Podcast Summary: Indian Democracy’s Ferocious Faultlines
LSE: Public Lectures and Events, March 12, 2012
Moderator: Ramachandra Guha
Panelists:
- Dr. Mukulika Banerjee (Anthropologist)
- Patrick French (Historian & Biographer)
- Prof. Sunil Khilnani (Political Theorist)
- Prof. Maitresh Ghatak (Economist)
Main Theme and Purpose
This episode convenes an expert panel to examine the turbulent trajectories—"ferocious faultlines"—currently shaping Indian democracy. Using the recent 2012 Indian state elections as a springboard, the conversation explores the evolving social, economic, institutional, and regional cleavages within India. The discussion probes deep-seated issues, such as political dynasties, the decline of public institutions, inequality, religion, regionalism, corruption, representation, and the resilience of democratic participation.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The State of Indian Electoral Politics
[03:49] Mukulika Banerjee:
- Noted the persistently high voter turnout, with Goa’s at 82%, and the care with which the Election Commission oversaw the 7-phase Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections.
- Emphasized the unpredictable nature of electoral outcomes, highlighting the emergence of "floating voters"—a genuinely undecidable group of electors not fixed in traditional “vote banks.”
"You don't know how they're going to vote... There's an unpredictability of the electorate combined with its commitment to voting that, again, I think is fairly typical of Indian elections." – Banerjee [06:44]
2. Internal Party Democracy and Political Dynasties
[08:21] Patrick French:
- Identified the contradiction at the heart of Indian democracy: while elections are vibrant and unpredictable, political parties are increasingly hereditary and undemocratic internally, with power kept within families.
"If you plot a graph between MPs over the age of 70, almost none of them are from political families. … If you then go to MPs under the age of 30, every single one of them, 100%, are the sons and daughters of eminent politicians." – French [11:07]
- Warned this trend was spreading to the state level and could threaten healthy democratic renewal.
- Noted exceptions: BJP and CPM have somewhat better internal democracy compared to others.
3. The Rise of Regional Parties and Economic Implications
[14:19] Ramachandra Guha / [14:19] Maitresh Ghatak:
- Noted the ongoing regionalization of politics, especially visible in the decline of both Congress and BJP in UP, and the ascendance of regional parties throughout India.
- Positive Aspects: Regional parties bring direct accountability and can tailor governance to local needs; increases participatory democracy.
- Negative Aspects: Can lead to fragmented national policy, complicate the pursuit of unified economic reforms, and encourage competitive “subsidy races” between states.
"The rise of the regional parties is really the rupture of the centralized hierarchical, vertical model of governance and development." – Ghatak [22:15]
- On Economic Faultlines: India now effectively has “three Indias”:
- Service sector “India Shining”
- Stagnant rural/agricultural India
- Dispossessed tribal/Maoist-affected zones
- Praised aspirational effects of economic change but flagged modest poverty alleviation and persistent deep inequality.
4. Regionalization and India’s Place in the World
[24:21] Sunil Khilnani:
- Stressed that with the national vote share of both Congress and BJP now below 50%, coalition politics with regional parties is India’s new normal.
- This has blurred lines between domestic and foreign policy, introducing new veto points and making national coherence in policy (including foreign and security affairs) much harder.
"The distinction now in India between what is considered domestic policy and international foreign policy is blurring by the day... The expansion of veto points in any kind of national policy now is endless." – Khilnani [30:08]
- The challenge: building capacity for “thinking beyond the patch” among new regional elites.
5. Major Socio-political Faultlines Identified
[33:21] Guha: Led the panel through India’s underlying “faultlines”:
a. Religion: Hindu-Muslim Tensions
[35:13] Banerjee:
- Major change: Publication of the Sachar Committee Report (2006) created space for an open, cross-party debate on Muslim socioeconomic marginalization.
"It is now possible to raise this issue in public and have an open debate... A lot of these issues become election issues. And the writings on the wall, it either flies or it doesn't fly." [37:17]
- “Vote banks” among minorities (Muslim, Dalit, Adivasi) are weakening; voting behaviour is less predictable.
b. National, Ethnic, and Insurgency Faultlines (Kashmir, NE, Tribal Areas)
[39:55] French:
- Compared Kashmir and Tibet, highlighting New Delhi’s preference for military presence over political inclusion, but noted Indian system does allow more open grievance expression compared to China in Tibet.
"The Indian state only appears at all as a soldier or a policeman or a paramilitary with a gun... often what it actually amounts to is a lack of bureaucracy." [41:17]
c. Institutional Decay
[43:22] Guha, [44:16] Khilnani:
- The Election Commission stands as a rare institutional success amidst atrophy in other vital institutions: universities, courts, hospitals.
"The Indian state is a kind of incredibly malformed state. It’s muscular in many of the wrong parts and completely wimpy in many of the parts it should be." – Khilnani [44:45]
- Pointed out decline in professional ethics and prevalence of “bad institutions” that never die but are simply complemented by new ones.
d. Inequality & Social Justice
[48:32] Guha, [50:17] Ghatak:
- India’s record on inequality is troubling: reductions in extreme poverty are real but modest; the tribals (Scheduled Tribes) fare worst; economic liberalization has deepened some inequalities.
"I think the biggest scandal about India's... democratic experiment... is how we treat our poor." – Ghatak [51:23]
- Noted positive stories among Dalits/Scheduled Castes in new service sectors, but overall redistribution and public service delivery remain weak.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the Election Commission:
"Of all the public institutions that should be preserved in India, the Election Commission is crucial." — M. Banerjee [04:50]
-
On the Indian State:
"It’s muscular in the wrong parts and wimpy in the parts it should be.” — S. Khilnani [44:45]
-
On Internal Party Democracy:
“The one thing that does not function is internal democracy within the parties, and this is something that is getting worse and worse.” — P. French [09:24]
-
On Religious and Minority Faultlines:
"The notion of the vote bank is disappearing. ... I think what this is symptomatic of is a larger complete lack of understanding ... about what minority communities generally [want]." — M. Banerjee [38:34]
-
On Aspirations and Delivery:
"Any government that has done even this much for poverty alleviation gets rewarded.... Elections are a time of hope." — M. Banerjee [63:55]
-
On Democracy’s Fragility:
"Democracy is a fragile experiment that can go wildly wrong. Most of human societies and most of human history have lived without democracy." — S. Khilnani [80:17]
-
On Gender & Dynasties:
"There was a possibly coincidental exact correlation between the three places where hereditary politics was most intense—Delhi, Punjab and Haryana—with the rates of the feticide of female children." — P. French [83:29]
-
On Regional Parties and National Policy:
"For the foreseeable future, national governments are going to be coalition governments made up increasingly of regional parties…. The expansion of veto points in any national policy now is endless." – S. Khilnani [30:08, summarized]
Key Audience Questions and Panel Responses
Representation and Demographics
[57:36]
- The issue of outdated census data in determining parliamentary representation, and regional disparities.
“When we talk about every vote is equal in India, it’s not. … this is something we haven’t really addressed.” – S. Khilnani [59:09]
On “Functioning Anarchy” and Social Revolution
[56:52] – [62:43]
- Galbraith’s “functioning anarchy” quip: Panelists note strong counter-examples of ordinary people’s hope and agency through voting—even amid grievances.
“They talk about their votes as weapons. … If you ask these people why they vote, it is not because they think politicians are good ... They vote for hope.” – M. Banerjee [63:10]
- Why India, despite so much poverty, does not see bloody revolution: India’s social cleavages divide protest; political system allows hope and change-by-vote.
Corruption
[77:06] & [80:10]
- Corruption discussed as both a symptom and mechanism: “It’s also an avenue of opportunity for many Indians. For many, it’s their best form of social mobility.” – S. Khilnani [79:08]
- On Dalit leader Mayawati’s “statues” and anti-corruption furore as veiled hostility to low-caste political ascension:
"What is extraordinary if you're in Lucknow is quite how popular those statues are... again and again you find people who absolutely love the fact that she's there holding the handbag in the statue." — P. French [94:08] "The issue about Mayawati... it's galling that there is no understanding of how important statues of Mayawati are to a growing Dalit public sphere." — M. Banerjee [96:16]
Trickle-down Economics
[77:26] [84:08]
- The panel agrees: trickle-down economics hasn't worked for most Indians, especially in primary education and health.
“It's undeniable. Primary education and healthcare ... have been completely ignored by successive governments from 1947 onwards.” — P. French [94:47]
Gender Inequality
[77:53][83:13]
- Gender bias is flagged as perhaps the “biggest faultline”; however, higher female voter turnout gives some cause for optimism.
Timestamps for Important Segments
| Timestamp | Topic/Quote/Turn | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:49 | Banerjee on the Election Commission and floating voters | | 08:21 | French on dynastic politics and hereditary MPs | | 14:19 | Regionalization, economic policy and three Indias – Ghatak | | 24:21 | Khilnani on regional parties, national imagination, foreign policy | | 33:21 | Guha introduces section on religious and other social faultlines | | 35:13 | Banerjee on Sachar report and minority representation | | 39:55 | Kashmir vs Tibet: French on state responses to dissent | | 44:16 | Khilnani on institutional decay, the malformed Indian State | | 48:32 | Ghatak on inequality, economic liberalization, and justice | | 57:36 | Audience Q/Panel on census, updating representation | | 62:43 | Banerjee: “I have to defend an optimism corner here…” | | 77:06 | Audience Qs: corruption, trickle down economics, gender | | 79:08 | Khilnani: diverse meanings and forms of corruption | | 80:17 | Khilnani: democracy as fragile experiment | | 83:13 | French: gender partiality and dynastic politics linkage | | 94:08 | French: Mayawati statues—popularity, symbolism and hostility | | 96:16 | Banerjee: Dalit public sphere and media ignorance | | 98:32 | Khilnani: Separation of powers, courts, and federal structure |
Conclusion
The panel concludes with a mix of realism and optimism.
- Democratic participation and the emergence of new voters sustain Indian democracy, but fragile institutions, entrenched privilege, and under-delivery leave it open to challenge from below.
- The dominance of regional parties and growing inequality require creative solutions, especially around representation and public goods delivery.
- However, India’s history of hope, incremental change, and the deep cultural rooting of democratic practice gives “ferocious faultlines” their ultimate containment.
"Indian democracy is a fragile project, but also an extraordinary achievement. It’ll only exist as long as Indians, in some kind of ramshackle way, maintain the skill of doing it." – S. Khilnani [80:36]