Kelvin
Democratization or development usually works together in explaining the progress of a country, with the existence of these elements it becomes easier to confirm whether there is development in a particular country and also a better understanding in its democracy they are the same.. In explaining how democratization or development has an impact in countries, it is necessary for us to have a clear understanding on how the country functions and how the countries state may improve or worsen depending on the democratization or development that is being implemented by a particular country. This discussion requires a good understanding of Democratization or Development so as to dig deeper in understanding some of the countries that have been good examples of pros and cons of a nation that has developed and achieved democracy as compared to others that have not managed to attain success (Tilly29).
Democracy in simple terms can be explained as stated. This is the ability of a country to give the people sovereign powers in terms of affairs of the nation, for instance people having a voice in determining issues affecting their country and also participating in democratic processes of electing their leader. Democratization is the process in which there is evolving of the country to a more democratic regime, with inclusivity of politics. Democracy may happen in different ways for instance transformation from a regime that is authoritative to a regime that operate under full democracy. The outcome of this democracy just as it was in the case of the United Kingdom may be consolidated, however there can also be reversals in cases such as Venezuela. Different patterns in matters regarding democracy determine where the country is heading to. The country may be heading towards war or maybe economic growth.
However when it comes to development, this is the way in which countries work hard in ensuring that they are at the top of economic performance, this is in terms of how the country can sustain itself, equality among member states and also the living standards. Many countries in our universe today strive at ensuring that their country citizens lead a life which they can regard it as fulfilling to their lives, and has more opportunity on improving their lives. The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) in its annual report, they gave a definition for human development as stated, “the expansion of people’s freedoms and capabilities to lead lives that they value and have reason to value. It is about expanding choices. Freedoms and capabilities are a more expansive notion than basic needs.” This definition is not only meant to be understood in terms of happiness and well-being, but also in consideration of other factors that matter (Sharma18).
In this discussion, we will focus on how democratization or development between India and Pakistan has resulted to a certain outcome. These two countries as case studies can be classified as good examples in getting to understand democratization or development, the possible outcomes whether it is good or bad in terms of the countries progress. In explaining the democratization process of the two countries, it will be imperative that we deal with democratization between India and Pakistan and the progress so far. I will also explain on why some countries tend to be successful in this process while at other times it is not successful. At the end of the paper it will be easy to understand India and Pakistan’s development and also demonstration on how democracy might be prevented or achieved in the process.
Democratization/Development between India and Pakistan
History of India and Pakistan
India and Pakistan are two countries that are known to have started at the same period which was “August 14-15, 1947” The countries attained their independence from the British rule, as a result of their independence they got the opportunity of adopting to a country which already had architectural designs from the British civil service, a railroad that was still functioning which improved greatly their transportation infrastructure and also a local government which had an already established system. As a result of their struggle for independence from British rule, it resulted to the rise of charismatic leaders among them, this leaders enjoyed massive public support due to the strong accreditation they had in their respective constituencies. The leaders of India and Pakistan respectively were “Jawaharlal Nehru and Ali Jinnah” (Chakma15).
India and Pakistan can be said to be countries that are more the same especially when it comes to relating them genetically. India is related to Hinduism while Pakistan was for of Islam, India is comprised of fifteen regions while Pakistan was made up of provinces such as Punjab, Baluchistan, Bangladesh, Northwest frontier and Sindh provinces, this regions experienced very low literacy rates at fifteen percent and also had a big religions being followed, the majority religion being followed was Hinduism and Islam. After their independence the two countries had never experienced anything related to democracy and also the countries were not privileged to owning any resources. India and Pakistan however, at the time of their independence they had a wide geographical landscape in regards to mountains, fertile lands and also deserts. The two countries were capable of creating their own constitutions and they also decided to adopt a parliamentary system that is British based just like their colonizers (Oldenburg33).
It has however been an issue when it comes to how the two countries related, this was due to the past events in history and also politically. India and Pakistan have had unstable relations since the partition of British India in the year 1947 as the dividing of British India was violent in its process. When the two countries had attained their independence, diplomatic relation had been established; however battle over territories overshadowed their relationship. There were numerous conflicts in terms of military and also the Kashmir conflict among other conflicts which led to suspicion and hostility between the two countries. The Kashmir conflict was said to be the initiator of all the conflicts that came to pass with only the “Indo-Pakistan War” and “Bangladesh Liberation war” as exceptions.
Functioning Democracy or Development between India and Pakistan
When it comes to contrasting the two countries, India and Pakistan, in terms of democracy or development, the difference is big, the two countries acquired their independence the same time. Within the sixty years or so since independence, India has been able to make gradual improvements since it gained independence hence it boasts of a robust democracy, with an ever growing economy, however its neighbor Pakistan is on the process of being declared a failed state, this is because its economy faces a lot of difficulties, the country requires foreign aid in order to maintain itself as an independent state in its quest for survival.
However when trying to understand what really transpired between the countries in terms of its development, we look at the instances that led to the distinction between the two countries India and Pakistan, this is as discussed below:-
India since its independence in 1947, it has managed to conduct its general elections sixteen times which were on a five year term. The governments that have been put in place in India have managed to provide leadership in their complete five year term with the exception of only four terms that ended earlier. This has however not been the same situation when it comes to democratic functioning in Pakistan. Its democratic leadership has been interrupted from time to time, the disruptions have taken place in the year “1947-1969, 1979-1988” and lastly from “1999-2007”. Pakistan has experienced military form of dictatorship for a period of about thirty nine years, which is half of its sixty eight years of existence. Pakistan had their first election that was democratic in the year 1970, which led to the country being ruled by elected governments. The government ruled from the periods of “1970 to 1979, 1988 to 1999 “and “2007 to 2015”.India was successful in implementing democracy as compared to Pakistan which faced a lot of hiccups during its reign and desire to be democratic like its neighbors.
However India has been known to offer equality which also handles the manner in which the minorities in India are treated, it does not discriminate anyone in relation to his/her own affiliations to religion. India has ensured that there are no divisions as every citizen in India has been provided with equal opportunity. Non-Muslims and also Christian minorities have been put in consideration despite of India being recognized as a Hindu nation. No Indian citizen goes through discrimination because of his background be it Christian or Muslim
It is however not the case in Pakistan, it has maintained itself as an Islamic state, this has resulted to poor equality standards in Pakistan. The Pakistan government has also failed in ensuring equality in its representations; it has even gone to the extent of denying the Hindus occupation of certain elective positions in their government. These two experiences between the neighboring countries have been of advantage towards the Indians as the minority population continues to grow annually, however the Pakistan minority population has continued decreasing.
The two countries India and Pakistan have the rule of law which plays a part in governing of the countries. The countries have a set of laws that have been created by the Parliament legislators who represent the people in the house. The issue with the set of rules established in both countries is that it implementation has been done poorly, for instance the police force in both countries have turned out to be corrupt while carrying out their duties. The police force has displayed dishonesty in its operations, this can however be blamed to the excessive work done in the police force without much motivation to the officers (Hiro20).
As much as India and Pakistan face the same problem when it comes to upholding the rule of law, the Indian public has been more vibrant in dealing with the situation. Pakistan has however been close to impossible in trying to deal with the respect of the law this is due to the fact that ordinary Pakistan citizens have been used to a more dictatorial regime rather than a government which is democratic. It is therefore a difficult task in ensuring that Pakistan recognizes the importance of rule of law in a state that has undergone dictatorial regime; however it is not impossible for them to change just like India which its citizens demonstrate their sovereign power which is in the people.
The literacy problem in India and Pakistan has been a problem that has faced hardships in trying to solve the issue. Education is an important tool in promoting development among states such as India and Pakistan, In order for democracy to be achieved; the voter involved should be at liberty of making decisions that are based on his own preferred choice. Providing of education to the voters will enable the participants to understand information regarding the parties, its policies and also the candidate that is contesting. Educated voters will be able to exercise their rights and also be informed of the rights they have been denied. In the case of India, eighty five percent of the population of voters in India is based in the rural areas; hence they have poor voter education due to their low literacy levels, they also face the problem of poor access to information as they have minimal access to radio and television devices. In comparison to Pakistan the situation is much worse as the level of illiteracy is high and also its democracy has been challenged from time to time.
However when it comes to political class in both countries, domination has been prevalent among individuals or families. The families or individual have been able to cling on power for generations as they are dominant in their constituencies. Since the dominant members have a vast amount of wealth, they are well financially endowed and also own properties in the country hence denying a chance to the new faces that aspire to become leaders. The political classes that have been established in the two countries are also privileged to enjoy support from local gangs that dominate the area. Intimidation is also common during the elections which end up influencing the victory of a certain leader (Shah 15).
There is however hope for change in India, this is due to what was witnessed in its last elections. The voters who participated in India managed to remove parties that promoted traditional leadership which had dominated in India; they however opted to choose an individual who had radical ideologies. However the situation in Pakistan is constant as there has been no progress and also continues to worsen as Pakistan faces the slow but gradual rise of religious militancy and parties.
Independent judiciary is necessary in developing and strengthening the democracy of a country. The judiciary should play its role in ensuring that the courts are involved in making decisions without any fear and also in handling controversial and less popular decisions in judgements. These challenging decisions are made in the interest of the society. Justice has not been fully provided in India; this is because people have not had the opportunity to have their cases heard hence they remain languishing in jails. There is also intimidation by the offenders of the crime hence resulting in cases being dropped due to lack of evidence. In Pakistan the situation is still the same just like India; however it is still much worse as they are also experiencing militant groups that are influential.
Freedom of the media should be respected; India and Pakistan have been able to provide its citizens the opportunity to enjoy their freedom of the media, they have also been allowed to express their views towards the government, however India enjoys more freedom as compared to Pakistan’s. Since Pakistan has been experiencing threats from Jihad and also the military, many journalists have opted to go to countries in the west where they carry out their publishing.
In concluding this section we get to notice that India has been able to deal with its problems hence overcoming most of the challenges. However when it comes to Pakistan the situation is seriously compromised, this is because of its Islamic background and determination to preserve the Arab culture.
Impact of democracy or development in countries (India and Pakistan)
In understanding democracy it is necessary to know that in a democratic state, the ultimate power belongs to the people while also in dictatorial regime the leader has control of all the power. Countries that promote democracy for instance India have been able to implement the majority rule which involves the people being the center of power hence the rights of the people are considered, people are allowed to practice voting so as to select their leader, the leaders can be changed from time to time depending on the opinion of the people. Countries that are democratic ensure that the people are satisfied with the leadership being provided; the media and journalist are always at standby to expose the evils being committed. However in order for democracy to be implemented fully, the people should also be responsible in their actions.
It is also important to notice that as much as democracy is put into effect, it may also result to its own downfall if its implementation is not fully supported by its stakeholders. Countries such as Pakistan have struggled to maintain its democratic nature, however the process has become flawed as the country has ended up being a bad example of a democratic state. Disadvantages in Democracy may result in malpractices in election process; public funds may also be squandered just like in the case of both India and Pakistan, the minority groups are not contented with the positions they hold in the countries, politicians will do anything to ensure that the political parties are advantaged hence their intentions are not to benefit the society but to only benefit themselves (State of Democracy in South Asia 8).
In a dictatorship government the people are not allowed to exercise their rights and freedom, the government controls everything that happens to the citizens of that state, this includes also the media being threatened and manipulated. In the above section we have been able to identify Pakistan as a state that faces the challenge of dictatorial regimes; it has not been able to experience a good form of government. With the outcome of Pakistan being a state that is dictated by its leaders, Pakistan has deteriorated in terms of its economic status and also other factors that have been affected as a result of its leadership. However India has managed to overcome the challenges it faced hence democracy has been practiced widely among the Indian regions, therefore India has been able to make advancements in regards to its democratization or development.
Conclusion
In comparison of India and Pakistan, both the two countries got their independence simultaneously, however it happened that after independence one of the countries managed implement democracy fully while the other one is still in a battle with its democracy (Kukreja 21). India managed to develop in almost all fields this was due to their constitution that remained intact, as the Pakistan government had defects in its constitution. However the Indian democracy was not a smooth sail as it had its own difficulties also in the failures experienced by Pakistan there was also its important task they managed to achieve even though it was not fully attained.
In looking at my study countries India and Pakistan, I get to notice that the economy of India is the complete opposite of Pakistan. However with this discussion, the two countries have been able to provide a good platform to understand democratization or development.
References
Kukreja, Veena, and Mahendra P. Singh. Democracy, Development, and Discontent in South Asia. New Delhi: SAGE India, 2008. Internet resource.
State of Democracy in South Asia: A Report. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Shah, Aqil. The Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan. , 2014. Internet resource.
Hiro, Dilip. Longest August, the: The Unflinching Rivalry between India and Pakistan. New York: Avalon Publishing Group, 2015. Print.
Oldenburg, Philip. India, Pakistan, and Democracy: Solving the Puzzle of Divergent Paths. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon [England: Routledge, 2010. Print.
Chakma, Bhumitra. South Asia in Transition: Democracy, Political Economy and Security. , 2014. Internet resource. Lansford, Tom. Democracy. Detroit, Mich: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Internet resource.
Sharma, Mukul. Human Rights in a Globalised World: An Indian Diary. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2010. Print.
Tilly, Charles. Democracy. Cambrigde [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2008. Print.
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