past and recollect: in 1990, when I became a Member of Parliament for the first time, even if one MP walked out as a mark of protest, it would become a news item in the following day’s newspapers. If all the members of a political party walked out, then it would become the banner headline of the papers.

Unfortunately, at present, if the Parliament functions for a day or so, it becomes a news item. The question is, why have we landed in this situation? Who do we hold responsible for it? Is this going to be the order (or disorder) in the future?

File picture of Former Prime Minister Atal Behari (Vajpayee. Photo: Reuters)

Looking for Symptoms

There are no easy answers, but as a student of politics and a patriotic Indian, I will try to reflect upon it. To diagnose an ailment, one needs to look at the symptoms. Non-functioning of Parliament, to my mind, is a symptom of lost objectives, forgetting the very purpose of our independence, the product of our freedom struggle, which gave birth to this august house, the Parliament of India.

There is a serious crisis of morality in today’s leadership. There is not a single political leader cutting across party lines in both the houses of Parliament, who can just get up and the entire house will listen with rapt attention. It’s hard to find an Atal Behari Vajpayee or a Chandra Shekhar in Parliament. The entire character of political leadership has undergone a sea change.

The discourse has gone down to the lowest ebb inside the House. Congress leaders protest outside Parliament, August 4, 2015. (Photo: PTI)

House with a Glorious Past

At the moment, the baton of leadership has moved from the pre-Independence to the post-Independence era. Just imagine the Constituent Assembly which met from 9th December 1946 till 24th January 1950 to debate the framing of our Constitution.

The fact is that India could achieve such a remarkable feat because we had leaders like Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Shri C Rajagopalachari, Dr. V Subramanian, Shri Sharat Chandra Bose, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, M Asaf Ali, Acharya JB Kripalani and Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant, just to name a few. The Constituent Assembly had such leaders where you could shut your eyes and put your finger on any leader. He or she would have been capable of giving leadership to this country. But now, with your eyes open, it is unfortunate that you’ll have to struggle to select one.

These tall patriotic leaders, irrespective of their background, their party affiliations, or the region they came from, had one big thing in common: they had a bigger picture in mind, that of the country. Except for “India”, nothing else mattered. Today in Parliament, we are represented by various political parties, both national and regional. But I dare say, unfortunately, the spirit of India is missing, on all sides of the divide. Otherwise it is unthinkable to have come to this impasse.

As it appears in the Constituent Assembly debate volumes, the demand for a Constituent Assembly was made by Mahatma Gandhi on many occasions. However, it was in May 1934 that the Swaraj Party, which was then formed at Ranchi (then in Bihar) formulated a scheme in which the resolution for the right of self-determination and the principle to convene a Constituent Assembly with representatives of all sections of people to frame an acceptable Constitution were included. The resolution was confirmed at the session of the Congress held in Faizpur in December 1936. The Congress Party did not hesitate in accepting such an important resolution from a relatively smaller party, namely the Swaraj Party.

(Photo: PTI)

Spirit of India Missing

It was all about keeping the spirit of India alive. When Dr. S Radhakrishnan summed up saying “Suicide is the greatest sin. To murder yourself, to betray yourself, to barter away your spiritual wealth for a mess of pottage, to try and preserve your body at the expense of your spirit, that is the greatest sin. If we therefore stand up for the great ideal for which this country has stood, the ideal which has survived the assaults of invaders, the ideals to which the unheeding world today is turning its attention, if we are able to do it, the flame which has sustained us in overcoming foreign rule will fire our efforts to build a united and free India.”

I am afraid I find the spirit missing. There is too much negativity. The discourse has gone down to the lowest ebb and the fight has become not of ideas and ideals, but of whataboutery.

The discourse is about who has cheated the country more, you or me? Who has broken the trust of the country, you or me? Parliament has indeed become almost a warzone where people are ready to physically fight with each other.

The Indian ethos of vasudaiv kutumbakam has vanished. The very small kutumb (family) of Parliamentarians is at loggerheads because there is no fatherly or motherly figure, and unfortunately, in recent times, the authority of the Chair has also eroded for various justifiable reasons. Again, Dr. S Radhakrishnan, while describing the temporary Chairman Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha and the permanent Chairman Dr. Rajendra Prasad of the Constituent Assembly, mentioned the spirit of “vihara”, the invincibility of gentleness, the gospel of India.

Quoting the Mahabharata, he said,

“Gentleness can overcome the hardest things, it can overcome the softest things. Nothing is impossible to be overcome by gentleness, and therefore the sharpest weapon we have is gentleness. Softness, gentleness – that is the greatest weapon which will wear out the highest kind of opposition. We have not been true to it. We have betrayed and done wrong to millions of our own fellow beings.”
— Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

I am afraid, till the time the spirit of India is restored, we are in for yet another battle of Mahabharata where unfortunately there is no Krishna to give updesh but again, we believe in “yada yada hi dharmasya glanirva bhavathi bharatha, abhyuthanam adharmaysya tadatmanam srijami aham, paritranay sadhunam vinashay ch dushkritam, dharm sansthapnarthay  sambhmami yuge yuge.”

I am very hopeful that the glorious days of India will come back. The kind of talent our younger generation, coming from modest backgrounds, has, will see India restore its position and shine again, where the world at large will seek direction from: of peace, tranquillity and progress.

(The writer is Lok Sabha MP, Trinamool Congress, and Former Railway Minister.)