The following speech was delivered at the Institute of Social Sciences Conference on Democracy in India.

Opening the conference was Justice J.S. Verma, Former Chief Justice of India and Former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission of India.

Also speaking at the conference was Mr. Roel von Mijenfeldt, Director, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (www.nimd.org), Carl Gershman, Director of the National Endowment for Democracy (www.ned.org), and Dr. Farooq Abdallah, Former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, among others

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Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests. Dr. George Matthew and Dr. Ash Roy, Carl Gershman. Ladies and Gentleman.

Please permit me to begin by quoting the great Rabindranath Tagore, from his book of poems known as A Flight of Swans – Poems from Balaka:

I hear the countless voices of the human heart

Flying unseen,

From the dim past to the dim unblossomed future

Hear, within my own breast,

The fluttering of the homeless bird which,

In company with countless others,

Flies day and night,

Through light and darkness,

From shore to shore unknown

Tagore was of course referring to the flying swans, or Hansa-balaakaa in Bengali. I understand that this word is to pious Hindus a symbol of the human soul winging its way to its heavenly resting-place. To my mind, the celebration of the human spirit may also be likened to Tagore’s metaphor of the eternal flight of the swans.

In this regard, we may say that democracy is about giving dignity to the human spirit, which is founded on the doctrine of natural rights that all individuals are endowed by their creator with a right to life, liberty, and estate. I believe democracy is also about pluralism, without which dissenting views will not find expression and a healthy vibrant opposition will not materialize. Essential to this process is a profound commitment to the protection of the minority and to the rule of law and justice so that these natural rights shall not be taken away from the people.

It has been said that our current understanding of constitutional democracy may be traced to the ideas of John Locke, whose writings not only greatly influenced the framers of the American constitution but the moulding of the greater part of European government itself. Nevertheless, it would be rather myopic on our part if we did not at the same time appreciate that the same principles of freedom and justice have been expressed elsewhere and in different contexts with the same goal in mind. And that is none other than the emancipation of the human spirit and development of societies that are fair and just and committed to the uplifting of their people.

The great freedom fighters of our time, from Simón Bolívar to Sun Yat Sen, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Nelson Mandela, expressed these sentiments with great vigour and tenacity and the legacy of their work is the edifice upon which democracy exists around the world today. I recall as a student activist my first encounter with Nehru’s compelling words to the Constituent Assembly in 1947 when he recognized the shortfalls of the independence movement but affirmed and made a solemn pledge to uphold the principles of freedom.

One must appreciate as well the universality of this mission which, in my mind, is not simply a construct of the West. The Indian experience bears testament to that fact – a nation that is completely diverse, a world unto itself with respect to religious, linguistic, and cultural heterogeneity – and yet in its sixty years of independence has remained peaceful and more importantly has never wavered from its democratic course.

In the last two decades the number of countries that are classified as free has increased significantly so that some areas in which democratically elected governments were scarcely present now see democracy as the primary form of government. This clearly reflects the aspirations of the people. Freedom has a demonstrative effect and the appetite for it is whetted when one sees others enjoying liberty, freedom of conscience and the right to property and the pursuit of a decent livelihood.

But there remain pockets of resistance and certain entrenched interests which are resolved against the continued advance of freedom and democracy. Here in Asia, for example, we must contend with leaders who are of the view that submissiveness to the state is a traditional value. They say that before the supremacy of the State and the well-being of its citizens, there is no place for individual liberty. The subversive tactics of the state such as the control of the media, restrictions on free assembly and restraints on the freedom of expression are further justified as necessary for the achievement of certain economic priorities.

On this we owe a debt of gratitude to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen who has thoroughly debunked the false discourse of Asian values and proven the intrinsic value of democracy as well as the intimate and inseparable relationship between democracy and development. Democracy is not about the choice between starvation and freedom. It is about the freedom to overcome poverty and tyranny without compromising in the struggle against either.

Of the many symbolic acts and institutions which democracy tends to create, the one that garners the most attention and admiration today is that act of voting which represents the empowerment of a people over those who will govern and execute laws upon them. Elections are an essential component of any democracy. But the question that we must ask, particularly now when elections feature so prominently in the democracy discourse, is whether the mere phenomenon of elections means that democracy is alive and well, or are there still fundamental issues to be resolved?

Elections of course must be free, fair and transparent. But beyond that there must be a “level playing field” – which includes equal access to a free media, open debates and a conduct of elections that can stand up to international scrutiny. When the results of elections are called into question an independent judiciary free from political influence must be able to arbitrate and rule on the matter without bias. Speaking of an independent judiciary, we can’t overemphasise the tragedy that has befallen many an Asian country wherein judges have fallen prey to the machinations of dictators and autocrats alike regardless whether they purport to act as army generals or civilians!

What is an election if political parties in the opposition do not have access to the freedom of speech, assembly, and movement necessary to voice their criticisms of the government openly and to bring alternative policies and candidates to the voters? Where I come from, the opposition is barred from the airwaves, rallies are not allowed, and opposition newspapers operate underground. I am sure mine is not a unique experience.

If democracy is participatory government in its fullest sense, then the existence of a vibrant opposition is essential as the bulwark against the tyranny of absolute power. Similarly, if pluralism is the final test of democracy, as indeed it should be, we will find that many countries today are dismal failures. And this is not just confined to fledgling democracies but we also see it manifest in constitutional democracies that have enjoyed independence for more than half a century. We must therefore take a deeper and more profound look at the practice of democracy and the work that is being done to support it around the world.

Earlier this year I was invited to speak at a ceremony in Washington DC commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Westminster Address, for which President Ronald Reagan is recognized as inaugurating an era of democracy promotion which was to be decisive in the bringing an end to the Cold War less than a decade later.

I commented that decisions which undermine freedom and democracy that are made in places where the rule of law is considered sacrosanct have global implications and we must recognise that they quickly become the pretext which tyrants and dictators use to justify their intransigence. Here we can lay some of the blame for this alarming trend on the mantle of the War on Terror, which is the rubric under which various illegal actions are justified and sanctioned, be they encroachment on the sovereignty of other nations or a curtailment of the civil liberties of one’s own citizens. This vaguely conceived war, with all its bluster and bravado, has paved the way in many U.S.-allied countries for brutal and unchecked repression, which in some places threatens to nullify the reform efforts of an entire generation.

In ascribing the mantra of radical Islam indiscriminately to any group that professes to be founded on Islamic precepts the advocates of the War on Terror have pigeonholed organisations, and the millions of people they represent, as inherently anti-democratic and tending towards extremism and violence. This reflects a profound misunderstanding of the nature of these groups and the underlying causes of radicalism and terrorism. It is also emblematic of the discourse that tends to place democracy and Islam as inherently incompatible. I for one disagree. There is certainly nothing in the religion itself which is opposed to freedom – the higher objectives of the sacred law are in fact committed to the preservation of those basic inalienable rights of freedom of conscience and the pursuit of wealth. The Muslim world faces a deficit of democracy because of the proliferation of autocrats who rule in the name of religion but are often openly hostile and opposed to those who express its teachings, and are hell-bent on preserving their rule in contravention of conventions of governance and the Rule of Law.

By expanding our conception of the Muslim world beyond the confines of the Arab-Middle East we find the forces of democracy advancing with much greater fortitude and conviction. The democratic success of Turkey and Indonesia are shining examples that the world would benefit by paying closer attention to. Indonesia, while still grappling with the vexing problems of corruption and poverty, represents a success story of immense significance if one considers that the largest Muslim country in the world emerged from three decades of authoritarian rule, practically overnight, and without a single foreign troop stepping foot on her soil, nor the shedding of a single drop of blood. The AKP of Turkey represents the logical progression of democracy in Turkey – a government that is at ease with the nation’s cultural and religious heritage as it is with the secular underpinnings of the government.

Asia’s rise to prominence in the latter part of the 20th century was monopolised by the fascination with the economic prowess of some of its stronger nations. That lens continues to influence engagement with the region – India and China being the leaders – but other countries proving their mettle in an increasingly competitive and globalised marketplace. While economic strength will continue to be a key indicator of the region’s overall development, I am quite confident that with leadership of burgeoning democracies like India, Indonesia, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea the real story of the next decade will be that which emphasises issues of governance and accountability, the keys that will unlock greater economic potential as well as the unleashing of the creative energies of the human spirit.