Parliamentary Democracy in India: Does it Require a Change?

The need for good governance is obvious and universal. Good governance requires good laws, alert administration and an efficient system of trial and punishment. A bad government can tax you unreasonably, keep law and order situation in disarray and mismanage available resources of the country. What can be the measures of good governance? These, inter alia, may include existence of good laws and their transparent operation, lower per capita cost of governance, availability of reliable infrastructure, efficient law and order situation and high level of human development index. Good governance comprises all these and hence any assessment of good governance is a complex exercise, particularly when many of the above parameters are difficult to quantify. The focus of this book is on corruption, i.e. misuse of public money and state power. This book describes how the parliamentary form of democracy in India is functioning. The various ills we are witnessing in this country have originated or escalated for the reason that the parliamentary form of democracy supports their growth. The book examines various issues including reservations, population control, external loans and budget deficits and other problems due to lack of political will. While these issues are inter-woven in the context of the chapter in which they appear, they can be read separately as well. The book attempts to answer some of the well-known questions like how much government do we need, problems of Presidential form of government, sustainability of communism and usefulness of the party system.