By: Samarth Pathak/New Delhi, India/November 12, 2013
Over the past few years, there has been a tangible churning in India’s socio-political order. Owing to mass movements spearheaded by the media, academic community and civil society, issues such as corruption, accountability and transparency have come into the forefront of public debate. Highlighting these trends in his latest book, “Revolution from Above: India’s Future and the Citizen Elite,” Prof. Dipankar Gupta– one of India’s foremost authorities on sociology and social anthropology–has explored these trends in detail, questioning whether Indian democracy is driven by citizens or by the citizen elite. The book advocates the theory that systemic changes require active intervention by the citizen elite, who are not concerned with short-term electoral calculations but have a vision for strengthening democracy.
Reflecting on these incisive perspectives at an Aspen Institute India session earlier today, Prof. Gupta underscored the need for the country’s citizen-elite to emerge as a ‘vanguard of democracy.’ In an engaging presentation, the renowned social scientist asserted, “Democracy is not meant to represent reality as much as to change it. As aspirations for the future are grander than the needs of the present, democratic leaders do not need a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer to shape it. Democracy does not strengthen if a leader listens to the people. Democracy strengthens when that leader does what is right and leaves it to the people to judge its merit.”
Defining the role of the opinion-shapers who could bring lasting change into the system, Prof. Gupta said, “The Citizen Elite is the vanguard of democracy because they think “society” and not sectional interests; they plan for the future, and not for immediate gains; they plan for universal welfare, not for targetted groups. For instance, if Gandhi had asked the people of the time what they thought of untouchability, chances are the popular mandate would have been pro-untouchability. Yet, he went ahead and did what he though was right. He was a true liberal democrat leader. Democratic leaders do what they think is right and then submit themselves to popular mandate at election time.”
In a distinguished academic career spanning more than three decades, Dr Gupta has taught at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the Department of Sociology, University of Delhi. He is currently Distinguished Professor at the Shiv Nadar University. He is also a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of India, the National Bank for Rural Development, the National Standards Broadcasting Authority, the Punjab Governance Reforms Commission and the Doon School. A prolific writer, he has authored and edited 17 books and published nearly 70 research papers. His most recent works are The Caged Phoenix: Can India Fly (2010) and Justice before Reconciliation: Negotiating a ‘New Normal’ in Post-riot Mumbai and Ahmedabad (2011). Dr Gupta has won several awards for his academic contributions. In 2010, the French Government honoured him as a Chevalier De L’Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres.