Democracy and tradition of award by state

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Krishna G Misra

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Nov 6, 2015, 11:42:28 AM11/6/15

to Durgashankar Nagda, KRISHNA FELLOWSHIP

Any award or recognition of individual merit by a state, with democratic credential is devoid of principles
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Republic is a name given to a method of governance for an imperfect society. Imperfect is a sophisticated name for violent or chaotic conduct. These people needed to be brought in control and republic is a legal instrument for it. A republic is meant for civilizing, making lion in jungle to lion in circus or converting disorder into order by using either force or agreement.

Plato coined this word republic. Public is law bound citizen or, a circus of otherwise wild animals. Governance of such imperfect society was of four types. Timarcy - personal merit is valued
Oligarchy- money or wealth is valued
Democracy- a value can be defined neither in personal merit nor wealth, and because definition of value can keep changing, it is decided by a majority.
Tyranny- value flows through power of sword.
India is a democratic republic. This means, it accepts that governance cannot be biased by either personal merit or by wealth. No government by its democratic principles can give any award for literary or artistic or sports or science or any criteria. Giving award by a state or government is ultravirus the democracy.

In context of Sahitya Academy awards and those returning the awards given by the state, I see Plato smiling. Plato knew that it is unthinkable in democracy whose principle is "no principle" .( all are equal in law)... to develop a principle of merit, and start awarding an individual by timarcy or wealth by oligarchy. If that were a case, no votings were necessary. A state can be then run like a corporation where merit is defined and valued or one can buy stock or equity in it. That would be a case for timarcy if state starts recognizing individual merit and oligarchy, for wealth. Modi should learn it from Plato and stop henceforth this unprincipled practice of awarding people on personal merit, in a democratic republic.