The question of Democracy
Plato in the Republic says that a good constitution is only possible when the ruler does not want to rule; where men contend for power, where they have not learnt to distinguish between the art of getting hold of the helm of state and the art of steering, which alone is statesmanship, true politics is impossible. The minute I read these lines, two images appeared in my mind – Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Notwithstanding the countless failures that people attribute to Nehru during his tenure as prime minister of India, I believe he had a vision to “steer India”. Indira Gandhi, on the other hand, apparently strove for “holding the helm of affairs” – both in the Congress party and India. Nehru then according to Plato would be a statesman – Agreed. But then what can be said of Indira Gandhi? Deductively she was not a true politician. But was she bad because she understood concept of democracy well, but not “managed” democracy? I have always been intrigued by this word – dem...