The Rural Voice, 2004-07, Page 12HURON 44
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8 THE RURAL VOICE
Jeffrey Carter
The democratic process
Jeffrey
Carter is a
freelance
journalist
based in
Dresden.
Ontario.
"(Democracy) does not begin with
elections. It begins with everyday
matters. The prices that crops sell at
need to be fixed by local farming
communities, nor by the Chicago
commodity exchange."
– Dr. Vandana Shiva, 2003
Canada, as a country, will have just
undergone its latest fling with the
democratic process, or soon will, by
the time you read this. Your concerns,
however, will rest with the perform-
ance of the new government. until the
next time our ballots are cast.
Canadians. as they ponder the
coming months, might consider tie
example of India. The national
election in that largest of the planet's
democracies was held in May.
The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP) was expected to win. Its
election slogan — "India Shining" —
spoke of the rapid expansion of
India's economy, as measured by
those deriving benefit from it.
Unfortunately, for the BJP at least,
the strategy backfired. Economic
growth in recent years may have
improved the lives of India's elite,
perhaps 10 per cent of the population,
but it's done little for the rest. The
Congress Party. lead by Sonia
Ghandi, was returned to power.
The story doesn't end in the
victory, though. On her way to the
Prime Minister's office, Ghandi's
"inner voice" whispered. It told her
not to take the post. Ghandi will
remain an influential part of India's
new government but a former finance
minister was named prime minister.
Manmoham Singh, educated as an
economist and administrator, is an
advocate of globalization with a
"human face." As a Sikh, he is the
first member of an Indian minority to
become prime minister. He believes
that state -operated companies in his
country should be modernized rather
than sold to private interests.
According to some analysts, Singh
carries the least political baggage of
any elected politician currently
serving in India. He wasn't looking
for the top job. It fell into his lap.
Canadian politicians should sit up
and take notice. Wouldn't it be a
shocker if Paul Martin were to lead
his party to victory, only to fob off
the PM's job to an underling or, gasp,
the leader of the New Democratic
Party? What if Stephen Harper were
to receive the electoral nod only to
resurrect Mr. Clark and say, "Hey
Joe, here are the keys to 24 Sussex
Drive."
Elections should not be about the
securement of power. As Vandana
Shiva indicates in her quotation, true
democracy lies with meeting
everyday needs.
India's citizens know this well.
Water, for instance, isn't taken for
granted in that country. In fact, it's
become a scarce resource. In 1951,
there were nearly 3,500 cubic metres
of water per person per year in India.
There's less than half of that
available today.
The growing population accounts
for some of the change. The resource
has also been commercialized in
some Indian jurisdictions, with
negative repercussions.
One of these situations arose in
Kerala, India. After the state
government transferred groundwater
rights to Coca-Cola for a bottling
plant in the village of Plachimada,
260 nearby wells dried up and the
international beverage manufacturer
also hegan polluting what little
groundwater was left, according to an
article published on Dr. Shiva's
website. Women from the village,
who had to travel for miles to carry
home clean drinking water, protested
the situation for more than two years.
A court order has been issued to close
the plant this month.
There's a lesson in this, not for
politicians, but for the people who
elect them. A democracy is only alive
and well when they take an active
interest in it — beyond the day their
votes are cast.0