Amartya Sen had famously said that large-scale famines would not occur in a democracy in view of accountability factor. Current events in India vis-a-vis the happenings in Tunisia and Egypt are eroding the credibility of Sen's assumptions.
Multiple scams in India including 2G, ISRO etc. indicate clearly that massive corruption and lack of accountability are not alien to a democratic system. In Tunisia, the act of a police official slapping a fruit vendor was enough to trigger the justly famous Jasmine Revolution. A despot has to be perpetually on guard to ensure that subjects' ire does not gather the critical mass to morph into people's movement. On the contrary, the leaders in a democracy need to be careful only once in say 5 years when elections are held. Victory in one election, however unrepresentative it is, is enough to legitimise misrule till the next elections are on.
Multiple scams in India including 2G, ISRO etc. indicate clearly that massive corruption and lack of accountability are not alien to a democratic system. In Tunisia, the act of a police official slapping a fruit vendor was enough to trigger the justly famous Jasmine Revolution. A despot has to be perpetually on guard to ensure that subjects' ire does not gather the critical mass to morph into people's movement. On the contrary, the leaders in a democracy need to be careful only once in say 5 years when elections are held. Victory in one election, however unrepresentative it is, is enough to legitimise misrule till the next elections are on.
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