History shows lack of debate is a symptom of majoritarianism | The Indian Express

History shows lack of debate is a symptom of majoritarianism | The Indian Express

Written by Manoj Kumar Jha |Updated: September 18, 2019 10:06:25 am

Manoj Kumar Jha is the national spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janta Dal  

History shows lack of debate is a symptom of majoritarianism

A majoritarian parliament is different from majority in the parliament. Majority in parliament gains legitimacy through deliberation but in a majoritarian parliament, numbers trump every other moral consideration.

A majoritarian parliament and its modus operandi should not allow us to ignore that contemporary concerns are also about an unending struggle between memory and forgetting.

The number of bills passed during the last session of Parliament were cited as a reason for calling it the most productive session in recent times. However, as any entrepreneur/manufacturer will tell you, the real test of productivity lies in quality and not just quantity. Let us not forget to examine the time spent deliberating on any piece of legislation from diverse perspectives. This is particularly important because there is no evidence to show if the “swiftness” of passing a legislation contributes to its effectiveness in governing.