GD,still relevant ?

Gujral Doctrine(GD) is a milestone in India's foreign policy. It was conceptualised by I.K Gujral in 1996 , when he was at the helm of External Affairs Ministry under Deve gowda's government.

The doctrine proposed that being the biggest country in South Asia , India should extend unilateral concessions to its immediate neighbours without seeking or expecting any reciprocity.The rationale that Gujral gave was ,that since India is surrounded by two hostile neighbours  (China  & Pakistan) thus it becomes imperative on India's part to remain at 'complete peace' with all other immediate neighbours for its own larger interest.

The doctrine basically proposes five-point roadmap to guide India's conduct in South Asia .They are:

1)India should extend to its neighbours ( Bangladesh, Bhutan , Nepal, Maldives , Sri Lanka & Maldives) whatever it can in good faith without expecting reciprocal gesture.

2) No country in South Asia shall allow its territory to be used against the interest of other country in the region.

3)No country should interfere in the internal affairs of other country in the region.

4)Every other country should respect the territorial sovereignty & integrity of each other.

5)All disputes should be resolved through peaceful bilateral negotiations.

It's been several years since the idea was first propounded . Their has been sea of changes in South Asia & the world over & has affected the dynamics in which the world operates, susbstantially. With India & Pakistan even getting into an armed conflict in Kargil , 1999. The repercussions of which resulted in shaping the Indo-Pak ties for generations to  come . On the other hand , there has been an increase in the Chinese incursion along the disputed Macmohan line , thus disrupting the bilateral ties time and again.

Thus, it is evident that the hostility which pressed upon the Doctrine to foreplay hasn't diminished over the years. Hence, the Doctrine's relevance is still in the fray.

Being an emerging economy,it gives India an upper hand in influencing the politics of the region as envisaged in the doctrine. India has been investing heavily in the development of these countries , both state sponsored & private players , thus strategically containing the role of China. The bilateral trade with all these countries has seen an increase in the past few decade. It has helped India in projecting itself as a responsible player & has earned for itself  a 'Big Brother' image.

In exchange of this development ,countries such as Bangladesh has taken seriously India's request to dismantle the terrorist heaven in it's territory. This is nothing but the vision that was projected in the doctrine.


Therefore we see that the GD hasn't , yet, lost it's sheen . With India entering a new decade of reforms on multiple forums , it becomes imminent that there is harmony between India & its neighbour with GD being one of the instrument to achieve that. It is of utmost importance that peaceful co-existence is guaranteed in the region & it is for a responsible player like India to ensure that. It will also help  the country in leveraging the benefit it earns in  the long run.

Pressure or Pressurised Groups ?

The term 'pressure group' originated in USA. A pressure group (interest group or vested group) is basically a group of people who are organised actively for promoting & defending their common interests. It is so called as it attempts to influence the public policy making by exerting pressure on the government. They are concerned with specific programmes & issues & are confined to the promotion & protection of the common interest of their members. Since, their isn't any legitimate instrument to specify the criteria for the membership of such a group , thus many a time different pressure groups end up voicing & highlighting the concerns of their political patriarch.

Pressure groups influence policy-making & policy-implementation through different legal & legitimate methods like lobbying, correspondence, public debating, publicity, propagandising, petitioning etc. Sometimes they take recourse to some illegitimate methods like strikes, violence , corruption which damages public interest and administrative integrity.

Business groups like FICCI & ASSOCHAM representing large industrial & commercial bodies opts for lobbying through their contacts in the government to secure their trading & commercial interests.
The members of these bodies are usually industrialists who have some commercial interests in varied proportions across the country and has also contributed to political parties at different point in time.Thus, it is only obvious to look at them with a ounce of suspicion while they work towards their own interests.

Trade unions works for the rights of industrial workers across the globe but the peculiar feature of trade unions in India is that they all have a political affiliation , either directly or indirectly. Thus they  go hand-in-gloves with their masters up the party line. e,g  INTUC (Congress) , BMS (BJP) , CITU (CPM). The same is true for Agrarian groups as well as Student organisations like ABVP ,NSUI among others.

The religious organisations in India  plays an important part in Indian politics with a majority of decision being decided or getting defeated by  the influence of such organisations . They represent narrow communal interests. Many of them act as source of ideology for established political parties e.g RSS , VHP having a say in the activities and functioning of the BJP.

Tribal organisations active in many economically backward states have from time to time raised demands ranging from reforms to secession from the union and has started indulging in insurgency to achieve so.

The not so well developed pressure groups in India include many Linguistic groups ( which affected the reorganisation of states act), Ideology based groups ( like Chipko movement , Narmada bachao  aandolan) . They,too, have contributed in one way or the other in influencing the activities of the government from time to time. In spite of having achieved some success ,most of the pressure groups active in India have come under scrutiny mainly caused due to their structure  & functioning.

The NCRWC(2002) in its report noted that, communal & inter-group riots in a country like India can't just be attributed to law & order failure on part of the state but it is the manifestation of collective behavioral disorder. Thus, appropriate legal & administrative measures must be taken to contain it. Thus , it becomes imperative for the pressure groups functioning in India to come out of their sectarian interest & desire for short time gain and agree upon common national purposes.Unless they don't shun away from the political influences they carry it will be extremely difficult to strengthen the democratic fabric.  

Need

The Constitution of India & its provisions are framed keeping in mind the need of an efficient,smooth & effective system of governance  along with socio-economic development of India post independence. Given the complexity & dynamism of this vast land , a separate Article was kept to allow the Constitution to adapt to the changing needs with passing time.

Article 368  gives power to the Parliament to amend the Constitution along with the procedure. There are possibly three ways to amend the constitution . Two,within the scope of Article 368  and one outside it.

Critics,at times,have criticised the amending procedures under the following grounds :

1) In absence of a special body like the  Constitution convention(as in USA) , the Parliament enjoy the absolute power and hence their is a danger of  it acting like an authoritarian.

2)Major part of the Constitution can be easily amended by a special or a simple majority.

3)Only Parliament can propose a bill to initiate an amendment .

4)In the scenario of a deadlock over the passage of a bill  , there is no provision for a joint sitting of the two houses of the Parliament.

Thus, as evident, the Parliament enjoys a supreme hand when it comes to matters concerned to amendment .  Hence, the role of Supreme Court ,as guardian of the Constitution , become crucial through the checks it performs on the arbitrary power of the Parliament.

The Parliament ,in all its wisdom , might find a current law or provision unsuitable for the current times & thus might go for an amendment . The chances of  such an amendment to sail through is on higher side if the party enjoys an absolute majority or if can take all or majority of  the legislators into confidence . In such a scenario , there are greater chances that the Parliament might infringe onto the Fundamental rights of the citizens or  Federal structure of the country . Herein comes the part of Supreme court , who is the interpreter of the Constitution & is shouldered to hold the supremacy of the Constitution. Thus, enjoying the Appellate jurisdiction in case of constitutional matters. One of the well known example in this regard is the Kesavananda case (1973) , where the court gave a landmark ruling.

The chances of a occurrence as above is predominant when a single party enjoys absolute majority like the Congress in 60s & 70s , but in the current era of coalition politics , it is unlikely to happen.Still, statistically it stand a chance.

There is a decent probability of an scenario to emerge where the amendment thus resulting out of Parliamentary deliberations might resolve to an interpretation which is incoherent with the law prevailing . In situations like this , the highest court of appeal, must step in to provide the right direction.

The founding fathers of the country had a vision for the country which gets reflected through the different aspects & components of the Constitution and it is upon the legislature to take it forward with the highest court of the country,Supreme Court, acting as a guiding force by keeping the spirit of the constitution intact.     

Diminished!

The Parliament is the place where Public policies are made which finally drives the country economically, politically & socially. This results in from the constructive & in-depth detailing of the issues discussed, right from the planning till implementation. The role of the Members of Parliament (MPs) thus become inevitably important as the aspirations of people gets reflected through them.

But over the past few decades there has been a deterioration in the quality of discussion, hence the outcomes of parliament in the  form of policies/laws/enactments. A portion of which can be credited to the Anti-defection law, among others ,which was designed to prevent the evil or mischief of political defections motivated by the lure of office, material benefits or other similar considerations.It was intended to strengthen the fabric of Indian Parliamentary Democracy by curbing  unprincipled & unethical defections, but has resulted in some negative tertiary backlashes.

The 52^nd Amendment of 1985 added a new Schedule ,Tenth Schedule, to the constitution relating to political defections. Two of the provisions of which are :

1)A legislator stands disqualified from the house if he/she voluntarily gives up the membership of the party from whose ticket it got elected to the house.

2) A legislator stand disqualified from the house if he/she abstains/votes contrary to the directions given by his/her party.

Thus, the MPs are expected to behave as per their party diktats,  even if the subject at hand needs to be treated differently & without any prejudice. Any departure might lead to their disqualification. This particular provision might discourage the sitting MPs to come up & express openly their views on the floor of the parliament in case it is inconsistent with the party line. Thus depriving the policy debate occasionally & restricting its framework & in the process affecting the overall quality . The above law fails to make any distinction between dissent & defection. It curbs the legislator’s right to dissent and freedom of conscience

It can be easily observed that party bossism precedes everything thus ruining the debate in favour of, mostly, mediocrity. In the light of the recent events it would be a welcome change if alterations in  the current  provisions are made &  freedom be given to the current legislators in voicing their opinion on whose shoulder lies the responsibility of directing the country .