By the People

“Not much is written in social sciences in India and that too in regional languages. Most of the knowledge that continues to pour in is imported from the west and that is the reason we thought of launching this book in Marathi,” says Palshikar who was a part of the editorial team for the original book.

A result of a survey conducted for over two years by Delhi based Centre for Study of Developing Societies,International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance,Stockholm and Department of Sociology,Oxford University; the book offers a comparison between the state of democracies in India,Pakistan,Nepal,Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “With a sample size proportional to the population,demography and the diversity of every nation,we prepared a questionnaire based upon the answers to which we came up with astonishing results,” says Palshikar.

From basic questions such as- Out of democracy and military regime,what is more preferred or relation between literacy and democracy or for that matter the meaning of democracy according to citizens of each country to country specific questions such as the state of support to monarchy in Nepal and military regime in Pakistan,the book gives answers to many such questions in the form of easy-to-understand graphical representations derived from common people.

“There is no target reader of the book. While it can make a wonderful reference book for researchers and students because of the data it carries,anyone and everyone who is curious for seeking knowledge about the system can pick up this book,” says Suhas Kulkarni of Samakalin Prakashan.

“Most of the times,the impressions that we have about our neighbouring nations are formed due to the actions of the decisions their governments take. This book tells us what people in these countries want. It shows in pictorial form the different forms of democracy that co-exist in south Asia. For instance,though inclined towards democracy,Pakistani citizens prefer any regime that gives them peace and good governance. This opinion is contrary to common Indian man’s impression that Pakistani people are barbaric. Accordingly the ways of protests,demands and expectations from democracy differ from country to country and that reflects in this survey,” adds Palshikar.

Tagging hope as the major driving force behind the democracy in this part of the continent,the book also includes a,brief 50-year history all the five nations. “Over years,peoples’ expectations from democracy change. While the values,approaches and expectations from the democracy to deliver remain constant; their responses change over period. And that is the reason such surveys need to be done periodically and presented in front of the ‘think tank’ in every nation,” Palshikar concludes.