Concept of good governance and its relevance in the contemporary Indian polity.

 

          Government, governance and above all good governance are the major quest of political culture in India. Democratic form of government is the appropriate form as well as suitable form of government in India. Democracy has very broader meaning which encompasses every aspect of good governance within itscircumference. But to keep the principles of democratic system alive there is need to rejuvenate Kautilya’s and Gandhi’s concept of good governance.

          There are many standards to evaluate the concept of good governance among them first is the merger of ruler interests with subject and that is the concept of ‘Ram Rajya’,‘KudaiRajya’ and foundation of good governance in India as well as our strength of cultural heritage. Second is responsible, responsiveness accountability, recallable, fair justice, maintaining law and order, no misappropriation of public money by government officials and above all prosperity and welfare of state and itsCitizens.

          The concept of governance has been defined by World Bank in a different manner. According to World Bank, governance is the manner in which power is exercised  in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development, the manner in which the public officials and institutions acquire and exercise the authority to shape public policy and provide goods and services. Countries should have legislation that prohibits corruption, anti-corruption agency exists, checks and balances in systems and procedures, containment of malpractices management in the world are some of the criteria of governance. 

          The United Nation emphasizes reform through human development and political institution reform. According to the United Nations, good governance has eight characteristics. Good governance is consensus oriented, participatory, following the Rule of Law, effective and efficient, accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive.

Nayef Al-Rodhan in his 2009 book,‘Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man: A philosophy of History and civilization Triumph’ proposed eight minimum criteria for ensuring good national governance. Al Rodhan eight minimum criteria are:-

1-    Participation, equity and inclusiveness.

2-    Rule of Law.

3-    Free, independent and responsible media.

4-    Government legitimacy.

5-    Accountability.

6-    Separation of powers.

7-    Transparency.

8-    Limiting the distorting effect of money in politics.

In the book, he argues that good national governance is an important component in creating a sustainable history for the human race. For Al-Rodhan, the eight minimum criteria of good governance are the expressions of the fundamental values of democracy and more liberal constitutionalism.

Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have criticised past studies of governance to place too little importance on developing political parties, their capacity and their ties to their grassroots supporters while political parties play a key role in well functioning democracy elsewhere, political are disconnected from voters and dominated by elites, with few incentives or capabilities to increase the representation of others voters. Political parties can play a  key role in pivotal moments of a state’s development, either negatively (e.g. organizing and instigating violence) or positively (e.g. by leading dialogue in a fractured society) while differences in the electoral system play their role in defining the number of parties and their influence once in power (proportional, first, past the post etc.), the funding and expertise available to parties also plays an important role not only in their existence, but their ability to connect to a broad base of support. While the United Nations Development program and the EuropeanCommission have been providing funding to political parties since the 1990, there are still calls to increase the support for capacity development activities including the development of party manifestos, party constitutions and campaigning skills.

These are the recent development of standards for good governance but Kautilya’s and Gandhi’s philosophical insight for good governance are the weapon to fight contemporary moral as well as management crisis in politics.

Kautilya firstly wanted trained and efficient ruler for good governance. That is why he mentioned some qualities of ruler and his emphasis on different qualities of ruler was very useful for contemporary rulers also and that is the only way to achieve good governance. According to Kautilya, the king should have the qualities of leadership, intellect, energetic, physical power, good decision maker and above all he should have good moral conduct. The very remarkable feature among king was the qualities of mother and this has a very broader meaning like mother who disregards her own likes and dislikes for her children. Similarly righteous king should also be citizen caring. Kautilya stated the ultimate requirements, ‘In the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness, in their welfare his welfare. He shall not consider as good only that pleases him but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases to his subjects (1.19). Kautilya set very high ethical standard for the king. He wrote, ‘A rajarishi (a king, whose like a sage) is one who; has self control, having conquered the (inimical temptations) of the senses, cultivates the intellect by association with elders, in ever active in promoting the security and welfare of the people and ears himself to his people by enriching them and doing good to them and avoids day dreaming, capriciousness, falsehood and extravagance(7). He recommended, ‘spies in the guise of ascetics shall be (directly) responsible to the chancellor for reporting as the honesty or dishonesty of farmers, cowherds, merchants, heads of department.’(2-35)

Arthashastra, thus, states that competent and qualified ministers along with highly virtuous and administratively qualified king can only provide good governance to the state. Kautilya visualize that beforeexpecting anything from Subject, it is necessary for the king to be a source of inspiration for people. He wrote, “ If the king is energetic, his subjects will be equally energetic, if he is slack and lazy in performing his duties his subjects will also be lax and, thereby, eat into his wealth. Besides, a lazy king will easily fall into the hands of his enemies. Hence, the king should himself always be energetic.” (1.19)   

Kautilya was very particular about ‘time management’ and disciplined life of a king.

Indian polity really is in the grip of sunset phase of governance. The qualities which Kautilya is mentioning for king is really lacking in contemporary rulers that’s why they are not able to give good governance whosoever political parties are in power their work culture is the same. There is great need to cultivate and produce Kautilya’s concept of ruler’s qualities for present rulers.

Kautilya’s concept of good governance based on the integrated approach of material and spiritual development of state as well as of the individual. It is the duty of the state to provide the ‘commongood’. Thus Kautilya’s concept of  yogakshema aims at higher moral consciousness and ensured freedom, happiness prosperity and full-fledged development of human personality. His concept of good governance believes in the principal of well being of poorest of the poor. Kautilya’s idea of a positive state, welfare state has reflection of macro as well as micro level of development for society. He wanted that king should create conditions of good life by numerous lists of works such as digging wells, canals, constructing dams, roods, rivers, plantation, preservation of forests, providing infrastructure for trade commerce and industry, providing security to the orphans, helpless, the aged women the afflicted supervision and superitendence to places of pilgrimages, reservoirs, cooperative enterprise, protecting people from any kind of molestation, oppression, forced labour and oppressed laxes.

Kautilya mentioned in his Arthashastra, fixed salaries and allowances to the king and public servants and his emphasis was on law and order, chief duty of king as well as fair judicial system. The case shall be decided on the basis of ethical principles. Carrying out preventive, punitive measures against corrupt officials, replacement of ministers by good ones by the king, evaluation of administrative qualities, as uniformity in administrative practices. He also gave emphasis on duty of king to protect wealth of the state and its subjects to enhance prosperity and well being of subjects.

Kautilya said that good governance and stability go hand in hand. According to him there is stability if rulers are responsible, accountable otherwise there would be instability.

At the end Kautilya emphasis for good governance is happiness and welfare of the people and that is only possible when king and his ministers merge their individuality with duty.

Thus Kautilya’s system of good governance is really not only guidelinesfor modern state but the sanjivni to rejuvenate the declining phase in modern work culture of ruler and governance. Kautilya’sArshashstra is not only a treatise written 2300 years ago or beauty for museum and library but the principles and qualities mentioned for king and good governance may prove very fruitful for socio-economic political of country’s prosperity and its citizen and able to sustaining itself in the modern competitive globalized world. Arthashastra should be made standard to be followed by all the political parties, by the rulers as well as its leaders.

Similarly Gandhi’s concept of good governance is another weapon for us to tackle the contemporary declining moral and value crisis in politics. Gandhi’s concept of good governance is based on the concept of ‘Ram Rajya’. Ram Rajya has two major classification. The first classification is moral and ethical conduct of state and its rulers. It means spiritual enlightenment of state as well as its rulers  vis-à-vis social, cultural political economic emancipation through spiritual power. The second clarification is welfare state providing moral political, social, economic, justice to its citizens.

Through his concept of sarvodaya and trusteeship is based on his the two constituent terms in Sarvodaya are sarva (all) and uday(rising). Sarvodaya would then be the rising of all. This rising has physical and material dimension but at its base it is spiritual enlightenment that brings about changes in the physical and material aspects. Although Gandhi translated sarvodaya as the welfare of all. Such welfare would be the result of enlightenment.

Gandhi evolved the concept of trusteeship in economics. Regarding the level of production, everybody has a right to produce unlimited wealth, but on the level of consumption one has a restricted rights. He is the owner of his wealth in a nominal sense but in reality a trustee of it. While he is consuming, he must relate his needs to his poor neighbours. All have a right to food, clothing and shelter. Where the minimum demands of people were not satisfied, Gandhi advised them to rebel peacefully against the rich. No non-violent society can be built where the gap between the poor and rich is very wide. This is because a non-violent social order has very little space for exploitation of man over man. Gandhi’s economic thought is based on distributive justice.

Gandhi’s concept of rural development is also one of greatest way to improve India’s economic growth. According to him village society was the soil of India.

Thus, Gandhi’s good governance may be able to change the cloudy political climate of India. Which is loaded with numerous scams, and underdevelopment both at socio-economic level.

Gandhi’s concept of good governance is basically ethical. Ethics in politics brings Gandhi into establishing a relationship between religion and politics. For Gandhi, religion means search for truth as well as to serve humanity. That is why Gandhi never separates religion from politics. For him politician must be a religious man. Religious man means the guiding principle of a politician is to serve state in a ethical manner, otherwise political power might be able to corrupt a politician and what contemporary Indian polity is in grip of corruption. Gandhi agrees with the view ‘that government in the best which govern the least.’

The modern exorcism of morality or spirituality from politics is the sale reason of deterioration ofqualities of governance in Indianpolity and Gandhi emphasis was on not separation but association of spirituality and morality with politics.

Gandhi believes in democratic decentralizations and democratic participation key for good governance. He critisized pyramid structure of society rather he believes in oceanic rule. In Gandhi’s political discourse, civil society plays a important role in political construction of society as well as checks and balances in political institutions.

Thus if we have to change the face of nation as well  as to its sinking governance, for this it is necessary to implement Kautilya’s and Gandhi’s concept of good governance. Both Gandhi and kautilya’s emphasis was on spiritual and  ethical enlightenment of ruler. That is the only way to bring holistic reform  in the work culture of governance. Kautilya’s concept of time management is boon in disguise for present competitive globalised world and Gandhi’s spiritualizationof  politics can bring the glory of Indian model of good governance, which has the foundation of strong spiritual strength. Thus harmony of materialistic development as well as spiritual development is the key to development of political economy as well as political culture of India and what Gandhi meant for true civilization good conduct is the strength of governance in India.

Gandhi’s Ram Rajya, Khudai Raj, or the kingdom of God on Earth. He explained its meaning as follows.

……politically translated it is perfect democracy in which inequalities based an possession and non possession colour, race or creed or sex vanish. In it, the land and state belong to the people, justice is prompt, perfect and cheap, and therefore, there is freedom of worship, speech and press-all this because of the reign of the self-imposed law of moral restraint.   

According to Gandhi’s besides its moral and political dimensions, Ram-Rajya has also an economic dimension, which means, “entire freedom from the British capitalists and capital, as also their Indian counterpart. In other words, the humblest must feel equal to the tallest. This can take place only by capital or the capitalists sharing their skill and capital with the lowliest and the liest.”    

References

1.     What is Good Governance UNESCAP 2009, Accessed July 10, 2009.

 

2.     Poluha, Eva; Rosendahl, Mona (2002). Contesting ‘good’ governance: cross cultural perspectives on representation and public space, Route ledge. ISBN 978-0-7007-14940.

 

3.     Rocha Menocal, A; (2011) Analyzing the relationship between democracy and development, Overseas Development Institute.

 

4.     Foresti and Wild; 2010. Support to political parties: a missing piece of the governance puzzle, London, Overseas Development Institute.

 

5.     Al-Rodhan, Nayef R.F. Sustainable history and the dignity of man: A philosophy  of history and civilisational triumph, LIT,2009.

 

6.     Agere, Sam (2000), Promoting good governance, Commonwealth Secretariat. ISBN 978-0-85092-629-3.

 

7.     World Bank Researchers; Analyzing Governance.

 

8.     Roy, Ramashray (ed); Contemporary crisis and Gandhi (Delhi 1986).

 

9.     Mukharjee, Parth N.; “Sarvodaya after Gandhi: Contradictions and change” in Roy R-OP-CH.

 

10.                        Parekh, Bhikhu;1980. Gandhi’s political philosophy: A critical examination, Houndmills

 

11.                        Iyer, R.N.; 1973, The moral and political thought of Mahatma Gandhi.

 

12.                        Gandhi, Mahatma; Hind swaraj.

 

13.                        Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi.

 

14.                        Pantham Thomas and Deutsch Kenneth; Political thought in modern India, Sage publications India Pvt. Ltd,1986, New Delhi. 

 

15.                        Kautilya, Vishnugupta [4^th century BCE] (1992). The Arthshastra, Edited, rearranged, translated and introduced by L.N.Rangarajan, New Delhi, Penguin books.

 

16.                         [4^th century BCE] (2000). The Kautilya Arthshastra, part II, An English translation with critical and explanatory notes, 2^nd edition, K.P.Kangle(ed.), Delhi, Motilal Banarasidas.

 

17.                        Drekmeir, Kingship and community in Early India, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1962

 

18.                        Shamasastry, R.; Kautilya’s Arthrashastra, Weslevan Mission Press, Mysore.

 

19.                        Ghosal, U. N; A History of Indian political ideas, Oxford University, Bombay, 1959,

 

20.                        Mehta, V.R., Foundations of Indian Political Thought, Manohar, New Delhi, 1992

 

21.                        Shankhdhar, M.M. Foreword, In Ritu kohli, Kautilya’s Political theory: Yogakshewa- The concept of welfare state, Deep and Deep, New Delhi.