India proves democracy is no longer fit for purpose, while China’s model shows the way

Deep K. Datta-Ray says democracy’s reliance on people’s ability to be rational is its fatal weakness. While malfeasance in politics, poverty and inequalities hold back progress in India, China is charging ahead in delivering economic growth, and freedom for its people

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Supporters use chairs to shelter from heavy rain during the swearing-in ceremony of H. D. Kumaraswamy as chief minister in the state of Karnataka, Bangalore, on May 23. Kumaraswamy will lead a coalition government of the opposition Congress party and Janata Dal (Secular), a regional ally. He replaces B. S. Yeddyurappa of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who was in office for less than three days. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:38pm, 29 May 2018Updated: 7:32pm, 29 May 2018

Disinformation scarred campaigning in elections in the Indian state of Karnataka, which culminated in an illegitimate minority government. Its unmaking by covert surveillance, money politics and an opportunistic alliance of sworn enemies is no consolation.

Such odious tactics are democracy’s leitmotif globally, as Brexit and Donald Trump’s election demonstrate. In combination, they suggest that democracy is not fit for purpose, especially in developing nations, particularly since there is a clear alternative: China’s political system.

Irredeemably flawed at inception, democracy’s most debilitating characteristic is its reliance on – often illiterate – people to analyse. This has been proved repeatedly, by electorates worldwide. India’s Narendra Modi stormed to victory in 2014 on the people’s disgust with several scams, but investigations now reveal that there were none! Disinformation continues to be harnessed, with people’s inability to rationalise.

Nearly 90 per cent of India’s population voted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into power regionally because they accepted its outlandish claims. Modi, for instance, asserts ancient Indians invented genetic surgery and that climate change is just people feeling colder.

B. S. Yediyurappa of the BJP walks out of the hall of the Legislative Assembly in Bangalore on May 19. He resigned as chief minister of Karnataka state that day, after admitting he did not have enough support to form a government, just before he was to face a vote of confidence in the state assembly. Photo: AFP

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