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Khaleej Times
14-08-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
How India ensures the spirit of democracy is upheld at all costs
In April 2019, an Election Commission official in Arunachal Pradesh trekked for two days through dense forests, crossed rivers by bamboo raft, and camped under open skies — all to reach a lone polling station serving a single voter. That image, both humbling and extraordinary, encapsulates the spirit of Indian democracy: no citizen is too remote, no voice too small. India's general elections are often described as the largest democratic exercise on Earth. But the term hardly does justice to their scale. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, for instance, approximately 980 million people were eligible to vote — more than the combined populations of the European Union and the United States. Spread across a record one million-plus polling stations, guarded and staffed by over 15 million officials and staff, this nationwide election process is repeated every five years with almost clockwork precision. The institution at the heart of this mammoth operation is the Election Commission of India (ECI), an autonomous constitutional body that has earned international respect for its independence and efficiency. Established in 1950, it operates with a mandate enshrined in the Constitution, immune from political interference, and guided by a clear code of conduct. Its credibility rests on a relentless commitment to fairness: from monitoring campaign finance to enforcing the Model Code of Conduct that governs political behaviour, the ECI's authority is both legal and moral. Working ceaselessly without fear or favour, it has a culture of accountability that has made India's electoral process one of the most trusted in the world. Not many people know that it was India that perfected and deployed mass electronic voting for the first time in the world way back in 1982. (For the record, Netherlands, the second country to employ EVMs, did so almost a decade later.) ]'EVMs are a matter of pride for India as they cannot lie, and I have no doubts about the credibility of the machines,' asserted TS Krishnamurthy, a former Chief Election Commissioner under whose tenure EVMs were used extensively. Critics of technology in elections often point to vulnerabilities, but in India, the embrace of innovation has strengthened rather than weakened trust. Since 2004, the country has used Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) nationwide, replacing the paper ballots that were prone to delays and manipulation. To further ensure integrity, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems were introduced, allowing each voter to confirm their choice on a printed slip before it drops into a sealed box for possible cross-verification. Combined with biometric voter ID systems, GPS tracking of poll parties, and live webcasting from sensitive booths, these safeguards form a multilayered defence against fraud. Observers from the Commonwealth to the United Nations have lauded India's ability to blend scale with security, even as they praised the election process for its transparency, peacefulness, inclusiveness, and accessibility. Perhaps the most inspiring feature of India's elections is their inclusivity. The ECI ensures 100% accessibility, setting up polling stations in mountain hamlets, desert villages, and islands in the Sundarbans. Special provisions exist for voters with disabilities, senior citizens, and those in remote conflict zones. For countries seeking to strengthen democratic institutions, the Indian example offers a simple yet profound lesson: integrity is not an accident; it is the product of vigilance, inclusivity, and a culture that places the voter - every voter - at the centre. And so, when the next official trudges through a jungle for a single ballot, it will be the system itself, in action - the world's largest democracy, walking the last mile to keep its promise. The author is a writer at Milaybami.
Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Beyond the Courtroom: Fali Nariman's legal legacy
'The characteristic features of Indian culture have long been a search for ultimate verities and the concomitant disciple-guru relationship' – these are the first words of Autobiography of a Yogi written by Indian spiritual leader Paramahansa Yogananda, originally published in 1946. Close to eight decades later, a manifestation of these very words came to public notice in the relationship between the late Fali S. Nariman, a towering figure in Indian Jurisprudence and Subhash Sharma, his trusted lieutenant for nearly 40 years. In fact, Sharma had read out a 1952 speech of Yogananda to Nariman five hours before the eminent lawyer breathed his last on February 21 last year. 'I started crying after reading the speech…looking at me, Fali started weeping too,' Sharma told The Indian Express. Months after his death, Sharma meticulously curated a book with a selection of Nariman's most influential speeches. 'Beyond the Courtroom' showcases the vast breadth and depth of Nariman's constitutional expertise through his illuminating lectures and articles. It even goes a step further outlining the jurists views on the state of Indian Democracy. From making arguments on why a new constitution is impossible today, to stating why a strong opposition is needed for the betterment of democracy, this book covers a wide range of subjects. 'The first lesson about written constitutions is that they don't function on their own. A special effort must be made by their custodians – those entrusted with their functioning – to work them,' reads a chapter titled 'The Silences in our Constitutional Law'. This chapter stood out as it speaks about how the Silences of the constitution were interpreted and in turn its provisions broadened by the Judiciary. This reinterpretation, argued Nariman, has made the document a 'dynamic, living' one. Nariman speaks about the evolution of Article 368 of the constitution (power of Parliament to amend constitution) to drive home the point of the dynamism of the constitution and bringing to the fore the tussle between the Parliament and the Judiciary. He begins with how within a year of the constitution being brought into force, the Parliament passed the first amendment of the Constitution which dispensed with the payment of compensation for taking over large estates (zamindaries). Article 31A and 31B were introduced which provided that legislations for agrarian or land reforms were outside the protection of the fundamental right to property. 'Article 31 B was an innovation,' says Nariman, as it protected enactments included in the ninth schedule of the constitution from being declared void on the basis of infringement of fundamental rights. In 1971, he points out, came more amendments, all meant to further limit the power of the constitution and increase that of the parliament by limiting which laws Courts could declare void if passed in contravention of fundamental rights. Nariman traces the history of this tussle all the way to the Basic Structure Doctrine in 1973 where it was finally decided by a 13 judge bench held that the power of the Parliament to amend the Constitution couldn't alter its 'basic structure'. In the next chapter Nariman says: '…the only final interpreter of the Constitution is the judiciary' pointing out the active role that he feels judges must play in bringing life to the document. Divided into five sections (Nation, Judiciary, Constitution, Law and Arbitration), the book also offers advice for young lawyers, tackles ethical questions and is sprinkled with quips throughout – usually towards the end of each chapter. 'Paramhansa used to think Mahatma Gandhi was a prophet…for me, Nariman was a prophet,' Sharma told The Indian Express. 'I've always felt this deep spiritual connection with him. I can't put a finger on it, but I always somehow felt close to him.' Sharma is a well-known name in the legal circles and has been the devoted gatekeeper for Nariman's offices. As his junior since 1986, Sharma's name appears in virtually every case handled by Nariman. It was Sharma who would be the first point of contact for lawyers or litigants to Nariman's office since the veteran neither carried a cell phone nor directly accessed his email account. Sharma considers it a stroke of serendipity that he got a chance to work with Nariman. After the book was published in early 2025, he kept a copy on the shrine of Yogananda – who was revered by both – in Forest Lawns, Los Angeles.
