MYANMAR’S TRYST WITH DEMOCRACY: LESSONS FROM INDIA

Abstract

Although nascent and pre-matured, there is no doubt that, whatever ‘attention’ and ‘spotlight’ Myanmar is enjoying today is all because of ‘democracy’ and attempts at ‘democratic transition’ undertaken by President Thein Sein’s government in power since 2010. In the political front, the President released most political prisoners from exile; freed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest; amended the electoral laws to enable her and the National League for Democracy (NLD) to contest the parliamentary by-elections (Suu Kyi has joined the parliament now as the main opposition party); freed the media and allowed civil society groups to function more freely in the country. In the critical domain of ethnic relations, the President promised that, his government would seek to solve the root causes of ethnic problems through political means and even organize a nation-wide ceasefire agreement to enable lasting peace among its ethnic communities. In other social and economic sectors, the President has undertaken commendable changes aimed at boosting economic growth and sustainable development at the grassroots level. But beneath the facade of seeming progresses, critics fear the motives behind democratization in Myanmar, given the present administration’s stubbornness in amending/rewriting the 2008 constitution, it’s slackened pace in arresting corruption and ensuring people-centric development in the poverty-stricken/ethnically deprived areas of the country. The present paper is an attempt to compare and contrast Myanmar’s experiment with democratization vis-a-vis India whose tryst with democracy, pluralism and capacity building has made it a model for discussion at home and abroad. India’s electoral process, experiment with federalism, an independent judiciary and a vibrant media has lessons that can not only make Myanmar’s democratic transition irreversible, but enable the two neighbours to jointly address their common problems of insurgency, corruption, unemployment and all inclusive governance.