Minorities & Issues of Representation: Indian Parliament & Question of Legitimacy

• In Event: Poster Session: Representation and Electoral Systems and Poster Session: Political Organizations and Parties
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Representation and Electoral Systems

Abstract

The paper focuses on assessment of Indian democracy and the political trajectories around the question of diversity and issues of representation. India,although seen as South Asia’s most consolidated democracy, is suffering from serious democratic deficit where religious minorities have never been adequately represented, neither their issues, demands nor grievances raised in the Parliament. Fair representation of India’s complex diversity can help entrench democracy.

In a parliamentary democracy, representation/power sharing is a mechanism through which minorities can ensure their participation in the decision making process. India being a pluralistic society needs a framework through which it can resolve the contestatory claims of various groups. India’s democracy must be subjected to critical questions regarding the efficacy of representative government and how functioning of India’s legislature/parliament has taken into consideration its vast minorities. How does Parliament facilitate legitimacy within political systems? Whether meaningful and substantive representatition of minorities exist in Parliament and whether it gets reflected in policy-making/formulation and decision-making? What is the role of various political parties?

The paper also focuses on various aspects of electoral system and whether it is able to accommodate the complex diversity that exists in India. The paper highlights the elections, electoral system, the issues of representation and how the entire process tries to facilitate legitimacy through such mechanisms. The paper interrogates the process of legitimacy itself which is claimed by the majority/dominant community. It also explores the possibilities of accommodating diversities through inclusive electoral system that could lead to the political representation of diverse interests and identities. It attempts to analyse and develop a comparative perspective on the subject.

The parliamentary representation of minorities is essential for ensuring these groups’ effective participation in public affairs. Whether minorities are actually present in legislatures, whether their voices are heard, and whether their interests are taken into account are all important indicators of minority participation in decision making on a national level. Such participation has the potential to benefit everyone in a society. It can help to strengthen democracy, greatly improve the quality of political life, facilitate societal integration and prevent conflict.

While a number of international legal and political documents guarantee the rights of minorities to political participation, implementation of these mechanisms has proved challenging. Parliamentary representation of minorities is one of the key areas where such challenges arise. Protecting minority rights and ensuring their adequate representation in national parliaments are difficult issues everywhere. Addressing these issues requires context-specific responses but policy makers can benefit from practices and experiences from around the world.

The people’s representatives in parliament discuss, debate, deliberate and make decisions on behalf of over a billion citizens of India. Our MPs are the same people who also represent the minorities (Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians) which constitute about 20% (more than 200 millions) of India’s 1 billion-plus population. Do our parliamentarians take up minorities related issues in parliament and truly represent them? The paper tries to examine the interest the parliament has taken in minorities’ related issues.

Given the number of questions that are raised, it is not possible to include and analyse each one of them individually. However, those questions and their answers that may provide critical information, insight, and data etc. have been analysed and broader minorities’ related issues have been discussed in the paper. Paper tries to examine the interest the parliament has taken in minorities’ related issues. It also highlights the inequality of representation and further marginalization of minorities in Parliament. Paper provides a detailed and comprehensive quantitative and qualitative account of minorities related questions raised in Parliament during last two decades. The rich data collected from different sources makes it feasible to undertake very interesting & critical analysis.

The guidepost of this work is a vision of democracy i.e. inclusive democracy. The thread that runs through the study is democracy, legislature, electoral politics, political representation, parties, identity and concerns for religious minorities. The concept of the democracy in India will only assume true and dynamic significance when political policies and national legislation are decided upon jointly by the majority and minorities with equitable regard for the interests and aptitudes of every section of the population.

This proposal can be accepted for Division 22, 34 or 35.

Author

• MD AFTAB ALAM, University of Delhi