The role of India in democracy promotion
On December 6 and December 7, the Institute of Social Sciences hosted a conference titled India and the Worldwide movement for Democracy, What India can Learn from Others’ Experiences and What it has to Give.
Were notably present representatives of the National Endowment for Democracy, the World Bank Institute, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, American Center or international Labor Solidarity, Center for international Private Enterprise, as well as members of NGOs from Bengladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal.
What came out from this conference is a beautiful quote from Albert Camus’ writings: “Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
Wherever NGOs like National Endowment for Democracy, or the Forum of Federations, or Rights & Democracy have been created through political will, and often funded from governmental grants get involved in democracy promotion, one can ask itself what are the reasons to do so. However independent those NGOs are from the government pressures in their countries of origin, is it possible that they are not fully independent? By this I don’t mean to question the economic independence of those NGOs or others not mentioned in this paragraph, nor to insinuate that they are partisan organizations. But I ask the following question.
Is there not something that binds together Bush doctrine, Clinton doctrine, and the WTO doctrine about globalization of markets?
I think so. Wherever there is an interest in opening the markets to investment (provided some guaranteed profit) or exports, the so-called doctrines of democracy sharing bend. India is no more better than it’s counterpart. Don’t get me wrong here! All I say is that there is some hypocrisy in the Democracy promotion official discourse. The high Indian Minister Mr. Singh once told reporters “India’s credibility towards democracy does not have to be proved but the government is also wedded to national interest.”
India has maintained traditionally a politic of non-intervention, non-alignment. India’s feeling towards promotion of democracy was best explained by Dr. Ash N. Roy through the allusion to India as a “Shy Girl” in contrast to the USA, which behaves like a Proud Boy shouting its love all over the place. When will National Interest change?
[Left to right, at the forefront: Noor U.; Myself; Sorry-I-Forgot; Dr. George Matthew, Founding Director of the Institute of Social Sciences; Taiba M., Anwar Ibrahim, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; and Allia M.]
On another topic, Mr. Anwar Ibrahim hold a speech about democracy which I would describe as humanistic, and idealistic. His idea about it: Democracy is about freeing and elevating the spirits of humankind. His ideal about it: The true test of democracy perhaps reside in pluralism.
More pictures of the event bellow
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| Conference Dec. 2007 |
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