CAN INDIA AFFORD TO HAVE A REFERENDUM?
By Ruma Dubey
Referendum is probably the most used word this week. In fact we have been seeing a lot of referendums off late – first was the referendum for Independent Scotland, then there was the referendum in Switzerland and now of course, the Brexit referendum. Prior to all, the Greek held the world to ransom with its referendum – Tsipras had rejected the terms of the creditors and called a referendum on the bailout and the bailout won.
This has led to many in India ask the question, “Can we have a referendum in India?”
The answer is a straight “NO”.
When India was just about finding the wind under its wings after freedom, in 1975, Sikkim held a referendum on abolishing monarchy, which went on to get a thumping 97.55% vote; this is what led to the formation of statehood for Sikkim.
Much before Sikkim, in 1967, Goa had held an Opinion Poll, which was actually a referendum – people were asked to choose whether they would like to continue being a Union Territory or merge with Maharashtra as a state. People voted for it to remain a Union Territory, which it did till 1987 after which it became an independent state.
That’s it. After that there was never any such opinion poll or referendum held in India. Our Indian constitution is also very clear– India's constitution does not provide for an issue-based referendum. Elections to legislative bodies and a few executive posts are the only form of mass public opinion exercise sanctioned by the Constitution of India. Thus in that aspect, referendums are unconstitutional in India.
Secondly, if we decide to follow the “referendum” route on all vexing issues in India, there will be complete chaos. We Indians are too immature when compared to UK or Switzerland. There, after the Scotland referendum, people went on with their life; there was no violence or dirty political mud flinging. The decision of people was accepted by the political parties and that’s that. Ditto for Brexit. But can we ever imagine such maturity in India? If we give into AAP’s request of a referendum for statehood to Delhi, be assured so many more, at least 2o on the last count, will raise their head with a similar request and we could become a country where one referendum or the other is always on.
Actually, even the so-called “developed” world is showing signs of uncivil behavior. The world media has been reporting stories of hate crimes after the Brexit. The National Police Chiefs Council, at the beginning of this week, reported that there had been a 57% jump in hate crime reports to its online reporting site since Friday (the day Brexit happened), compared with the same time frame a month ago.
And post the Brexit, there is growing fear that Scotland might break away from UK and continue to be a part of EU. UK is in complete chaos. This, we are seeing from a place which is supposedly more mature. Can you even imagine what could happen in India? We riot for the simplest of reasons; something like a Brexit decision could rip our country apart.
Yes, we wanted a referendum so badly for making decisions like whether or not CBI should be an independent body from the Govt of India, whether we wanted the Lokpal or not, whether the people of Kundankulam wanted the nuclear reactor there or on the issue of reservation policy for promotions or in private education institutions. We have endless issues and these issues cannot be solved through a referendum; they are too complex for that. A mere “Yes” or a “No” is simplifying very complex issues – Britain is facing the complex issues precisely because of this over simplification.
Also in India, the population is simply humungous. Thus conducting votes or referendums for issue based decisions is just not feasible. A referendum is like holding a general election so the cost would simply kill.
A more important question – we have elected the leaders to help us make these very decisions. That was done through an election process so why repetition of the same process in a referendum? What is the use of this power structure when ministers cannot do what we want them to do for which we again need a referendum? A more pertinent question – if we could not elect a right leader who can do good for us, how can we trust a referendum vote on complex issues?
Countries like Switzerland are very mature, their public administration works and more significantly, they do not have leaders whose only concern is holding onto power – by hook or crook. We are simply not mature enough to handle and comprehend the implications of a referendum.