QUEST FOR PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: Towards Understanding the Approach of Gandhi and Jayaprakash Narayan

Democracy was presented as an ideal form of government where freedom and justice are institutionalized through constructive interdependence. But there is also increasing disenchantment with the systems of representation and forms of government in the context of the democratizing societies due to a number of systemic flaws in them.

High cost of elections, opportunism of the power elite, corruption at high places, factionalism and hierarchy in the political parties, majoritarianism, benign neglect of collective actions and social movements, beaureaucratization of social life, alienation of marginal groups, women and the minorities, and declining significance of citizens in the affairs of the state are some of the criticized aspects of representative democracy around the world. The imperatives of ethical politics have remained unexplored. The need of humane governance remains unfulfilled. There is ignoring of the call of citizen-centric polity. Therefore, a number of mobilizations have taken place in quest of participatory democracy in different parts of the world since 1960s.

The idea of participatory democracy was central to Gandhiji’s political thinking and practice. Later leaders like M.N. Roy, Jayaprakash Narayan and Rammanohar Lohia also advocated it at different forums. This collection of papers is aimed at promoting dialogue about dynamics of democratization. It is an effort to focus on the growing concern about the limits of representative democracy as manifested at several sites of democracy building around the world. It is also an engagement with the process of exploring major challenges in the quest of participatory democracy.

Anand Kumar is Professor of Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been educated at Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and University of Chicago. He has been blessed with the opportunity of working under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan from 1974 to 1979. For the three decades of his academic career since 1979, he has been engaged in several academic projects including Building Global Democracy Convening Group and the Global Studies Programme. He continues to contribute towards various socio-political causes through J.P. Foundation, Lokshakti Abhiyan, Centre for Social Research and Centre for Applied Sociology. He has also been a visiting scholar at Albert Ludwig Universitat (Freiburg), Johannes Keppler University (Linz), M.S.H (Paris) and Kashmir University (Srinagar).

Manish Tiwari is a PhD in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research focuses on water and society, poverty, political and environment sociology and media’s role and effect in democratic societies. He has taught sociology and journalism at the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi University and at a government college in Rajasthan. He is associated with the Jayaprakash Foundation.