Referendum - The Citizens Voice

 A referendum is a vote by the citizens of a country to approve or reject any proposal by their government; and the result of a referendum can support or oppose such proposals. It is similar to casting a vote in an election, except that in a referendum, the citizens have the option of writing ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in the opinion box of the proposals. During the referendum exercise the government may put before its citizens one or more proposals for consideration.

 It can be argued that referendums play a constructive role in an democracy due to its deliberative role, and helps to focus the nation on events that affect every-day life decisions. It can be further argued that nation-wide deliberative processes work better when they are focused on collective decision-making between the government and the citizens.

 Critics can counter-argue that influential politicians can misuse the process for agenda manipulation, yes-or-no questions instead of bilateral dialogue, brute strength of majority politics to extract a favorable decision; et.al. Therefore, it’s necessary to consider referendum as one part of the democratic process and not the system as a whole. To become ‘as democratic as systematically possible’ it needs to be connected to the demands, narratives, claims, deliberations and experiences at one end, and to the Constitutional framework on the other; to ensure a high standard of democratic decisiveness. Basically, it cannot be exclusively the “Citizen’s Will” unless it fits into the accepted parameters of the Constitution of the Nation. However, the process must result in a direct political consequences, supported by policy, adequate allocation of resources and legal enforcement. Only then, can the process be termed as a democratic exercise of the citizen’s policy mandate.

 In India, the issue of conducting referendums has been intensely debated since independence from British Rule. There has been a belief that conducting referendums is not permitted in India, since the Constitution has no provision for it and because the Constituent Assembly which ratified the Constitution of India believed that; since elected parliamentarians would truly represent the ‘will of the people’, there was no need for a separate process of referendums. However, in later years, there have been instances when referendums have indeed been conducted in our nation.

 In 1948, a referendum was conducted in the princely State of Junaghad, where the citizens voted to accede to the Republic of India [Refer: 1959 AIR 1383, 1960 SCR (1) 537]. Similarly, in 1949, a referendum was conducted in Chandernagore (now part of the Hooghly district in Bengal), which was at that time a French territory; whereby the citizens voted in favor of merging with the Republic of India rather than stay as a free territory controlled by France. Subsequently, the administration of Chandernagore was transferred to India. [Refer: AIR 1960 SC 845, 1960 3 SCR 250]; and also in Pondicherry ( now named Puducherry, a former French territory) where citizens voted to join the Indian Union in 1954. 

The last referendum happened in 1975, wherein the inhabitants of Sikkim decided on their merger with India [Anjan Banerjee v. Union of India, Civil Order No. 8509(W) Of 1992 | 29-03-1993]. It should be noted that while the Constitution does not allow for referendums, the tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, recognised under the Sixth Schedule have incorporated provisions allowing referendums in election matters. [Refer: The United Khasi Jaintia Hills Autonomous District (Appointment and Succession of Chief and Headman) Act, 1959].

The Constitution of India does not contain any references to a referendum, therefore it can be assumed that while referendums are not encouraged, they are also not totally prohibited. In the landmark case of ‘Kesavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala (1973)’ [Writ Petition (civil) 135 of 1970], the Supreme Court laid down the “Basic Structure Doctrine” according to which certain basic features of the Constitution could not be taken away by the Parliament, under its amending powers. In this very case, Justice S.N. Dwivedi had remarked that in India there can be no law for a referendum, as the exclusive procedure for amending the Constitution is Article 368.  

 However, since governments in the past have conducted referendums, the same is possible now and in the future, to ascertain the will of the people towards major policy decisions or possible amendments to such decisions. It is important to note that the current government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in its submission to the Supreme Court in November 2020 on the issue of a referendum to ascertain the views of the citizens, as to whether a new Parliament building should be constructed; stated that “We are not a participative democracy. Fortunately, we are a representative democracy. You cannot seek a referendum. Objections (to environment impact) have been made to the CPWD. These have been considered. Participative democracy is a Utopian idea,” [Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to a three-judge bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar].  

A country as diverse as India needs to hold referendums, in order to have a two-way consistent dialogue between the Government and the People who appointed it into power. While, political parties like to argue that frequent elections act as a platform for citizens to express their views, and that an election can also be considered as a referendum on the basis of agenda and ideology; the converse argument is that elections do not necessarily define national policy and program implementation. Elections are won on promises and lost due to lack of performance. Sometimes, they are re-won on performance delivered; but in every circumstance the citizens have to gamble five years or more of their lives without guarantee of achieving national goals.

The lack of a referendum policy carry’s the risk of stifling the voices of those who are marginalized due to various reasons, across various sections of society. Governments seem to be averse to referendums which carry the inherent risks of refusal of the governments proposals, and because even the Supreme Court would be hesitant to overturn the results of the process, knowing that the opinion of the citizens is supreme. The question that should concern us all is that; had the government of Prime Minister Modi conducted referendums on the Citizens Amendment Act (CAA), National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and the three Farm Bills 2020; would the government have been in a better position to clarify the doubts raised by those opposed to it, convince the majority, of the benefits of these laws towards the security of the nation, and more importantly; would it have prevented the violence and chaos that negatively impacted commercial activities and, law and order?

References:

1. Advocate Swapnil Tripathi / The Basic Structure Blog

2. M.N Roy’s Constitution of Free India

3. Ministry of External Affairs [MEA], Government of India. 

 

 

  

Overstepping its boundaries - an autocratic Supreme Court?

 Articles 141, 142 and 144 of the Constitution of India ensure that the Supreme Court is a uniquely powerful institution in our country and has wide powers conferred onto it vide Articles 32 and 136. Such unrestrained power without any accountability to the People of India, makes it autocratic, conceited and even egotistical in its general behavior. While being accused of failing at times to perform its required judicial functions, the SC has made it it’s unrestrained business to interfere in matters that pertain exclusively to the executive branch of the government, the council of ministers selected from the elected members of Parliament, by the citizens of India.  

 Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, had stated in 2007 that “The dividing line between judicial activism and judicial overreach is a thin one. However, substituting mandamus (a type of judicial writ) with a take-over of the functions of another organ may, at times, become a case of over-reach. These are all delicate issues which need to be addressed cautiously. All organs, including the judiciary, must ensure that the dividing lines between them are not breached. This makes for a harmonious functioning.” It is not only the problem of over-reach of the judiciary but also of avoiding its primary responsibility, that of delivery of justice within a reasonable time frame. All this overreach is possible because judges are not made accountable to the citizens under the current framework of our Constitution.

 When challenged with the issue of pendency of cases in various courts, the standard response from the judiciary is to blame the situation on lack of adequate judges and infrastructure to overcome this problem. With a financial budget of Rs 3173.36 crore in 2019-20 which was revised downwards to Rs 2200 crore, mainly on account of the expenses incurred in the holding of Lok Sabha elections in May 2019, (since the Election Commission's expenditure comes under the budget for the Ministry of Law and Justice), the judicial system in our country is not starved for funds.

The above mentioned budgetary allocations by the Union Government for administrative and other expenditure of the Supreme Court of India includes the provision for salaries and travel expenses for the Chief Justice and other Judges, staff and officers of the Registry including the departmental canteen, charges for professional service towards personnel deployed for security and expenditure on establishment related needs including stationery, office equipment, security equipment, maintenance of CCTV and printing of annual Report of the Supreme Court. 

In January 2018, the salary of the Chief Justice of India was revised upwards from Rs. 1 lakh per month to the current salary of Rs. 2.8 lakhs per month; a hike of nearly 200%; and salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of the high courts was revised upwards from Rs. 90,000 to Rs. 2.50 lakh per month. Additionally, the Chief Justice receives a Rs 16.8 lakh-plus dearness allowance, the Supreme Court Judges a Rs 15 lakh-plus DA and high court judges Rs 13.5 lakh-plus DA. Their gratuity is around Rs 20 lakh. 

Tax payers can argue that the judges are paid handsomely for the positions that they hold and for the primary task to which they are appointed; viz, dispensing justice to those in need, and dispensing it within a reasonable time frame. They seem to have forgotten the legal maxim that ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. Whether it was the 1993 interference in an then ongoing anti-terrorism military operation in Hazratbal, Kashmir; or that It took seven long years to arrive at conclusion on the Narmada Bachao Andalan case, or its ruling in the Ram Jnama Bhumi case, or its judgement of Diwali firecrackers, or the appointment of an empowered committee in the matter of environmental cases that created a parallel executive apparatus, or its intervention to form a committee to run the Medical Council of India; many such instances of judicial over-reach have been noted.

The Supreme Court is able to do all this because it is not held to account for all its actions. The judiciary is often doing with impunity what the executive could not or can never do, since the executive is answerable to the people. All these instances seem to indicate distrust, and in some cases a disdain for democratically elected institutions. Even more disturbing is the message that it sends to the executive branch. When the Supreme Court decides to intervene in the implementation of policy as decided by elected parliamentarians, it is asserting itself as a dictatorial institution that can interfere and supersede the democratic process of the nation, while being safe within its constitutional protection that allows it to be unanswerable to the citizens of the country, the very taxpayers who afford its judges a comfortable and secured lifestyle. 

 

GROKTALES - THE POWER OF EDUCATION.

"A better learned person is a better citizen".

 

There is a big education quality gap between rural and urban education. Computerization, mobile phone availability & information technology has given us the opportunity to narrow this gap. Quality education can now be delivered at cheaper cost, with faster reach and deeper penetration in rural parts. It can help immensely in empowering rural India. 

The Groktales program is an attempt to provide opportunity for improving the capabilities of children, through provision of quality education in a “mission” mode.

• A program with a clear time frame for universal elementary education.
• A response to demand for quality basic education all over the country.
• An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education.
• An effort to effectively involve the Panchayat Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education Committees, Parents-Teachers' Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass root level structures in the management of elementary schools.
• An expression of social will for universal elementary education across the country.
• A private - public partnership between the Central, State, and local government.
• An opportunity to develop a clear vision of elementary education

The declared educational objectives of the Groktales project are:

• Universal Elementary Education for children in the age group 6-14 years.
• Universal retention in elementary school with Zero drop-out.
• Providing quality & comprehensive education for developing competencies in the children to compete successfully in all India competitions.
• Provision of Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Center for those habitations where schools are not available.

There is a gap of quality of education between government run and private schools. This gap can be measured in many ways. Some are:

• Non-Availability of quality content.
• Lack of technology usage.
• Lack of updated information.

1. Old teaching methodology is not effective enough to attract children to school.
2. Non-availability of digital content in regional languages.
3. Non-Availability of subject experts for overall development of the children.

The biggest drawback of any society is lack of right education at the right time. However, technology has provided the opportunity of rural empowerment by providing information directly and at the location of the recipient. Using Virtual Reality, internet access and multi-lingual voice-over technology; quality education can now be offered to the children who were unable to get access to quality education due to their location.

The services provided in the Groktales program include:

• Virtual Reality and Info-Tech based learning applications development and marketing.
• Customized learning product development.
• Learning process and learning infrastructure management solutions.

The Groktales program helps in improving the quality of education and training. It enhances the quality of education in several ways: by increasing learner motivation and engagement, by facilitating the acquisition of basic skills, and by enhancing teacher training.

• It can deliver the following benefits irrespective of the location and reach of the schools:
• Universal access to quality content for students and teachers.
• Presentation, demonstration, and the manipulation of content using productivity tools.
• Use of curriculum-specific applications such as drill and practice, simulations, tutorials, educational games, virtual laboratories, visualizations and graphical representations of abstract concepts, and expert systems.

Motivating to learn Videos and multimedia Virtual Reality software that combine text, sound, and colorful moving images to provide challenging and authentic content that will engage the student in the learning process. This interactive system makes use of sound effects, life-sized VR simulation, and other performance conventions to compel the students to listen and become involved in the lessons being delivered. More so than any other type, this VR system with Internet connectivity can increase learner motivation as it combines the media richness and interactivity of other technologies with the opportunity to connect globally and to participate in world events.

Facilitating the acquisition of basic skills: The re-enforcement of basic skills and concepts, which are the foundation of higher order thinking skills and creativity, can be facilitated by through drill and practice. Virtual Reality technology learning focuses on the mastery of skills and content through repetition and reinforcement.

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