The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation, held 18th-19th century English jurist and philosopher Jeremy Bentham. In India, legislations have followed a similar logic and plot since 1947. They have helped shape contemporary thought, in addition to moulding public opinion, influencing politicians and policymakers in such a way they constitute an integral part of contemporary Indian history.
In doing so, they have tried on most occasions to adhere to the single touch stone which believes that legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many and varied interests. To be sure rulers have tried at different points of time to turn this tide of history or to introduce overtly political strands into what is essentially a bi-partisan motion, but they have been repelled.
More than anything, legislations have decisively proved to be the barometre of public opinion. When the Congress government in the 1980s decided to impose India’s own version of press censorship, it was defeated through a well crafted strategy of opposition both inside and outside the Parliament. Similarly the scandalous 42nd Amendment which sought to bestow the office of the Prime Minister with extra constitutional powers in the Emergency years, was repealed. In some cases, apart from generating heat and debate, it has also guided political destinies.
When legislation in the Shah Bano case was forced down the throat of a one-party dominated Parliament, the issues that it threw up eventually turned out to be more powerful than the enactment itself. It eroded Congress’ mass bases in the most politically crucial state of India: Uttar Pradesh.
To be sure, a popular piece of legislation has also been welcomed. When Indira Gandhi decided to abolish privy purses of princely dynasties in the early 1970s, it may have evoked great consternation in the minds of the Maharajas, Rajas and erstwhile rulers who stood to lose a lot but inside the Parliament, members did not see it that way. For them, this was a popular move in a day and age when everything stood to be nationalised and if the opulent princelings were to be put into their place, be it so.
In the new millennium, new issues have come to dominate and by the looks of it, they are no easy meat either. Take for instance, the Lokpal Bill. Introduced for the first time in the 1960s, its passage of introduction has been tortuous. Introduced, withdrawn and re-introduced. In its latest avatar, the bill has finally seen the light of the day but only after a comprehensive light and sound show involving protagonists holding forth on corruption. Despite the bill’s introduction, its enactment is quite another thing altogether and is likely to see more pitched battles in and outside the Parliament.
But given that drama is part and parcel of democracy, there is little doubt that the government has sensed the public mood on graft and has decided it would be safer to introduce the bill in whatever form and then see how the cookie crumbles.
Often enacting legislation turns into a playground for political shadow boxing and there is no better embodiment of it than the Women’s Reservation Bill. Parties are candid in their off-record assessment that of all the bills pending, this is the one which will be the hardest to enact. Reason: in an overcrowded theatre where reservations of all kinds are on the cards, the last thing a politician wants is competition from inside his own household. Which is what is likely to happen should women’s reservation in political parties become a reality. The threat of losing a long-held constituency to a cousin or even a wife or a sister is particularly galling.
On the face of it, everyone favours more representation for women but that could well be the public persona. The irony of the situation is typical Indian: even despite no reservations, Indian politics is dominated in a big way by women.
It is this dichotomy that this current issue of Governance Watch seeks to explore with 12 of the most significant legislations since 1947. Assuredly more could have been added to the list but that is also a question of perception.
