New Delhi: Disagreeing with the view that democracy is not good for the country, Press Council of India Chairperson Justice Markandey Katju on Tuesday said there is in fact too little democracy in India.
"...the problem in India is not that there is too much
democracy but too little. We need more democracy, not less,
and that means educating those masses, raising their cultural
level, and involving them actively in the task of national
reconstruction," an official statement quoting him said.
Speaking at an international conference on 'science
Communication for scientific temper' here, he said democracy,
science, livelihood and unity should be the guiding principles
to solve problems confronting the country.
Noting that democracy and science should go hand in hand,
he said scientific growth requires certain supportive values
like freedom to think, to criticise and to dissent, tolerance,
plurality, and free flow of information.
"These precisely are the values of a democratic society,"
he said.
Referring to grinding poverty of the country,
unemployment, inflation, level of healthcare, education and
farmers' suicides, Justice Katju said the country "must aim to
abolish these evils and make our country highly prosperous for
all our citizens".
Holding that economic growth in India has benefited only
a handful of people, he said "unless this trend is stopped, it
will be disastrous for the country."
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 23:41