Skip to main content

Inner party democracy, anyone?

Hi all,

We always pride ourselves with the fact that we are the world's largest democracy. Every five years when we go out to vote, we leave the rest of the world in awe. We make them wonder how such a staggering exercise is being conducted without major hiccups. The statistics alone is sufficient to rattle any planner and put him/her out of sleep for days.

For all the chest beating that we indulge in, there is a darker side to our democracy that we usually don't visit that often and would certainly like to keep it under the wraps from prying outsiders' eyes. Probably you would have guessed what I am talking about right now.

Inner party democracy has not been on the agenda of many political parties for a long time. They, conveniently, forget the fact that charity starts at home and that being propagators of democracy also means that they themselves have to practice it both in letter and in spirit first. Most of the political parties today somehow give inner democracy a miss. Dynastic politics seems to be the order of the day. If not that then it is a single strong man whose whims and fancies decide who and how the party is run.

Is this what democracy is all about? We all know it wasn't meant to be this way. Why are our political parties behaving in a manner that can be best described as being devoid of democracy? And whose responsibility is it to put the house under order? Where do we draw the line between democracy and indiscipline? Should academic exercises like writing a book come under the purview of a party's ideology?

p.s. I didn't want to get into the gory details of dynastic politics and strong men who control their parties with an iron grip...we all know it too well don't we...:)

Comments

Karthik said…
Indian democracy has almost become synonymous to Feudalism..
Unknown said…
@karthik...hmmm...thats a little harsh though..
BK Chowla, said…
Sure,what you have said is true.If this topic comes up for public debate in a TV studio,the explainationis that in democracy,it is the people who decide and they have decided on a particular party/family.
More than 60% of people do not vote for whatever reasons(this subject can discussed seperatly)Except for CPI,there is no other party which is not indulging in dynastic politics.This situation,including inner party democracy,can change only if well meaning younger generation come in the front line to bring about a change...or else we will face the worst situation in the world.
Varada said…
nothing is perfect we are here to make it better.
Unknown said…
@chowla...the younger would not mind considering politics provided they have enough family support...

@varada...hmmm...we cant be critical like this all the time...there has to be some time when we say ...'hey it looks like we have optimised the system..'

Also read

Learning from Gardening

While composing status messages, just for fun, I simply jot down anything random that comes to my mind at the moment. Here is the latest FB message i posted few seconds ago. Tushar Mangl learns a lot from his gardening routine. Even when his plants die, he simply feels bad and then goes about to plan for new plants. Mostly because an empty space does not look that good. That is life for you. People will always go away from your life, at one point or another. But you cannot always leave the places vacan t. New plants have to be placed. Optimism has to exist for new flowers to bloom, new leaves to grow. Now, FB only gives me 422 characters to say my point. But my dear blogger, a companion of several years gives me much better platform to elaborate my thoughts. You see, in a flower bed I maintain near stairs of my house I had planted bougainvillea plants on either sides of the bed. As fate would have it, and given my nature of getting too attached to livi...

A suggestion to break the loop of guilt, isolation, and emotional burnout?

Caught in a guilt spiral, isolating quietly, and wondering why rest doesn’t heal you? You’re not lazy—you’re carrying layers of unprocessed emotion and spiritual exhaustion. This is your invitation to pause, reflect, and reset. Let’s explore why you still feel stuck despite good intentions, and discover rituals, reflections, and real reconnection to help you come home to yourself. First Published on 20/06/2008 14:30 Second edition Published on 04/07/2025 12:51 Why do you keep spiraling despite good intentions? Let me ask you this. Have you ever written out a self-care plan so perfectly, maybe in a brand-new notebook—drink more water, meditate, go to therapy—and yet by day three you’re numbly binge-scrolling, wondering what’s broken now ? Yeah. Same. We don’t spiral because we’re undisciplined or lazy. We spiral because the emotional weight we’re carrying goes deeper than we admit. It's not about a missed workout or failing to reply to that one text. It's the inner tug-of...

Cutting people off isn’t strength—It is a trauma response

Your ability to cut people off and self-isolate is not a skill you should be proud of—It is a trauma response Cutting people off and self-isolating may feel like a protective shield, but it is often rooted in unresolved or unhealed trauma and an inability to depend on others. While these behaviors seem like self-preservation, they end up reinforcing isolation and blocking meaningful connections. Confronting these patterns, seeking therapy, and nurturing supportive relationships can help break this unhealthy cycle. Plus, a simple act like planting a jasmine plant can symbolise the start of your journey towards emotional healing. Why do we cut people off and isolate? If you’re someone who prides themselves on “cutting people off” or keeping a tight circle, you might believe it’s a skill—a way to protect yourself from betrayal, hurt, or unnecessary drama. I get it. I’ve been there, too. But here’s the thing: this ability to isolate yourself is not as empowering as it may seem. In fact, i...