India and Poland The Democratic Experience An international seminar
25 and 26 November 2009 NMML Seminar room
Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, said, 'Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse'. India became a democratic republic in 1950 after achieving independence from the British in 1947. After holding its first national elections in 1952, it achieved the status of the world's largest liberal democracy with universal suffrage. While India dates its democratic journey to 1947, its roots can be lineaged to the freedom movement. Similarly in the case of Poland, while the victory of Solidarity ushered in democracy in 1989, one has to go back to the end of the Second World War to understand the complex nature of the manner in which the transition was achieved.
To understand the democratic experiences in India and Poland and their impact on politics, society and economy, the NMML and the embassy of the Republic of Poland organized a two-day international seminar on 25 and 26 November 2009. While Prof Mridula Mukherjee, director, NMML extended her warm welcome to all the guests, the inaugural address was delivered by H.E. Prof Piotr Kiodowski. 'Nehru Memorial Museum and Library is the most suitable place for a discussion on democracy', he said.
The inaugural session, on democracy and political transformation and chaired by eminent Indian historian Prof Satish Chandra, saw Prof Aditya Mukherjee, director, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Study, JNU, trace the historical and economic foundations of Indian democracy. Emphasizing on the open-endedness of the Indian national movement he said, 'Since all factions participated in the Indian national history, a consensus had to be arrived after achieving independence. This manifested itself in rapid planned industrialization, inward-based economy, pro-poor and welfare-oriented economy, and the idea that India would embark on a unique path of industrialization alongside democracy'. Shekhar Singh, convener of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information, India, and member of the Delhi State Council for the Right to Information, spoke about the role of non-state actors and popular movements, particularly the Right to Information movement, in the deepening of democracy. Explaining that the Right to Information movement helped common man to access information, prevent and expose corruption, curtail wasteful government expenditure and access justice, he said 'The movements are showing people they have the power which has been latent in them for a while'. Dr Andrej Ananicz, deputy director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs and director of the Diplomatic Academy in Warsaw, Poland outlined some of the challenges in the transition from communism to democracy in Poland. 'Unlike India, we are a small European country . The key issues were that of security and guarantee of sovereignty. It was a question of survival as an independent nation', he said.
In the next session, the objective of which was to explore democratic process and social change, Prof Dipankar Gupta, senior Fellow, NMML, talked about Social Stratification, Urbanization and Change, while discussing the land reform movement in the 1960s and 1970s which, according to him, completely transformed the basic nature of the Indian village communities. 'India witnessed a radical change in the agricultural scenario in the village communities since then. Today, even half of the village economy is not agricultural: most parents in the rural areas are pulling their children to urban areas for a good job and do not expect them to stay in the village to follow their ancestral professions' he said.
Drawing her experience from the MV Foundation, Prof Shantha Sinha, chairperson, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, talked about the importance and the role of education in the social transformation and democracy in India. 'Every child has a right to education and we have to work together for a compulsory education of each and every child up to 18 years ... For this the state must provide services to protect the rights of education of all children', she said.
Mr Krzysztof Bobinski, president, Unia & Polska, a pro-European think-tank in Warsaw, spoke about the nature of societal transformation and the impact of Solidarity movement. According to him, the key issue for Poland and its people after the World War was neither resistance nor collaboration. It was how to respond and adapt to the demands of a regime imposed by the Soviet Union which promised social change in return for loss of national sovereignty.
In another session aimed to explore linkages between democracy and economic development and chaired by Prof Aditya Mukherjee, Mr Prem Shankar Jha, journalist, author and columnist, outlined the various stages India went though in the making of a modern state. Speaking of one of the major challenges modern India faces today, he said, 'Non- recognition of the traditional right to land, especially in the central belt, has led to the rise of Maoism'. Prof B.B. Bhattacharya, Vice-Chancellor, JNU, while elaborating on the economic reforms since 1991 and their impact on Indian democracy also concluded by saying that certain parts of economic policies do not touch areas like those infested with naxalites which are very poor. Speaking of politics in India, he said, 'Politics has become a means of resource allocation. It has become the most lucrative business'. Prof Y.K. Alagh, chairman, Institute of Rural Management, dwelt on the long tradition of interaction between Polish and Indian economists. 'In the 1960s, we shared ideas on centralized policy and planning. Oskar Lange was well-known', he said. He also remarked that Poland was an interesting case of combining small peasants and agro enterprises; interestingly, taxing agriculture with presumptive methods which was recognizable in India. Prof Krzysztof Rybinski, renowned Polish economist threw light on the economic system of Poland. 'One of the biggest challenges in Poland is to shift people from agriculture to industry', he said. He analysed the successes and failures of the Polish economic system and emphasized on the lessons learnt so far, 'Strategic long-term vision and determination are important in many ways'.
The seminar concluded with the remark by H.E. Prof Piotr Kiodowski that India and Poland should now reflect on what kind of practical steps the two countries should take to strengthen our relationship. 'Both India and Poland are wonderful stories to be told', he said.
