MADHAV GODBOLE Bücher

IN THE LAST 70 YEARS SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION, India has transitioned into a multi-party democracy with a greatly polarised polity. It is time to take a closer look at how successful India has been in working its unique model of a Federal Union of States. Born amid the Partition, the emphasis in the Constitution on a strong Centre was understandable. But, that is no longer enough. Some fault lines are now evident. Nonseparation of religion from politics, irritants in Centre-state relations, the institution of state Governor, division of legislative powers between the Union and the states, the official language dilemma, and the rising tide of sub-nationalism are clamouring for attention. India has single citizenship, but increasing state domiciliary restrictions are legalizing discrimination and undermining fundamental rights, more particularly, equality of opportunity in public employment.

'India is clearly divided into two worlds-the much touted "shining India" signifying the glossy, superficial, highly westernized sections of society with their extravagant lifestyles, and the "left-behind India" or Bharat, which consists of the poor, deprived, malnourished, under-fed, neglected and marginalized sections of society, residing largely in rural areas and in slums and hutments in urban areas. There is an ever widening gap between these two Indias.' In this concise yet wide-ranging book, Madhav Godbole delves into what he considers the root of India's socio-political problems: the lack of good governance, which, he asserts, has never been a focus of governments in our country. Godbole traces the rise and fall of politics and policy in independent India from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru's prime ministership to present day through a careful exploration of several issues-from defining the concept of good governance as understood universally, to identifying the highly problematic areas of governance that need urgent action and emphasizing how changes in polices can make a marked difference to governance in our country.

The first time since Independence, India is at a crossroads of secular and Hindu Rashtra (nation) ideologies. The Constitution of India is ambivalent about secularism, pandering to the demands of both the majority and minority communities. The founding fathers could not even agree on calling the Constitution 'secular'. The word 'secular' became a part of the Preamble only during the 'Emergency'. There is no consensus yet on its definition. In the process, secularism, though declared by the Supreme Court as a part of the 'basic structure' of the Constitution, has lost all credibility. Godbole's thoughtful and comprehensive agenda for strengthening secularism includes setting up a constitutional commission on secularism, the separation of religion from politics, defining the words 'secular' and 'minorities', doing away with the freedom to propagate religion, an amendment of Article 48 by deleting the provision prohibiting cow slaughter and increasing the role and responsibilities of the central government. The implementation of this will require national consensus, statesmanship, maturity and far-sightedness. Secularism should be a must-read for the youth of this country, political parties, legislators, professionals, academia, media, social thinkers and opinion-makers. For, no other issue will decide the future of India as decisively.