Reappraising Indian Democracy
(1947-2023)
Parliamentary to Presidential

Jashwant B. Mehta

Jashwant B. Mehta

The author is an Architect and Consulting Engineer by profession, holding post-graduate degree in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA. He has also been active in the real estate, construction and hospitality industries.

Like many other perceptive individuals in India, being disenchanted with the existing political system because of its unsatisfactory and dismal performance owing to its inherent shortcomings, he undertook an in-depth study of the underlying causes and also an intensive study and the workings of Governments and Constitutions of the liberal democracies of the world, such as USA, UK, Germany and France among others. This led to his firm conclusion that a truly democratic presidential system with suitable modifications will be immensely beneficial for the country and has written extensively on the subject. His books viz. Presidential System – A Better Alternative? and Quest for a Better Democratic Alternative, have been widely acclaimed as making a substantive contribution to the debate on the issue. He is Founder/Convenor of Forum for Presidential Democracy.

In his own field of Civil Engineering, and Town Planning, he has published several papers and articles. His book High-Rise Buildings was the first book on the subject in India. He has presented papers and chaired sessions in World Congress on Tall Buildings held at Paris (1979), Chicago (1985), and Amsterdam (1993) and also in International Conference in Mumbai (2011). He is a recipient of the Gold Medal awarded by the Institution of Valuers. He represented India in the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat during 1988-2002. He was a member of the Executive Committee of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) during 1986-2006; he was also on the Managing Committee of Practising Engineers Architects and Town Planners Association (India) (PEATA) during 1983-1992.

Apart from his abiding passion for the evolution of a better democratic system, he is also involved in social and charitable activities, especially the prevention and cure of blindness. He is Founder Member and Ex-President of Eye Bank Association of India and the Managing Trustee of Eye Bank Coordination and Research Centre, Mumbai. He has been honoured by International Federation of Eye Banks and Eye Bank Association of India for his pioneering role in promoting eye donation and eye banking in India. He is also recipient of Dr. M. C. NahataRashtriya Netra Suraksha Puraskar award by The National Society for the Prevention of Blindness.

Contents

• Introduction
• Democracy Vs Dictatorship
• Stability
• The Cabinet
• Ministerial Corruption
• The Legislature
• Endless Game of Defections, Toppling and Shameless Lust for Power
• Checks and Balances
• Primary Elections: Nomination of Candidates for Legislature and Executive by Political Parties
• Lack of Encouragement to Promote Political Leadership
• Electoral Reforms: Part-I: Mixed Proportional System; Part-II: Law on Political Parties; Part-III: Election Campaign Finance and Fund Raising
• Why the US Model?
• Epilogue