Rollback mania

There is little in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa8217;s past record which could have prepared us for her sudden benevolence. On Tuesday, less than a week after her AIADMK8217;s complete rout in the 14th Lok Sabha elections was confirmed, she issued a rash of orders. Any and every source of discontent in her realm has been addressed. Eligibility criteria for the people of the state to obtain essential commodities under the public distribution scheme have been relaxed, strictures against striking government employees withdrawn. Journalists facing privilege proceedings in the state assembly will be troubled no more. And the controversial anti-conversion law, she8217;s indicated, will be repealed. Only MDMK leaders still face charges under POTA.

Jayalalithaa must be complimented for heeding the people8217;s verdict. She may have crafted her electoral campaign by focusing almost exclusively on who should be prime minister of India. But voters have shown time and again that they vote on a menu of issues, local and national, and her authoritarian interventions have clearly been cause for rejection. So Jayalalithaa8217;s reversal on issues she had obdurately pursued carries both canniness and humility. It could be said that on Tuesday she paid the greatest compliment to democracy. Electoral contests, it has been demonstrated in Tamil Nadu, can be the most effective checks against authoritarianism and injustice.

Yet, democracy implies regular elections 8212; giving people the right to choose representatives 8212; and institutions that safeguard their rights. In Tamil Nadu, as in so much of the rest of the country, these institutions stand gravely eroded. In this barren landscape, the state8217;s powers to check violations of the law can be used to tame and harass opponents and critics. The people of India, thankfully, have always cast their vote against vendettas and witch-hunts. But we would have a depleted democracy if they were to remain the only checks. If Jayalalithaa has truly had a change of heart, she should inquire into the health of democratic institutions in her state. Who knows, the lady routinely demonised for willful acts could become one of Indian democracy8217;s bravest activists.