Paradise Redefined

Those of us who are old enough to have (or have had) grandparents who lived under the British colonial administration are often surprised by the fond nostalgia with which the “Sahibs’ regime” is often remembered by them. Almost always these sighs of lament would be by way highlighting by contrast the difference between what was then seemingly a paragon of order and the lawless chaos of the present times, or “democracy” if you like. This obviously is a show of a lack of understanding of the deeper and more complex issues of “colonialism” and its ultimate intents, but still there is a vital lesson to be had from these common though innocent assessment of a form of administration known for its exploitative politics and economy. The question which should naturally occur to any sensitive administrator ought to be, what is it that the common citizenry expects of an administration, any administration for that matter, first and foremost. The answer should also be more than obvious – rule of law, and with it a tangible sense of order, governmental overseeing of public affairs and justice delivery mechanism etc. Whatever else the British administration was about, there can be little doubt it ensured these conditions amongst their subjects with quasi-military discipline, inducing in the process amongst the ordinary citizenry a sense of awe and admiration for the “Sahib’s government”.
Indeed, if there were to be a hierarchal scale of administrative needs in the pattern of Abraham Maslow’s scale of psychological human needs, rule of law probably would form the foundation. This would mean simply the assurance of good administration would do wonders in infusing a sense of confidence and security in the minds of the ordinary citizenry. Ensure a working public distribution system, ensure official accountability, ensure roads are made as per specification, ensure water supply system is in working order, ensure basic healthcare etc, and the goodwill of the kind the British “colonial” administration won would belong to our “democracy”. This debate somewhat resurfaced in recent times in the assessment of how and why even those who were opposed to the rabid anti-Muslim, anti-Christian brand of militant Hindutva campaign still voted for one of its loudest and most brutal proponents – Narendra Modi in Gujarat. The verdict of the pundits again was pretty unanimous – good basic governance. This sentiment is also echoed by Fareed Zakaria in his book “Future of Freedom” where he says a culture of liberal administration is much more fundamental than even democracy and that while liberalism naturally would lead to democracy, the reverse is hardly true. The example of Hong Kong, a British colony till 1997, and its smooth transition to democracy is apt.
Of course there is much more to good governance than merely rule of law, for good governance does have to be ultimately linked to the larger context of economic policies and politics of power. But as in Maslow’s scale, these would be higher up on the aspiration hierarchy. It also ultimately has to be assessed against a moral scale. This is where colonialism as an administrative instrument failed to qualify. Indeed if rule of law was the ultimate and sufficient need of good governance, a benevolent military dictatorship probably would have been the end of the search of an ideal form of government. The moot point however is, in the case of mal-administered places like Manipur, the failure begins at the very basic level of ensuring rule of law. This being the case, aspirations for more elevated ideals such as “liberal democracy”, have been rendered redundant. At best they exist as ritualistic forms sadly devoid of substance. The brighter side of the story is, rule of law being a very tangible objective unlike the higher ideals and aspirations of democratic freedoms, should be pretty achievable given the right degree of political and administrative will. Given the willingness, Manipur’s leaders should know where to begin making the necessary changes so that a sense of order returns to the state. At this moment, there can be no need for a second opinion what Manipur needs most desperately is a return of rule of law.