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THE VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAN
INITIATIVE
A COALITION FOR COMPREHENSIVE
DEMOCRACY
Backgroundinformation in
english
Lokayan South Asian Dialogue Group (Kepa)
- Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The Earth is a Family), a
Coalition for Comprehensive Democracy, is about
furthering, strengthening and deepening 'democracy'
simultaneously in economic, social, political, cultural,
gender and ecological dimensions of life, from local to
global levels.
-
- Pursuing the democratic
dream
- Modern day dominant science, social and economic
processes, and polity tend to fragment life, issues and
people's ways of looking at them. Democracy has
come to mean merely 'representative' political
structures. Despite this dominant thrust of
institutionalisation over the past 200-500 years, which
has culminated in the present processes of monopolistic,
hegemonic, and humanly disempowering
globalisation, there is another perspective of democracy
which is still widely espoused intellectually and
intuitively. It is an idea about relationships being
based on equality, mutuality and respect in individual
interaction between family members, between communities,
between human beings and the rest of nature, in the
market, between genders, and the nation state, and
between peoples across the nations. The challenge for all
of us is to build politics around this perspective to
channelize all institutions towards ever expanding and
deepening democratisation.
-
- People in South Asia have long cherished values
which, in modern times, are best expressed under the
rubric of 'universalism' and various dimensions of
'democracy'. Before the colonial interventions of the
West, even when there were rulers of foreign origin, the
participatory mode of governance from the grassroots to
the top, devolution of political power at all levels, and
cultural plurality were hallmarks of our social-political
system. We had our own failings such as the obnoxious
practice of untouchability. The communitarian principles
manifested through the caste system degenerated into
hierarchical fundamentalism. But, despite all kinds of
failings, the sense of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'' (The
Earth is a Family) has been part of our cultural
sensibility since time immemorial. That is why our
socio-cultural diversity is a source of strength and, in
fact, the primary defining force behind our unbroken
identity. There have, of course, been brief phases of
ideological or identity polarizations. But soon, the
pluralist perspective prevails again. The basic premise
of this world-view is that no sect, religion, ideological
group, class, socio-political formation, the state, or
church can claim a monopoly over TRUTH. Each one's
'truth' is able to capture only some aspects of the
TRUTH, depending upon the vantage point, and not 'the
TRUTH' as a whole. Other dimensions are
contained in the 'truth' possessed by our enemy, and our
allies.
- Threats to
Democracy
- All epochal transformative moments in history
are pregnant with two opposing possibilities
a new dawn or an era of darkness.
What are the forces of darkness at this juncture?
-
- Globally, an elusive 'Consumer Paradise' is being
promised through the mass media and the market. There is
a mad rush for this kind of globalism. Socio-political
forces, whose world-views and dreams are anchored in a
doctored view of history (such as Huntington's view on
'Clash of Civilisations'), are becoming victims of the
prevailing social pathology of a 'mad-race syndrome.
Social identities are getting hardened and becoming more
and more competitive. These forces believe that they are
engaged in a survival struggle, in which moderation finds
little place as a democratic trait.
-
- The Democratic
Agenda
- No one organization can aspire to fulfil the need of
all types of interventions required to realize democratic
values in all walks of life. So, by definition,
there cannot be any one Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam. It is a way of relating to at
each other, not a structure for unifying or homogenising
the diverse. It is an attempt to 'own' each other
and nurture each other's democratic interventions despite
differences. Therefore it can be more-or-less a
space for enabling ideas on concerns about democracy and
a platform for diverse interventions. It can be a
forum where people from diverse backgrounds, sharing this
broad search come and share their work and create new
coalitions without necessarily merging their respective
institutional/organisational identities.
-
- Such an initiative could also be seen as an effort to
engage the civil society in dialogues on a number of
crucial issues at various levels: local, regional and
international. The dimensions can be articulated
as:
- Empowerment of the daridranarayan, the 'last person'
(Economic Democracy),
- Ecological regeneration and people's control over
natural resources (Ecological Democracy),
- Ensuring human dignity (Social Democracy),
- Strengthening plural co-existence (Cultural
Democracy),
- Deepening of democratic structures and
institutions (Political Democracy)
- Evolving gender relations based on mutuality,
equality and respect (Gender Democracy)
- Our Faith
- Our shared view is that selfishness and greed are
only one part of the human journey and not the defining
characteristics of human life. Wants can be fulfilled,
and even indulged in, without being glorified.
-
- The task of building true democracy today is
inextricably linked to the global struggle to reform or
transform capitalism without a readymade version of any
ism. It is a project based on the perennial values of
non-violence compassion, justice, equality and freedom
and truth.
-
- Many radical movements think that their
responsibility is only towards a fundamental transfer of
power in favour of the oppressed and marginalized. They
feel no responsibility towards the larger whole while
pursuing the cherished ideals. Moral renewal of
individuals and institutions in society, with a sense of
the larger whole, is the responsibility of all.
-
- Our Hope
- In a phase of phenomenal upsurge of democratic
aspirations, new norms have to be agreed upon through a
process of participatory dialogue even with the
adversary, at various levels of human collectivities. One
has to recognize the complementarity of each other's
'truth' and consciously avoid being judgmental regarding
the other's viewpoint. The critical evaluation of other
viewpoints has to be in an idiom which encourages
moderation and introspective engagement on all sides.
Such processes are unfolding and can consciously and
actively be pursued today.
-
- Our Method
- We espouse a three fold method for
democratisation. One is 'dialogue', basically to
recognise the contours and the calling of our times.
Dialogue at all levels, including with the adversary, is
possible only if we believe in the willingness of the
human spirit for struggle and self-sacrifice against
injustice instead of believing in the conspiracy theory.
The dialogue must consciously be across hierarchical
structures at each level, incorporating the idiom and
aspirations of the most marginalised. Constructive action
to strengthen and promote modes of production and ways of
life consonant with the various dimensions of democracy
is the second aspect, which must be based on a
participatory process at each level and across levels.
Simultaneously, we have to fight the injustice. For this,
multiple forms of non-violent political action are the
only answer. One is conscientious civil
disobedience, to use Gandhi's word, 'Satyagraha'.
- Contact Address:
- Vijay Pratap
- GW IV, Ganga,
- Jawaharlal Nehru
University
- New Delhi-110067,
India
- Tel: +91-11-6713251
(O),
- + 91-11-6102638/ 6102752
(R)
- Email:
vasudhaivakutumbakam@vsnl.net
- vijaypratap@vsnl.net
- ritupriya@vsnl.com
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