A true democracy can only be identified when the citizens of a Nation join together to affects the laws under which they are governed. India, the most populous democracy in the world, has in its brief history repeatedly shown us how the poorest of the poor can join together and become a force to be reckoned with.
The latest lesson that we have been taught is how to achieve changes in property laws to protect the impoverished. “An estimated 25,000 people from across India gathered in New Delhi after marching 600 kilometres (370 miles) from the central city of Gwalior to demand land reforms… The protestors had demanded that the government introduce iron-clad legislation on holdings, deeds and tenancy rights - replacing the current system where ownership can easily be taken by the rich and powerful.”
In a country with a population of 1.1 billion, 25,000 people marching together have been able to force the government to promise to pass legislation to protect farmers. How is it then that tens of thousands of people marching in the United States, with a population of only 303 million, have failed to stop their government from funding a war of aggression? Which country would an outside observer recognize as a true democracy?
This democratic model that we have seen glimpses of throughout modern history has not been restricted to India, even though they have been the champions of it. Since the year 2000, Bolivians has fought two water wars in which the victors have again been the people and the losers the multimillion dollar foreign investors. If only the citizens of Western countries were as brave as those of India and Bolivia, maybe then we would be able to see an end to war and the beginning of a true democracy.
But there is a bright side for those desperate to see a change in the western corporate mentality. We have been learning from what our global neighbours have been showing us. Tree Hugging is a perfect example. “The movement began in Chamoli district in 1973” and has over the years become one of the most recognized non-violent forms of protest to protect the environment throughout the world. So there is still hope for us Westerners, even though we are slow learners we do learn as long as we have good examples to show us the way.
To help expedite our education and motivate us into action consider watching the following “inspirational half-hour documentary about environmental activism and tree-hugging featuring Sunderlal Bahuguna, Pandurang Hegde and Vandana Shiva”. It gives us hope by showing us how much power we actually have. Appiko- to embrace (29:35)
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