The case of the ‘missing’ Parliament: 2020 when Democracy was put on the ‘pause’ button

The COVID-19 pandemic has been harsh. It triggered weeks of curfew like lock down in utter state of unpreparedness and uncertainty. The gradual reopening of the world around us came with apprehension and sad knowledge of the devastation it had caused financially, emotionally and even physically. Almost daily the news of someone somewhere retreating to another world came nearer and nearer till it seemed that death was knocking on the door.

But as the rest of the world went about its business with some adjustments, we in India too prepared to take the persistent pandemic in our stride. Of course, we learnt to live differently but we soon returned to our old ways of crowding the streets, weddings, even funerals. The mounting figures of mortality and death suddenly seemed to have ceased to matter.

COVID-19 did not prevent an ugly skirmish at the border/LAC with China and periodic confrontation with terrorists in J&K. It did not prevent holding of bye elections in MP, UP etc. and Assembly elections in Bihar. Even though the economy remains unsteady and jobs are scarce, the big business houses prospered and if the agitating farmers are to be believed, more is in the trolleys for big business. We are playing cricket even if away from home. The Bollywood sets are rolling again.

But the only institution that seems to have lost its velocity and verve is Parliament. State assemblies have been accustomed to short sessions and long breaks but Parliament is just discovering what it is like to be in prolonged recess. The problem with that is that the citizen has to accept democracy being put on pause. It is ironic that we continue to elect our representatives and our governments but we no longer know how they work and if they are working to protect our interests.

Debate and discussion are the essence of participatory democracy. Not holding sessions of Parliament or truncating the duration, not to mention deletion of the Zero Hour, and bypassing procedures for consideration of proposed legislation by standing committees and using brute majority in the House to push through legislation that has far reaching impact on sections of citizens. As a result, disquiet spreads to the streets and that in turn is used by divisive forces to cause public disorder. Parliament, the crown of our democracy,is now a mute witness to steady disintegration of the hope and confidence people place in the temple of democracy.

Amongst the constitutional institutions almost all except Parliament are functioning to keep democracy afloat. The courts too, with initial hesitation, have settled into the virtual system to such an extent that some, if not all, stakeholders are beginning to admit that a new normal is taking shape. But even as the government resolutely takes physical steps to lay the foundation of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and a ‘temple of democracy’ on Rafi Marg, it seems somewhat unconcerned about the political heath of the existing Parliament. It is not anyone’s case that meeting of Parliament is without the risk of becoming a superspreader and that too amongst the elected representatives of the nation. There were reports of some cases during the last session. But equally there were scenes of work in progress. Parliament cannot be allowed to fail because we are unwilling to find innovative ways of conducting its affairs without endangering Parliamentarians. It would of course be a sad day if we have to choose between the life of Parliament and Parliamentarians who give it a voice and soul.

Of all the reasons to be concerned about the state of Parliament is the very pandemic that has brought about the unfortunate situation. Like war or external emergency, though it is best left to the government of the day, the pandemic crisis is also best left to the national executive. But we know from what we have seen elsewhere in the world that the elected representatives from across parties put their weight behind the elbow of the government.

That is the indispensable institutional response that cannot be substituted by the beating of thalis and lighting of candles, important as that is for public engagement and steering the mood of the people. Moreover, there were issues that required to be aired and debated in Parliament such as the relief measures required and the stunning paralysis of the system that forced migrant labour to travel on foot for hundreds of miles without food and water. Accountability and desperately needed counselling were both sacrificed on the altar of emergency and the pandemic. Given that the A D M Jabalpur, the Emergency suspension of Habeas Co/.,.rpus judgment has now been overruled by the Supreme Court and the prevailing judicial opinion in the country is that rights cannot be lightly brushed aside on grounds of societal opposition. The LGBTQ rights upheld by the Supreme Court are such an example. Therefore, the right of the voter-citizen that her voice resound in Parliament also cannot be pushed aside due to the pandemic.

It is surprising that the government finds it difficult to face even the truncated numbers of the Opposition in Parliament and is literally using the pandemic to recuse itself from the responsibility of Parliamentary accountability. But just as the Coronavirus is known to damage organs of the body causing post-recovery complications, the disuse of Parliamentary procedures may have a lasting and adverse impact on the institution. The cost of that might be far greater than the negative impact on the economy that we are being told might have put us back by a decade.

Democracy is not an easy way to govern a country but it is the best. It is best not only because it puts restrictions on human tendency to bulldoze other people’s views, called ego, but because its difficulties bring out the best that might otherwise remain buried.

From the great philosophers like Plato and Aristotle to geniuses of our times like Amartya Sen we have been told of the great value of debate, discourse, discussion and argument. We did not have to learn about this from the British and American democracies, much older than our present system. It is deeply embedded in the Indian soul: the intellectual method of acquiring knowledge.

Curiously the missing Parliament session also meant a lost opportunity for a symbolic remembrance of the 1971 victory over Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh. We owe a deep gratitude to the men and women in uniform who courageously executed the command of Field Marshal to be, General Sam Manekshaw, inspired by the visionary leadership of Indira Gandhi. We saluted the martyrs at the War Memorial but a Parliament event would have had a different flavour, for that is where Indira Gandhi would have been rightly remembered and her memory honoured. The missed 50-year anniversary of her historic decision to change the political geography of India’s neighbourhood will go down in the history of Parliament as unforgivable myopia.

The feeing of the loss is exacerbated by the sad picture of protesting farmers braving the sliding mercury of the winter. Their toil and endeavour keep us fed but our ears cannot hear their cry. They have a serious concern about their life and occupation but also about the special relationship they claim with the land. It defines their identity and cultural milieu that reverberates in songs like, ‘Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle, ugle heere moti’.

Modernisation is inevitable as it is in every other section of society and walk of life. But it has to be at an acceptable pace and manner. The trouble is that Delhi neither heard them nor spoke to them. Where was the place from where such a dialogue would emanate and where it would resonate as the voice and wish of the people? Parliament. But alas that was not to be. One is left wondering whether this is the loss of our Parliament or the loss of the people.

Even as the Supreme Court is toying with the thought of putting the Internal Emergency of 1977 on trial after four decades, the decline of institutions in contemporary India poses an irony that might become unbearable and devastating. Parliament has seen us through difficult times before and it will do so again. But before that our combined voice must say, ‘Physician, heal thyself.’