Daily Times

Political historians believe that democracy was born around 430 to 420 BC in the bazaars of Athens. The marketplace was also a trading centre for ideas and opinions, which are essential ingredients for democracy. Obedience to a common will comes through participation into forging it, if only by opposing it. Communications are the life blood of democracy. By the fifth century BC there was a belief in the city: “prefer dying in freedom, from the folly of neighbours to living securely under the prudence of tyrants.
A lot has been written on the externalities of the free market while democracy has been ignored. Despite the fact that we live in a democratic world driven by free market, the ranks of the poor continue to swell. The rich are becoming richer, leaving the poor and downtrodden segments of society in desperation. Both the free ballot and market have failed them. What is the way forward?
From the fifth century BC to 2015 AD the world has seen a lot of revolutions. With the 20th century being the century of conflict and upheavals, together with bloodshed, the human toll was perhaps the highest compared to the combined total of all preceding centuries. The world wars, Vietnam War, Bolshevik Revolution, Chinese Revolution and Iranian Revolution stand out. The partition of the Indian subcontinent was also very bloody. On the positive side there were social and democratic gains. Colonial imperialism was shattered and several new countries emerged on the world map.
The world entered the 21st century with hope and a resolve to avoid the human toll of the last century. New concepts of free market, globalisation, de-regulation and privatisation emerged. Instead of exception democracy became the norm in several countries. Even tribal societies like Afghanistan experienced elections. Remote religious kingdoms like Nepal became republics. On paper it was poised to be a century of democracy, equality and the free market but the situation after 15 years remains grim and gloomy. While people still line up to vote it carries no weight. Externality has taken over the democratic process and the free market, leaders cheat and prices lie while the people helplessly watch. Old and new, large and small democracies are manipulated. In the US, the two party system is controlled by the corporate boards or the religious right, which is called the moral majority.
Bush Jr was perhaps the worst president ever yet he managed to win a second term while his younger brother Jeb is now vying for a ticket to contest the presidential election. Because of poverty in India votes can be bought and criminals get elected. The current Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi had cases pending against him, some of them of a very serious nature.
In Karachi, it is the fear of the MQM, not the ballot, that prevails. Those who defy have to face consequences or are forced to leave the city. Despite several attempts the party has not succeeded in establishing its foothold in other provinces mainly because of its failed approach, which works only in Karachi and Hyderabad. The PML-N is a party of interests that has deeply penetrated the administrative machinery of the province. Important departments like the police, education, immigration and development are run like family owned businesses. Standard operating procedures (SOPs), rules and regulations do not matter. Even the Constitution is not followed. The average duration of positing a Station House Officer (SHO) is less than six months and that of an Inspector General (IG) less than a year. In India, the Aam Aadmi Party can only win New Delhi and form a government there while the rest of the country is for khaas aadmi (VIP) parties like Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which have the financial muscle to cover the entire country.
Pakistan has very limited experience of free and fair elections. The ratio is one to 10. Only the 1970 ballot was honest where the voters exercised their right without manipulation. In the Ayub era (1958 to 1969) it was thaana politics. The SHO was required to deliver the Basic Democracy (BD) member. On election day the Electoral College voters were picked up, taken to the constituency to cast his vote and then kept in protective custody till the announcement of results. In the 1964 presidential elections, despite his externalities, the field marshal lost in Karachi to Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah. The strategy adopted by the students was to surround the police stations enabling the BD member to vote freely. It proved to be the beginning of the end for the first dictator of the country.
The transparency and openness of the marketplace of Athens has been replaced by the manipulation and deceit of the powerful all in the name of democracy. First it was mazboot markaz (strong central government) and then provincial autonomy kicked in. Instead of one now there are four centres of power (Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta). Power to the people still remains a pipe dream with no devolution or participation of the masses. Indirect representation and weakness of the common law to combat white-collar corruption is crippling democracy in the 21st century. The contribution of the media has also been limited. In the 2013 general elections the free press did not expose the irregularities committed. Relief was then denied to the aggrieved parties through complicated legal procedures and unnecessary stays.
For democracy to be effective it has to be participative and operative at the grass roots level. The marketplace can nourish it as per design. The system cannot be run by shahi farmans (royal decree). The approach has to be bottom up not top down as is being practiced in Pakistan by a few so-called electables who have no idea or interest in the marketplace where democracy was born.

The writer is the ex-chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation