@gpit-
In the same post that i replied back to you way back,i made this statement which i will have to quote again-
Geromix said:
The first elected Communist government in the world was in Kerala,India in 1957-
In 1957 Kerala elected a communist government headed by EMS Namboothiripad, introduced the revolutionary Land Reform Ordinance.
The Land reform was implemented by the subsequent government, which had abolished tenancy, benefiting 1.5 million poor households.
In India people can elect Communists and Communism can fit into democracy,the point is that you don't need dictatorship to support your ideology!
And so democracy triumphs again.
(You must also see Eurocommunism,and explain to me with conclusive arguments why communism needs the crutch of dictatorship in China!)
Land reforms have been a thorny issue in India.
Its been successful only in pockets of the country.But a lot more needs to be done.
The landmark Forest Rights Bill seeks to recognise forest rights of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDSTs).
Again what is lacking is political will,and not the the problem of democracy.
The situation in certainly complex in China as well with land acquisition being a thorny issue with corrupt officials often involved.
Communism in China today is not what it truly is supposed to be.
"
What collective means in theory is rather woolly; in practice, much less so. It often refers to a bunch of party-approved village apparatchiks arrogating ownership rights for themselves. It is their stitching up of deals, pocketing of kickbacks and fleecing of farmers that provokes so many protests." -Economist
You will acknowledge the elements of capitalism in China,almost everybody agrees to the hybrid case of part communism and part capitalism.
Collective landownership is one of the last vestiges of communism in China,i don't expect it to last for too long.Land rights reforms are going and it will certainly change.
Demolishing of slums,Dharavi is being demolished.And it will be redeveloped.
Supreme Court order cheers Dharavi residents
Now the question that needs to be asked is,
Would a court in China defend people's rights,deliver a judgment against the Government?
(This is of course
the Independent judiciary argument)
In your hypothetical situation of Communist rule-
gpit said:
"Your boy star, little Mr. Ismail would never have to worry where to live. If the communist government would demolish his house for broader public benefits, his family would be informed and a compensation package would be negotiated with his parents. His parents might disagree with the package, because they would like to get more from the government. The government would invite the third party to the negotiation with right market value of the price of their dwelling place. If the parents would insist 1,000,000,000 dollar compensation for their 1,000 dollar worthy place and against a compensation of 2,000 dollar from the government, the government/court would give them 6-12 month to move out. Then a company would come and pull down their dwelling place. They would be angry and go to court to sue the government; they could also go to New Delhi to file a petition…The parents might as well call in their brothers/sisters/in-laws/uncles/aunts/friends in trying to stop the demolition. The company doing the demolition would call in police, and some of the parent’s relatives could be arrested. And your whole village could get angry and rise in riots, and more police/armed police would be called and handful leaders of the riots would be arrested…"
Hmm.. this does not have an end to it.
It is incomplete.
It is violent.
And cyclical too.
Would this violence had been reported by the press in your "hypothetical communist India"?
(The answer would be no,because there is no freedom of speech or of the press, this would have been an embarrassment for the government)
Method of resolving differences is better in a democracy.(This again explains why i would say democracy is a glue in a multi-lingual,multi-cultural,multi-religious society like that of India.
Now lets take a look at other aspects.
gpit said:
Since India is composed of many ethnics, the leaders in the central committee would be roughly proportional to the ratio and there would never be a fundamentalist. National advancement would be the sole goal of the leaders, not just their own moneybags
How many leaders would that be?
A population of 1.1 billion.
-The 1991 India census recognized "1576 rationalized mother tongues" which were further grouped into language categories.
-22 scheduled languages(more than 1 million speakers)
-Religions numerous.
-Cultures and traditions there are many.Each caste has its own traditions differing from region to region.
The task of building a central committee is impossible.
*India is not China, which is largely homogeneous in nature.*
Democracy however creates a complex and dynamic power sharing political structure,its roots are in the villages and goes all the way to the top,at the Center through the nature of competitive multi-party
politics.(Please check
Pluralist Theory of Democracy,Robert Dahl,polyarchy or simply pluralism)
gpit said:
Nobody would practice caste for fearing iron fists of the system.
One line to eliminate caste system.
I will quote again from one of my previous posts which was a reply to you-
Geromix said:
Caste system in India is undergoing radical changes in India,it is an old system in India,very old,believe me Communism would only have been partially successful in removing it or changing it.
Democracy however has given a voice to the oppressed sections like the Dalits,the problem is both political and economic!
Communism could only have dealt with the economic aspect of this oppression and would have provided only economic liberty.It would have removed the inequality by destroying the identity of the Dalits to make everyone equal.
However Dalits want to retain their identity and still achieve equality,for this democratic principles allow the identity to be retained and still give them political freedom and economic justice.
Its a matter of identity and keeping it.
So you see,the system cannot be abolished because it a reservoir of identities.
Each caste has its own traditions and micro-culture.
Caste system needs to be reformed and bring the various castes at par with each other.
Therefore you need to take a re-look at your statement,
practice of caste is really a practice of identity.
(This is a explanation for identity politics in India,castes when they exercise political rights gain political power,again only possible through democracy.)
It is caste discrimination that needs to be removed.
This is where democracy comes in to picture.
"
In a bowl of freshly tossed salad, all the ingredients are mixed together. Yet they never lose their shape, form or identity. ..."
That is what democracy does,
it retains identity and removes hierarchy.
All i can say is that this just shows your poor understanding of India.
Giving highly simplistic arguments.
Geromix said:
400 million + voters in India have chosen democracy.They have been doing so since India got independence.
If we Indians wanted dictatorship or Chinese style efficiency they would have chosen so by now.
But we haven't!
Again,it makes me think of the
futility of your posts.
We have already decided what we want but yet people like you....
Geromix said:
The best judgment on a particular system comes from the people of that country and not from outsiders like you.
-Geromix