Kumar ContestingModernityCrises 2008

Contesting Modernity: Crises of Democratisation in South Asia
Author(s): Sanjeev Kumar

Source: India Quarterly , October-December 2008, Vol. 64, No. 4 (October-December
2008), pp. 124-155
Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd.
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Contesting Modernity: Crises of
Démocratisation in South Asia
Sanjeev Kumar H.M. *
Despite, the frenetic pace of modernization represented by

corporate globalisation, liberal democracy, considered to be
an epitome of modernity, seems to have not yet succeeded
in establishing itself as an unchallenged global phenomenon.
Forces anti-theatrical to democratic values such as ethno-
cultural chauvinism or linguistic fanaticism, have fiercely

contested democratic processes and "even the third wave of
démocratisation merely has had a greater breadth than
depth." [Diamond 1997] In semi-modern societies, liberal
democracy has manifested in heterodox forms, "outside the
wealthy industrialized countries, liberal democracy tend to
be shallow, illiberal and poorly institutionalized." [Zakaria
1997] South Asia represents one such region, where in despite
the advent of globalisation, rampant déstabilisation of the
democratic mechanism in its polities still persists.
* Lecturer, Department of P. G. Studies and Research in Political

Science, Allahabad University, Allahabad.
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Contesting Modernity: Crises of Démocratisation in South Asia
This is because the region is characterised by the existence

of anti-modernist forces such as Islamic extremism or the
caste based Hindu social order, which have contributed
significantly in engendering a semi-modern form of society
in the region. This naturally has encumbered the smooth
démocratisation of the region and the resultant tumult has
generated intense intra-regional tensions. It is the contention
of this paper that for the maturity of democratic institutions
in South Asia, over all modernization of the societies of the
region is crucial. It means that the level of modernization
will playa decisive role, in determining the extent of success
of democratic governance. In a Sense, démocratisation
process is linked-up to the modernization process and only
an inter-locking balance between the two, will lead to a stable
polity and a liberal society. So the basic argument here is
that democratic déstabilisation in South Asia, is an offshoot
of what I have called the half-baked modernity syndrome;
meaning that the process of modernization has not reached
a fruition point. As compared to the West, South Asia is
neonate in terms of its experience with democracy.
Nevertheless, more than six decades of experiment with
democratic institutions seem to have not been enough for
the polities of the region to transform into mature and stable
democracies.
Here we are drawn into asking a fundamental epistemic

question that whether liberal democracy is only compatible
to developed capitalist polities of the West and not suitable
for the developing societies? The capricious state of
democracy in South Asia compels us to raise this question,
"that too at a moment when few political leaders even in
authoritarian regimes are willing to argue aloud against
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Sanjeev Kumar
democracy since its virtues are now almost universally

accepted." [O-Loughlin 2007] This beholds our attention to
the passionate views of Francis Fukuyama who famously
declared that "End of history had been reached, because
liberal democracy constitutes the end point of mankind's
ideological motivation and is the final form of human
Government." [Fukuyama 1992] In a similar expression,
David Held articulates thus: "democracy had scored a
historic victory over alternative forms of governance." [Held
1993]
However, ridiculing the ideas of these Western liberals, South

Asia presents an utterly contrasting picture. The region's tryst
with democracy has been a wretched tale of unhappy
political experience and the countries of this region have
constantly grappled to either establish and sustain, or restore
democratic institutions. In spite of globalisation of their
national economies and neo-liberal reforms, a relentless
consternation of subversion has beleaguered their democratic
socio-political order. Representative of this fact,
incompetence of the democratically elected political class iti
Pakistan and Bangladesh has several times rendered
opportunities to the anti-democratic and extremist forces,
to capture political power. Or in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal,
weakness of the democratic State has led to the emergence
or intensification of anti-regime activities.
Rise of Democracy in South Asia, How Distinct

From That of the Western Democracies
When we look out for the principle elements that sire a

faultline between the thriving democratic polities of the West
and the quivering democracies of South Asia, The level of
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modernity of the two regions gets highlighted. "While in

the case of modern Western societies, democracy emerged
simultaneously and matured together in a temporary parallel
development of other modern processes that included, rise
of industrial capitalism, urbanization, rationalization and
secularization. The concatenation of these forces configure
together to form a modern society. "[Kaviraj 2000]
Paradoxical to this, in South Asia, the polities

anachronistically attempted to emulate the Western model
of democratic political process, by superficially imposing the
Western style of democratic institutions without graduating
through other modern processes. This seems to be one crucial
factor that has rendered the démocratisation process into
shambles. In a way, South Asia adopted the Western model
of democratic governance, with their societies still possessing
semi-feudal, semi-urban and semi-industrial characters.
Yet another significant thing to be noted is the region's socio-

cultural idiosyncrasy which also lingers as a major incompatibility
to Western model of democratic governance. "This points to the
necessity of analysing the situation of democratic Governments
from the perspective of cultural differences of various
regions." [lnglehart and Carballo 1997] "Thus in view of this, focus
on national differences has also been recognized." [Schwartzman
1998] Putting things in this perspective, it maybe argued that the
démocratisation processes of the West and of South Asia exhibits
asymmetric trends. Where as in the West, democratic State was
a product of multiple modern processes and got ensconced in a
ripe modern society. In sharp contrast to this, in South Asia
democratic State has been the antecedent of a modem
society.
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Sanjeev Kumar
While the Democratic polities of the West have flourished

because of the existence of fully baked modern societies in
different countries of the region. Diametric to this, the State
in South Asia emerged as the harbinger of modernity and
was supposed to be the sole engine of social transformation
and catalyst of various modern processes. This pushed the
region into the theatrics of a conflict, between the modern
liberal State with its reformative agenda and the deep-rooted
and archaic socio-cultural structures with their hegemonic
tendencies.
It generated immense social tensions and political friction,

leading us to the notion that "democracy cannot be
simulated, rather it must be grown from within."(Carothers
1999] Apart from this, the socio-economic under-
development of the region helped the dominant actors in
the society to maneuver their way to the pinnacle of political
power. "Thus a democratic State proved to be more
advantageous for the powerful actors in the society, who
nurtured motives for a quixotic perpetuation of their
hegemony." [Huntington 1992] This rendered the democratic
State to become an instrument for the maintainence of social
hegemony by the powerful groups, resulting in subaltern

discontent that fountained anti-regime sentiments, leading
to frequent political destabilisations.
Why Modernisation Process in South Asia

is Dissimilar to That of the West
Yet another factor that needs to be reckoned with is that when
we speak of modernity, it would be parochial to visualize

the phenomenon purely from the Western perspective. To
be precise, South Asia cannot modernize in the same fashion
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as that of the West. The simple reason being socio-cultural

idiosyncrasy and different histories of the two regions. Thus
some lines of differentiation has to be delineated. In this
connection, Sudipta Kaviraj indicates that "The more

modernity expands and spreads to different parts of the
world it becomes more differentiated and plural" [Kaviraj
2000]
A fitting illustration of this symptom is the foundations of

social hierarchy in both the societies. As regards the West,
the social stratification is primarily based upon income,
where as in South Asian countries like India and Nepal, the
dogmatic orthodoxy of religion manifested in the caste
system, determines the social hierarchy. Similarly, as far as
the histories of the two regions are concerned, it may be noted
that in the West, the notion of a modem Nation-state emerged
in the era of renaissance and has been a product of religious
reforms and secularization of politics. In the case of South
Asia, the birth of the modern Nation-State was rather
influenced by the anti-colonial movement. Hence the process
of modernization in South Asia must be disengaged from its
encasement into the Western paradigm. To put it in the words
of Dipesh Chakravarti "Europe can be provincialised only if
we recognise that although its origins were certainly
European, modernity's expansion makes it increasingly leave
behind and forget its origins." [Chakravarti 2002]
"So alternative paradigms of modernity for different regions

becomes an imperative." [Gaonkar 2001] Take for instance
the contention of S.N. Eisenstadt that "if we think closely
and seriously about American history we are forced to
recognise the first case of emendation in the direction of a
theory of multiple modernities. There were sufficiently
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Sanjeev Kumar
strong peculiarities in American history , colonialism, the

presence of three different races and the resultant use of
endemic violence against racially subordinated communities
which made American modernity sufficiently different from
the standard European cases and to call for a serious attempt
in theoretical différenciation." [Eisenstadt 2000]
In this context, South Asia also exhibits uniqueness as a

region and it demands a recognition in accordance to its
peculiar attributes. Its multi ethnic character, a long
subjection to colonial rule, the religio-civilisational over-
lappings among the polities and the archaic nature of the
cultures of different communities of the region, all beg a
larger consideration and indicate towards the need for
developing a South Asian conception of modernity.
Crises of Démocratisation in South Asia
Inability to achieve a fully baked modern society has been

an instrumental force in retarding the process of
démocratisation in South Asia. It has made the process more
excrutiating and also prolonged the solution of numerous
other problems of the region. The crises of democratization
in South Asia manifests in the failure of democratic system
of governance in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the
authoritative anti-democratic and extremist character of the
polity in Maldives, the heightening ethnic divide in Sri Lanka

and the "the existence of a crises of governability in
India." [Kohli 1999] Besides this, the region is plagued by
generic problems such as, the dogmatic influence of religion
on social processes and the political use of ethno-cultural
schisms, which has impeded speedy modernization of the
society and has marred the démocratisation process.
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"Normally, the démocratisation process goes through four

stages. Decay of authoritarian regime, transition to
democracy, consolidation of democracy and maturity of
democracy." [Shin 1994] The polities of South Asia are
undergoing through different stages of démocratisation and
the entire region is not passing through the same stage.
Hence, the pace of démocratisation of the region is rather
sluggish. A glimpse at the current political dynamics in
different polities of the region will symbolise this
phenomenon.
To begin with, Maldives has yet to cross the first stage of

démocratisation that is decay of authoritarian regime. Since
independence, the country has been governed by two
successive authoritarian regimes, the first one led by Ibrahim
Nasir who ruled from 1968 to 1978 and Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom who has been ruling till date since 1978. The most
significant obstacle to the process of démocratisation has
been the inertia towards modernization exhibited by the
conservative Islamic clerics. "This stems from their aversion
to the Western model of development and the belief that

Islam and democracy cannot be reconciled." [Bashiriyeh 1993]
Hence for démocratisation of Maldives, secularization of
politics is crucial. The imperative is to bring reforms in Islam
as to make it more progressive and compatible to a modern
liberal society.
"However, there have been positive signs, as progressive

Islamists round the world are struggling to find viable
answers to the question of compatibility between democracy,
modernity and Islamic beliefs." (Wright 1996] This trend may
open up new horizons for a country like Maldives. Further,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal are at cross-roads, having
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Sanjeev Kumar
to pass through dual stages of démocratisation that is

transition to democracy and consolidation of democracy. All
these countries have been frequently oscillating between
democratic and authoritarian regimes. Hence consolidation
of democracy is the major problem that these countries are
grappling with.
Bangladesh: an Epitome of an
Illiberal Democracy
"With the military takeover of the country in Í975, liberal
democracy saw an early death in Bangladesh. Since 1991,
successive phases of the country's own home-grown version
of democracy have been unhappy political experiments. In
present day Bangladesh, the term democracy has lost almost
all of its liberal characteristics." [Hossain 2005] Despite
satisfying the elementary conditions of a minimalist
democracy: "regular free and fair elections, accountability
of the State's apparatus to the people and effective guarantees
of expression and association." [Beetham 1994] "Bangladesh
has not made significant progress, to consolidate its
democratic institutions because the democratically elected
leaders have behaved in an autocratic manner, and used State
power to reward their supporters and punish their
opponents." [Jahan 2007]
Ever since the re-establishment in 1991, democracy in

Bangladesh has been fluid in character. The leaders of the
two main political parties, Begum Khaleda Zia of the
Bangladesh National Party and Sheikh Hasina of the Avami
League, have turned the country into a scaffolding to
decapitate the democratic architecture by their involvement
in fierce political confrontation. For the last one and half
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decades, the country has witnessed an opera of dynastic

feuds between the Avami League and the B.N.P. In addition
to this since 2001, Begum Khaleda Zia's B.N.P. attempted to
brace its position through a massive Islamisation drive which
has torn apart the secular fabric of Bangladesh's society. This
has not only impaired the modernization process, but it has
also considerably enfeebled the democratic institutions of
the country.
Above all, Bangladesh is rapidly emerging as a hub of

terrorism. "Some scholars and geo-political analysts feel that
the epicenter of the concept and practice of Islamist jihad,
has shifted from Pakistan to Bangladesh. It has emerged as
a critical breeding ground of Islamist jihad. Mushrooming
of jihadist Tanzeems from 1980 to 2005, apparently supports
these allegations. Escalation of violence, aimed at over-
throwing the constitutional democracy and establish a pure
Islamic State ruled by Sharia and Hadit, buttress such
tentative conclusions." [Dhar 2006]
The magnifying influence of Islamic extremism on the socio-

political spheres of Bangladesh, is likely to have serious
ramifications upon the security situation of the entire South
Asian region. The growing tensions on the Indo-Bangladesh
border, due to the drastic upsurge of insurgency into the
North-eastern region of India from Bangladeshi soil,
provides credence to this argument. "Now Bangladesh has
become the epicenter of propagating and promoting ultra-
Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism into the North-
Eastern region of India." [Pramanik 2006] This has not only

complicated the North-East quagmire, but it has sired fresh
strategic challenges for India in its Eastern border. There is
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Sanjeev Kumar
high probability that the crisis in the North-East, may become

more volatile than the problem in Jammu & Kashmir.
Hence all these developments spawned a tumultuous

situation in Bangladesh, which has saturated into a political
impasse of the highest order in 2006 and drove the country
nearly into a massive civil war. In this predicament, the
military was compelled to take the centre stage, again
demonstrating the political bankruptcy of the country's
democratically elected leaders. Thus to invoke Rustow's
phrąse: "the structural national conditions that keep a
democracy functioning might not be the same factors that
brought democracy to the country in the first place." (Rusto w
1970] "A varied mix of economic and cultural dispositions
with contingent developments and individual choices
condition the nature of the democratic polity." [Anderson
1999]
This fittingly illustrates the reasons for the failure of

democracy in Bangladesh. The values that impelled the
national movement in 1971 and the people's movement
against the military regime in 1991 have been thrown into
thin air by a fractious political class and its unholy alliance
with the conservative religious extremists, leaving adequate
space for the military to meddle in civic affairs. Presently
Bangladesh is going through a scabrous phase, with its future
appearing obscure. The significant cause for the current state
of Bangladesh's politics seems to be the severe economic
inequalities that have bedeviled the country ever since its
independence. Poverty has been a bane on its society that
has bridled modernization process. More than three decades
of bad governance, did not help the cause of liquidating
poverty, in turn it has had a metastatic influence upon the
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entire polity. Even transition to democracy proved worthless

because "democracy is likely to endure when income
inequality is lower." [Przeworski 1991]
In addition to this, the whimsical character of its democratic

Governments has ridiculed the popular movement that
effected the transition to democracy. This has further baffled
the public and they are now confronting a civic dilemma
weather to oppose the military intervention in favour of a
moral claim for democracy, or support the military backed
establishment in its cathartic reform agenda, in order to deal
with the putrid state of the country's democracy. The
military's reform agenda also appears to be dubious, because
"the army is now speaking of building Bangladesh's own
brand of democracy." [The Daily Star 2007] All this does not
augur well for the prospects of constructing a liberal
democracy in Bangladesh. As [Linz 1997] argues: "the lack
of a constitutional spirit and of an understanding of the
centrality of the constitutional stability has been one of the
weaknesses of many illiberal third world democracies." This
statement aptly sums up the condition of democracy in
contemporary Bangladesh.
Democracy in Pakistan: Captive to the Military

or Held for Ransom by Islamic Extremists
Pakistan has been yet another accursed country of South Asia
where democracy has been battling to survive. In just over
six decades of its history, Pakistan has witnessed the
demolition of the democratic architecture on four occasions
and each time to be substituted by an autocratic military

regime. "More than any other new State, Pakistan has
experienced to an intense degree, all the crises of political
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Sanjeev Kumar
development; the crises of identity, legitimacy, integration,

penetration, participation and distribution."[Ahmed 1982]
"The army has exploited this unsettled situation and wielded
considerable influence over the country's domestic politics
and foreign affairs." [Cohen 1983] "It has become more
deeply entangled in Pakistan's politics and economy under
Musharraf, making it even harder to circumvent or
sideline/'Markey 2007]
The key problem for Pakistan however has not been

establishing democracy, but it has been the problem of its
consolidation. " A consolidated democracy is one where none
of the major political actors, parties or organised interests,
forces, institution consider that there is any alternative to
the democratic process to gain power and that no political
institutions or groups have claim to veto the democratically
elected decision-makers."[Linz 1997] But in Pakistan, the
military has always fancied its chance of acquiring control
over civilian institutions, whenever the democratic
institutions have become flimsy due to the incompetence of
the political class.
The primary reason for this is that one of the most critical
problems that have bedeviled Pakistani civil society is the
dogmatic influence of Islamic extremism. It has not only been
a major hindrance to the modernization process, but its
omnibus presence has resulted in the unfolding of a
persistent threat of a Taliban like Islamic takeover of Pakistan.
This precarious situation has led the Pakistani citizenry into
a conundrum, where they may have to make a choice
between a weak democratic government which is always
vulnerable to the extremist pressures, or support a military
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regime which may be authoritarian but considered to be a

potential hedge against the extremists. "Hence in such a
predicament, the civil society comes to the in electable
conclusion that it would be better to support a military rule
which would at least prevent the worst case proposition of
State collapse and an Islamic takeover, rather than
commiserate a fragile democratic establishment under which
their existence itself may be in jeopardy." [Zaidi 2007]
The popular support that general Mushrraf was able to

commend, especially from the urban elite, in October 1999
after he dislodged the incompetent democratic establishment
of Navaz Sharif and assumed to himself all executive powers,
provides credence to the above argument. "The military has
never faced opposition while assuming power. In fact, it has
been invited by political parties and sections of public at
large. History is witness to the fact that military regimes in
Pakistan have not been thrown out of power by a mass
movement, but they themselves tend to retire from politics
when they rim out of steam. "[Ibid]
Anyhow, the problems of Pakistan do not end here itself.

"The most serious issue that has badgered Pakistani society
is the Mullah-military condominium. The military has often
shown a willingness to partner with the Islamists in order to
dominate domestic politics." [Markey 2007] This is the
greatest threat that contemporary Pakistan is facing. It not
only has retarded the modernization process, much due to
the wrecking tactics of the Islamists, but it has enhanced the
public dilemma in an exponential manner largely due to their
unflinching faith over the army as a savior against the
tempest of Islamic extremism and their growing
disenchantment towards the democratic institutions.
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Sanjeev Kumar
This has led the people of Pakistan into a quagmire where in

they have been left with few choices. Mushraff's drive of
enlightened moderation appears to be a parody, considering
the magnifying influence of the Islamists on society and
politics. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the failed
assassination bid on Musharraf himself for two times by the
extremists exemplified the gravity of the situation. "The
growing Islamic sympathizers in the army, intelligence
services and the Government, presence of the Taliban in Fata
and Baluchistan regions, a steady rise in extremist mosques
and Madarasas, all symbolise the macabre." [Ibid] Pakistan
is now experiencing a crisis of nationhood. Indicative of this,
"Musharraf has made a shocking admission in his book In
The Line Of Fire that the degree of disintegration of Pakistan
is reaching such a severe level that, uniting the entire country
even in the time of a threat to national security seems to be
difficult." [Musharraf2006]
Hence purgation of the scourge of Islamic extremism is an

exigency for strengthening the process of démocratisation
in Pakistan. The impact of Islamic fundamentalism upon the
dynamics of domestic and foreign affairs of Pakistan has been
incredible. It has crept into the geo-strategic and political
equations of the country in such a profound manner that it
has led to the complication of one of the most critical security
problems of South Asia that is the conflict over Jammu &
Kashmir. For Pakistan, the conflict is not merely a defence
or foreign policy issue, but it has disconcertingly acquired
significance in its domestic space and it has been the most
popular agenda for the political parties for enhancing their
electoral gains.
Thus the political use of the Kashmir issue, Islamisation of
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the Kashmir conflict and military's disposition to strike an

unholy alliance with the Islamic extremists in the name of
accomplishing Pakistan's goals pertaining to Jammu &
Kashmir, have been the crucial factors that have engendered
the present domestic tumult in the country . It has not only
pushed Pakistan on the verge of a civil war, but also
prognosticates a horrendous international conflict that has
potential danger of a nuclear war. In a worst case proposition,
the perils may reach ghastly proportions if terrorists attain
access to nuclear weapons. Thus modernization of Pakistan
by ending the influence of Islamic fundamentalism, limiting
the role of the army to security affairs and restoration of
democracy and strengthening of the civilian institutions,
holds the key for not only the peace and development of
Pakistan, but of the entire South Asian region.
A review of the state of democracy in Maldives, Bangladesh

and Pakistan, reflects upon the fact that Islamic extremism
has been a common denominator in all the three countries,
when we attempt to identify the key factor that has retarded
the process of démocratisation. Islamic extremism has acted
as a countervailing force to modernisation and it has
contributed significantly to the half-baked modernity
syndrome existing in these three countries. "Modernity in
its cultural, political and economic dimension, is assumed
by the contemporary Islamic fundamentalists to have caused
the gradual decline of Islam, or its virtual disappearance as
an active force in international and State affairs. The
institutions and concepts of secularism and liberalism,

nationalism, Marxism and democracy, are blamed for
eroding the religion of Islam, leading them to forsake its way
of life to other ideologies and other Western
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Sanjeev Kumar
models." [Choueri 2003] Thus, Islamic fundamentalism

advocates anti-thetical versions to contemporary paradigm
of modernity and this tendency has jeopardized the
démocratisation process in Maldives, Bangladesh and
Pakistan, to a considerable extent. This is primarily due to
the omnibus influence that Islamic extremism exercises, in
the socio-economic and political spheres of these countries.
Nepal and Sri Lanka:

Dangling in a Zone of Uncertainty
Now, let us consider yet another country that has struggled
to consolidate democracy. Nepal, the tiny Himalayan country
has been witnessing political instability for decades which
has smothered the process of démocratisation. The most
crucial hurdle in this regard has been the ideological friction
between liberalism of the democrats and authoritarianism
of monarchy and other conservative forces. This strife usually

ended in the regime being transformed into a royal autocracy,
by the declaration of emergency and royal take over of all
executive powers. At the time of emergency, the royal
Nepalese army was endowed with enormous powers,
resulting in all the descenting voices being pummeled
severely.
The chronic put schist tendency reflected by the power

paranoid monarchy and the fragile and self -seeking
democratic forces led to large scale public discontent which
basically seems to have fanned the reactionary left wing
Maoist rebellion that transpired in the 1990s. The severe
poverty and the hegemonic character of the caste based social
hierarchy, might have also played a vital role in intensifying
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the Maoist movement. After the royal massacre of 2001 and

the subsequent palace engineered deportations of the
democratic institutions, the civil war intensified. The problem
was compounded by the imponderable triangular struggle
between lhe authoritarian king Gyanendra, the self seeking
democrats and the reactionary Maoists, for the control of
the State.
The most nefarious thing here has been the contradiction of

perceptions that existed among the three claimants of power,
the monarchy, the Maoists and the democrats, regarding the
character of a democratic State. "Hence the existence of
competing and radically incommensurable ideals of

democracy that is the clash of visions, contributed
significantly to the gory civil war."[Gellener-2007] However
the morass has been ended by the people's movement of 2006
and now the country is passing through a phase of tectonic
transformation. But this period of transition still appears
dubious, as there prevails a high degree of uncertainty
regarding the form of Governmental arrangement that the
Seven Party Alliance would ultimately agree upon.
Further, if we look at Sri Lanka, it may be stated that the

most crucial impediment in the way of démocratisation, is
the ethnic conflict that has dominated all facets of Sri Lankan
politics. It remains as one predominant force that has shaped

the contemporary domestic and foreign affairs of the country.
The rampant civil war has not only undermined the authority
of the State, but also has created a productive ground for
outside powers to meddle in its internal affairs. Worst, the
Sri Lankan disenchantment with India after the 1987 fiasco,
allowed the powers outside of South Asia such as Britain,
Norway and even the United States in recent times, to
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Sanjeev Kumar
maneuver the affairs of South Asia for their own
advantage.
Hence, the ethnic unrest in Sri Lanka and India's inability to

affect a solution, seems to be an ideal platform for the major
powers like the United States to look for new avenues for
attaining a strategic advantage in the region. The ten year
Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement arrived at by
the U.S. with Sri Lanka on March 5 2007, provides one
example of the growing strategic interactions between the
two countries. These developments will not only have a
major impact ori South Asian dynamics, but will have
profound ramifications upon the politics of the Indian Ocean.
In this context, it is critical to highlight these developments
because Sri Lankan leadership by engaging major powers
in the country's domestic space, has illustrated its incapacity
to solve the current impasse by itself. This has resulted in
not only the undermining of State power, but also led to the
growing strength of a hegemonic fringe of Sinhalese
nationalists.
They have acted as a major pressure group in Sri Lanka and

worked towards determining the contours of national politics
for their own advantage; that is to perpetuate the hegemony
of the Sinhalese in the socio-economic and political spheres
of the country. The two major political parties the United
National Party and the Sri Lankan Freedom Party, have also
done enough to complicate the morass. The quest for finding
an amicable solution to the ethnic conflict has turned out to
be an illusion because both political parties have attempted

to make maximum political capital out of the crisis, rather
than to make a sincere endeavour for bringing a speedy
solution through consensus. This has been apparent in their
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penchant towards bolstering the Sinhalese nationalists'

endeavours to perpetuate the hegemony of the Sinhalese.
Both parties have played the ethnic card dexterously for
acquiring political mileage.
"Neil DeVotta has called the broad framework of this process

as 'politics of ethnic outbidding'. It is this politics of ethnic
outbidding, electoral competition between UNP. and SLFP
to persuade Sinhalese voters, that they are the best equipped
to ensure Sinhalese dominance, that marginalized the Tamils
from the State, reinforced the ideology of Sinhalese ethnic
and political supremacy and eventually created conditions
for Tamil separatist insurgency. The "politics of ethnic
outbidding thus, generated a pan-Sinhalese consensus for
Sinhalese ethnic hegemony in the polity." [Uyangoda 2007]
Hence the civil war in Sri Lanka, has not only 'ripped the
country into two hostile segments, but also' has throttled the
modernization process. This has acted as a major impediment
in the process of consolidating and stabilizing democracy in
the country.
"Ethnic outbidding for power and ruling class vacillation

has been a deadly combination for a political solution. That
sadly is how democracy has been working in Sri Lanka. It
maybe called a democracy that has facilitated the hegemony
of the fringe." [ibid]
Such hegemonic tendencies of an extremist minority, has

been a bane on the prospects of modernization and
démocratisation in South Asia. "The disproportionate power,
that the nationalist or the religionist fringe appears to exercise
over the mainstream political parties or institutions,
constitutes an enduring paradox in at least three South Asian
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Sanjeev Kumar
countries- Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The paradox

is that the ethno-religious extremist parties often claiming
to represent the interests of the numerically majority
community, might not even get a few percent of votes in
democratic elections. Nevertheless, they have acquired the
ability to shape the national political debate. That is why
despite their weak electoral strength, the mainstream political
parties, the bureaucracy, the media and even the judiciary
often capitulate before them." [ibid]
Thus restoration and maintenance of peace and security in

the region, and the stability of democratic institutions in
various countries of South Asia, largely rests upon the
amicable solution to the ethno-religious conflicts in various
countries of the region. Ethnicity and religion have played a
critical role, in engendering internal cleavages in the polities
of South Asia, and also have steered-up fierce international
tensions, at the regional level. The repercussions of the ethno-
religious conflicts have been catastrophic; be it the violence
unleashed at the time of India's partition, or the India-
Pakistan conflict over Jammu & Kashmir; all indicate towards
the hideous impact that relegio-civilisational divergences
have produced.
Indian Democracy: A Search for Maturity

India has been the only country of South Asia that has been
able to consolidate and stabilize democratic institutions.
Anyhow, India has not been able to produce a vibrant and a

matured democracy, which can be claimed to be anything
parallel to that of the polities of the developed West. "The
working of Indian democracy is replete with conundrums,
which do not admit to easy judgment. There are both
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spectacular gains and dismal failures, significant

achievements in advancing political equality, and equally
significant drawbacks, in establishing political accountability.
Indian democracy has a mixed record, not because it is flawed
but because it is in process." [Desouza 200 7] This implies that
India is still in the process of a search for maturity of its
democracy. It has not yet succeeded in reaching a stage,
wherein it may be perspicuously termed as a flawless and a
full fledged democracy.
One of the most crucial difference between the democracies
of the West and that of India, is pot the problem of

establishing or consolidating democratic institutions, the
problem that India's South Asian neighbours are facing ever
since their inception as sovereign States. But the focal point
of difference could be traced in the country's history.
According to Sudipta Kaviraj "one of the most crucial factors
that facilitated the British to colonise India, was the lack of
discipline and civic sense, or what Foucault has called
'Governmentality', among Indians. The British
providentially possessed these qualities and hence were able
to colonise such a large country. "[Kaviraj 20051 "The
situation was compounded, because of the existence of a
feudal society in colonial India." [Guha 1998] It must be noted
here that the birth of a modern democratic State in
India, was not coincided by the ending of feudalism. This

meant that the onus of bringing capitalist economic
transformation was left to the nascent democratic State.
"Indeed, in the Indian context, as distinct from the European,

the democratic State became the primary source of
modernity." [Kaviraj 2005]
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Sanjeev Kumar
This according to me, is contrary to what has happened in

the West. The democratic State in the West has been the
product of modernity, dissimilar to the Indian case, where

the democratic State was expected to invigorate the process
of modernization. "In the West, real democracy came to a
capitalist society, which was already economically converted
into a capitalist form of production and already fairly
wealthy. The industrial working force was much larger, than
that of the agricultural sector."[Kaviraj 2000] Comparatively,
Indian democracy at the outset, encountered an agrarian
society with a much smaller industrial sector and an adjunct
poverty. "So, democratic politics primarily became a tool for
advancing the cause of promoting the grant of subsidies for
agriculture, rather than contemplating upon building a
thriving industrial-capitalist economy." [Warshney 1999]
Yet another aspect to be reckoned is that "the democratic

institutions in India did not have a historical preparation,
through a political discourse which was debated in the
vernaculars and in terms which reached the ordinary Indian
citizens." [Kaviraj in Hassan 2000] This historical lacuna and
the continuation of feudal structures of domination bolstered
by the existence of a predominantly agrarian society, largely

contributed to the persistence of lack of 'Governmentality'
among Indians, even in the post-colonial State. This also
facilitated the newly crafted politico-bureaucratic
architecture, to gain excessive control over the realm of public
affairs. "The introduction of a planned economy and the
Government's policies that sanctioned the creation of a large
public sector of core industries, further led to the enormous
expansion of bureaucratic influence on the developmental
affairs of the country." [Potter 1986]
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"This extension of public bureaucracy, was however fraught

with dangers and difficulties. The bureaucracy, though now
manned by Indians, was still the unreconstructed
bureaucracy of colonial State-unresponsive, irresponsible,
insufficiently used even to the rhetoric of serving the people,
being habituated for so many decades to being their lords
and masters. It was also eminently unsuited in its original
form to perform modern welfare functions." [Kaviraj in
Hassan 2000] Despite, subsequent reforms, the bureaucracy
in India has not entirely shelved its colonial legacy and given
over its innate feudal psyche. This considerably led to the
relatively sluggish pace of industrialization and growth in
post-independent India. This trend continued till the 1990s,
when the policies of market liberalization were initiated.
"The neo-liberal reforms initiated off late, is directed not only

towards re-working the relationship between State, market
and civil society, but is also aimed at restructuring the State
in order to incorporate the market rationality in the
organisation and functioning of the State."(Joseph 2007] But
even then, it is felt here that there seems to be a scant
reduction in the colonial behaviour of the bureaucracy and
still it does not seem to have been liberated from the feudal
psyche. Consider the recent bureaucratic resistance towards

certain sections of the newly charted right to information
act, which perspicuously established the hitherto existence
of a sense of class consciousness among the bureaucrats.
Hence anthropologists researching on the Indian State have
noted that the State behaviour in India does not correspond
with that of the State behaviour in the developed West. In
this regard, it has been argued that "in India, one of the
modern State's principle institutions, the bureaucracy,
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Sanjeev Kumar
behaved in ways very different from its European

counterpart, and differently from the theoretical picture of
behaviour constructed so powerfully by the Weberian model
of rational-legal authority. Under the pressures of modernity,
the Indian State however has gone through serious stages of
successive elaboration, but it is hard to be confident that it is
coming to resemble the model of Weberian bureaucratic
State." [White 2002]
Thus in the early years of India's independence, State

controlled capitalism with an excessive influence of
bureaucracy upon developmental affairs, led to the
procrastination of the process of building a robust industrial
economy. This phenomenon considerably led to the enduring
of the half -baked modernity syndrome and resulted in the
stalling of India's progress towards engineering a mature
democracy. The recent policies of market liberalization and
neoliberal reforms have merely been a sought of damage
control exercise and still a large hiatus exists between India
and the vibrant democracies of the developed West. In view
of this, it has been argued: "tangible institutions of the State
may be helpless against the intangible force of historically
sedimented cultural understandings of ordinary people.
Long-term memories and time-tested ways of dealing with
power of the political authority took its revenge on the
modern State, bending the straight lines of rationalist liberal
politics through a cultural refraction of administrative
meaning. The logic of new legislations was twisted to
produce strange travesties." [Kaviraj in Hasan 2000]
Apart from this, another societal attribute that has choked

the pace of modernization, is the dogmatic orthodoxy of a
caste based social hierarchy. This seems to be a predominant
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peculiarity that has fundamentally contributed to the

perseverance of a half-baked modernity syndrome which has
afflicted speedy transition of the Indian polity into a ripe
democracy. This rather has been a significant difference that
endures, between the vibrant democratic polities of the
developed West and the immature Indian democracy.
"Indian society, primarily dominated by the Hindu social
order based on caste, has been characterised by interior
organisation and this form of social order is purely interior,
anterior to the external authority of the State."
[Mukhopadhyay 1981] "In the Indian caste system, the social
meanings are integrated and hierarchical." [Walzer 1983]
Caste system exists as an anti-modernist force, retro-grading

the process of building a modern liberal society. As the caste
hierarchy is an antiquity, it preceded the birth of a modern
State like India. "Everyone recognizes that the traditional
social system in India was organised around caste structures
and caste identities."[Kothari 2001] and the modern State
with its social emancipatory potential, was expected to act
as a modernizing force and an agent of social change.
Establishing an egalitarian society thus became one of the
foremost challenges of post-colonial State in India.
"However in dealing with the relationship between caste and

politics, it should be recognized that a modernizing society
is neither modern nor traditional. It simply moves from one
threshold of integration and performance to another, in the
process, transforming both the indigenous structures and
attitudes and the newly introduced institutions and ideas.
"(Ibid] In view of this, it could be argued that the emergence
of the modern State in India did not mean that the traditional
social structures entirely disappeared. In turn, archaic social
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Sanjeev Kumar
structure, determined by caste system began to impose itself

upon politics and social dynamics. "Political and
developmental institutions do not anywhere function in a
vacuum. They tend to find bases in society either through
existing organizational forms, or by invoking new structures
that cut across these forms." [ibid]
Thus caste system in India has its own impact on modern

politics or vice versa, modern politics in India has tended to
condition itself in accordance with a caste oriented society.
Henceforth, caste and politics seem to be inextricably linked
up with each other. Castism in politics and politicization of
caste, are two distinct propositions that feed upon each other
in a vicious cycle. Its impact has been mordacious, resulting
in the polarization of the Indian society. This trend is still a
part of modern India, despite neo-liberal reforms, directed
towards achieving the prodigious goal of becoming a mega
industrial-capitalist economy. Ending of caste based social
inequalities was one of the foremost challenges for post-
independent India. Lamentably, despite constitutional
fantasy of constructing an egalitarian society through
affirmative action, existence of caste based social disparities
is still a hard reality and subaltern emancipation has
remained as a fictitious dream. As a contrast caste has become
a crucial political weapon, in the post-independent Indian

politics and has been instrumental in determining political
equations in the process of shaping and sharing power. Upon
societal affairs, its influence is even more gargantuan. It has
emerged as a dominant discourse and a source of hegemony
and any expression against this dominant discourse, is
largely considered as heresy.
However in the ultimate analysis, the report card of Indian
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democracy is relatively better than its South Asian

neighbours. It has been successful in holding on to its
democratic institutions and has checked any chance of
degeneration to any kind of civilian or military autocracy.
There are several other anti-modernist forces such as cultural
chauvinism and linguistic fanaticism, which have not been

mentioned above. Their influence upon the process of
démocratisation also has been one of regression, but the
detrimental impact of the factors discussed at length above,
seems to be irretrievable. They appear to have suffocated
Indian democracy, right at the stage when it was about to
attain complete maturity and development.
Conclusion
In a final analysis, it may be viewed that modernization by

ending traditional structures of social hegemony, is the
pressing requirement for, peace, security and stability of
South Asia. Until this happens, prospects for démocratisation
of the region appear nebulous. Significantly, because of the
traditional forces of dominance that have fiercely contested
the doctrines of modernity with an adherence to archaic
socio-cultural framework and politico-economic principles.
This has rendered the polities of South Asia to be mired in
history and squint their national visions. Prioritisation of
parochial loyalties such as caste, religion or language over
that of the nation-State, has produced catastrophic
consequences. This tendency ultimately has strongly
deterred the process of démocratisation, by affecting socio-
cultural transformation which is an urgent imperative for
modernization. Above all, the existence of asymmetry in the
levels of techno-economic development and diverse kinds
of socio-cultural dichotomies among the polities of South
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Sanjeev Kumar
Asia has rendered the overall démocratisation of the entire
region, into a sort of cognitive complexity.
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Contesting Modernity: Crises of Democratisation in South Asia

Author(s): Sanjeev Kumar

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/45073167

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Sanjeev Kumar H.M. *

Despite, the frenetic pace of modernization represented by

cultural chauvinism or linguistic fanaticism, have fiercely

* Lecturer, Department of P. G. Studies and Research in Political

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This is because the region is characterised by the existence

Here we are drawn into asking a fundamental epistemic

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democracy since its virtues are now almost universally

However, ridiculing the ideas of these Western liberals, South

Rise of Democracy in South Asia, How Distinct

When we look out for the principle elements that sire a

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modernity of the two regions gets highlighted. "While in

Paradoxical to this, in South Asia, the polities

Yet another significant thing to be noted is the region's socio-

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While the Democratic polities of the West have flourished

It generated immense social tensions and political friction,

hegemony by the powerful groups, resulting in subaltern

Why Modernisation Process in South Asia

we speak of modernity, it would be parochial to visualize

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as that of the West. The simple reason being socio-cultural

connection, Sudipta Kaviraj indicates that "The more

A fitting illustration of this symptom is the foundations of

"So alternative paradigms of modernity for different regions

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strong peculiarities in American history , colonialism, the

In this context, South Asia also exhibits uniqueness as a

Crises of Démocratisation in South Asia

Inability to achieve a fully baked modern society has been

polity in Maldives, the heightening ethnic divide in Sri Lanka

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"Normally, the démocratisation process goes through four

To begin with, Maldives has yet to cross the first stage of

to the Western model of development and the belief that

"However, there have been positive signs, as progressive

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to pass through dual stages of démocratisation that is

Ever since the re-establishment in 1991, democracy in

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decades, the country has witnessed an opera of dynastic

Above all, Bangladesh is rapidly emerging as a hub of

The magnifying influence of Islamic extremism on the socio-

Eastern region of India." [Pramanik 2006] This has not only

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high probability that the crisis in the North-East, may become

Hence all these developments spawned a tumultuous

This fittingly illustrates the reasons for the failure of

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entire polity. Even transition to democracy proved worthless

In addition to this, the whimsical character of its democratic

Democracy in Pakistan: Captive to the Military

and each time to be substituted by an autocratic military

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development; the crises of identity, legitimacy, integration,

The key problem for Pakistan however has not been

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