Indian Democracy Speaks (An Old and Rare Book)

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The Constitution, no doubt, has granted universal adult franchise. But it becomes effective only when public awareness and a watchful public opinion precede it. Barring exceptions here and there, India generally lacks this ingredient which is so essential for building up a democratic tradition.
Caste, in fact, plays a very important role behind the facade of Parliamentary Government. Castes have become the 'strongest party' in India. Parties set up candidates and run elections generally on caste basis and ministership is distributed proportionately to the number of members belonging to each caste in the legislature.
The lack of public awareness has also given birth to the cult of "hero-worship". For full eighteen years, Pandit Nehru "ruled the country" and for another eleven years his daughter, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, took that place. In the parliamentary history of no other country do we see a parallel to this dependence of a party on individual leadership. This is dangerous to democracy.
The political mess at the centre after the resignation of Shri Morarji Desai's Government demonstrates that no principles are adhered to by the various political parties in their making or breaking alliances amongst themselves and that opportunism and selfish interest are their only guiding factors in utter disregard of integrity and discipline. .. Nor were these en masse defections and re-defections ever visualised by the constitution-makers.....
The shifting loyalties of our members of Parliament in such frequency and the brazen politicking for political loaves make democracy a mockery and people who elected them hapless spectators.

In 1975, I delivered under the auspices of the Mysore University four special lectures on different aspects of democracy Democracy as a political arrangement". "Democracy as a social and economic technique", "Democracy as an International approach", and "Democracy as a way of life".
I delivered these special lectures not from an expert's view- point for the use of judges and jurors, professors and advanced students of constitutional law, but from a lay man's standpoint so as to give a broad and general outline of the subject for the information of the ordinary masses-the voters, who are at the base of Indian Politics.
My primary purpose has been to write a reasonably short book realistically portraying the working of Indian democracy during the last quarter of a century and more since independence. Where I fall short of this objective, the failure can be attributed to the shortcomings of the author.
Indeed the motivation to deliver the special lectures came from the conviction that India had achieved much during the short span of twenty five years in the face of severe odds and that people must be made to know the achievements and short- comings of our performance.
As the subject is of importance to the public, I am asked to give it in writing for publication. Accordingly, I have written it in the form of a book and given the title as "Indian Democracy Speaks".
Though I gave the manuscript for publication in December 1975, it could not be published for some reason or other. The University decided to publish it only in November 1978.
Many important events had taken place in India since 1975 when I delivered the lectures. Emergency was imposed for nineteen months. The Congress, which ruled the country for thirty years, was routed at the 1977 elections and the newly formed Janata Party came to power at the Centre and in most of the North Indian States. Naturally, I had to include all such changes in the book including a chapter on the Emergency. This involved some time.